In a new interview with Alternative Press, Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante explained why she dresses the way she does — to protect herself from assault.
LaPlante shared that early in her career, she was naive to how people could disrespect her in a male-dominated industry. “I was so innocent and naive, but I learned quickly because you know how it is. During that time, it was socially acceptable to catcall and heckle. It’s one of those things, too, where you don’t know at the time that you just got sexually assaulted. In broad daylight, publicly, in front of all your friends and a sea of people.”
As she got older, LaPlante began to recognize the need for boundaries to protect herself. “As you get older, you’re like, ‘That is so unacceptable. Why was no one there to help me? Why did I even continue doing the show?’ I’ve said this before in an interview, but it took me till I had a barrier in front of me to not feel like…. I hold my microphone in the middle and put each elbow over each boob, because otherwise someone’s gonna grab me.”
“And I wore the most nonsuggestive clothing because I didn’t want anyone to hurt me. It used to make me so mad when I’d see people commenting stuff like, ‘I like you because you don’t feel like you have to dress like a sl*t.’ And I’m like, ‘B*tch, I’m not allowed to because someone’s gonna grab me,'” she added.
The singer has addressed the problems in the male-dominated field several times. Another thing she does on stage to avoid sexual assault is cupping her mic. “Whenever my friends were like, ‘Oh I wish there wasn’t a barricade,’ I’m like, ‘That must be so cool for you because you’re not getting sexually assaulted while you’re trying to do your job,'” she told Allison Hagendorf earlier. “Don’t get me wrong I don’t like the barricade either, but it’s really cool to be able to put my arms down by their sides.”
LaPlante also mentioned how difficult it can be for women in the music industry, sharing that she’s often had to deal with unwanted advances. “Anyone that complains about mic cupping, they didn’t play a sh*tty show with one-floor monitor. You have to do that so you can hear yeah yourself.”
The rocker added, “It took me years to not hold my microphone like this. It’s one of those things that’s so normalized that I never even thought about like, ‘Oh yeah I’m like getting sexually assaulted on stage right now.’ The guys are all just like, ‘Yeah,’ or catcalled or whatever. Now I’d have the empowerment to be like, ‘Get that guy out of the show.'”
Spiritbox’s current tour with Periphery and Stray From The Path ends on February 23 in Hamburg. They will then jump into a new tour with Loathe, Dying Wish, and Gel, starting on April 3 in Dallas, Texas.
