Billie Eilish and Her Contributions To Sexuality and Modern Visual Culture

There are a lot of famous people who I think might have the qualities a class about Sexuality and Modern Visual Culture could use. There’s singers like Hozier and Sabrina Carpenter who’s sensuality, overt or subtle, in their character, dress, and songwriting make them eligible in my opinion. There’s also actors like Ncuti Gatwa and Elliot Page, members of the LGBT+ community whose work has earned them both several prestigious awards, which they win in tandem with their activism. But there is one creator that I think goes above and beyond in this regard, for a few reasons.

Billie Eilish (full name Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. She began her music career with hit after hit, Ocean Eyes in 2015, her first EP Don’t Look At Me in the same year, and her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2018. These won her numerous music awards, and served as a foundation for her later work. Eilish works closely with her brother, Finnias, who, aside from creating his own music, mixes, records, and assists in the release of nearly all her music. The sibling duo is electric, and their work is seen in movies (No Time To Die in the Bond film by the same name (2020), What Was I Made For? in Barbie (2023)), TV shows (Bored from 13 Reasons Why), and has collaborated with the hottest voices in their prime (Justin Bieber, Charlie XCX, Rosalia).

The music isn’t what the public focuses on though, is it? The art the artist creates means nothing if you can see them, and man is a judgmental species. Eilish was asked by Nicki Minaj in an interview with British Vouge “Many women from all walks of life have felt that their work was overshadowed by their beauty or their physical attributes. Was there ever a time in your career, or before you made it, when you wished people couldn’t see you and that they could only hear the music, and really get a chance to just listen to the written words?” This question was answered with “I’ve never really felt very beautiful or seen myself in that way, so I definitely never struggled with the idea that it would overshadow anything, since I didn’t even really see it myself. I’ve had to really convince myself that I am beautiful. Being a woman is hard.” 

All popular singers face this kind of thinking, this kind of publicity. If you aren’t conventionally attractive, it may break your career, and if you are as stunning as Billie Eilish is, you may face a lot of overwhelming attention. Eilish has said in many spaces that the attention can be daunting, but having grown up with it, having had Chanel be a personal stylist, and being featured in many a fashion magazine, it becomes second nature. Ever changing hair, ice blue eyes, and a style that can be defined as “streetwear” are all points for an up-and-coming artist with a new sound. Billie has a very androgynous aura. Where baggy shirts and basketball shorts are staples in her wardrobe in addition to headbands and glasses, she is just as comfortable in Oscar de la Renta or Gucci. This confidence and attitude has made her a focal point in differing gazes in the media. 

A popular trend on social media lately is that of “being written by a man/woman”. It all boils down to the male vs. female gaze. The male gaze is “the perspective of a notionally typical heterosexual man considered as embodied in the audience or intended audience for films and other visual media, characterized by a tendency to objectify or sexualize women.”. This is seen in characters like Harley Quinn (played by Margot Robbie) in Suicide Squad or Mikaela Banes (played by Megan Fox) in Transformers. They are women meant to be appealing to the eyes amid cars and action. In comparison, the female gaze is the opposite side of the same coin. The characters are still appealing, but they have weight, lives, and an existence beyond sexual appeal. These are characters like Jo March (played by EITHER Winona Ryder and/or Saoirse Ronan in Little Women) or Harley Quinn (still played by Margot Robbie, but in 2020’s Birds Of Prey).

The pictures taken of an individual with such a wide range of styles, makeup designs, and media choices make Billie Eilish someone who can, if not represent popular queer individuals in media, be a prime example for the differing gazes the media feeds to us. The male and female gazes do not have set parameters and guidelines, but follow trends and trending individuals, portraying them in ways that are most likely to be consumed at full potential by the public. Where Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter represent more the femme side of queer media, and Renée Rapp and Boygenius represent the butch portion, I offer Billie Eilish as the happy medium. If not included in future discussion, I at least hope you listen to some of her music. 

More images - https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Kxqj58dQFnu7MJsN_-eteGKopSf5LGByjNOpEg9flBY/edit?usp=sharing

Songs by Eilish that can be applied to this paper as well - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7nhZtYRGS2CjTEFJUUe8bQ?si=18a280a67588442f 

Works Cited

“Billie Eilish.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 28 Apr. 2025, www.britannica.com/biography/Billie-Eilish.

“Billie Eilish.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Apr. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billie_Eilish.

Rodgers, Daniel. “Unpacking Billie Eilish’s Met Gala Outfits.” British Vogue, British Vogue, 14 Apr. 2025, www.vogue.co.uk/article/billie-eilish-met-gala-outfits.

Vogue. “‘I like Who I Am a Lot at This Point’: The Rise and Reign of Billie Eilish.” British Vogue, 14 Apr. 2025, www.vogue.co.uk/article/billie-eilish-british-vogue-2025-interview.