Billie Eilish, an acclaimed pop artist, didn’t hold back when she spoke about the benefits of masturbating in front of a mirror to increase self-esteem.
This year has been a resounding triumph for the musician, who has won her eighth Grammy and made history with her second Oscar award for best original song.
As she prepares to release her latest studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, the 22-year-old artist’s success extends beyond her professional life.
In a very revealing interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish dished the details about her relationship with sex, her body and the art of self-pleasure, calling it an ‘enormous, enormous part of her life’.
The What Was I Made For hitmaker opened up about how masturbating has been a ‘huge, huge help’ in overcoming lifelong ‘extreme body issues and dysmorphia’ as she encouraged more people to ‘jerk it’.
And doing the act in front of a mirror is a key step in the process.
‘Partly because it’s hot,’ she told the publication. ‘But it also makes me have such a raw, deep connection to myself and my body, and have a love for my body that I have not really ever had.
‘I got to say, looking at yourself in the mirror and thinking ‘I look really good right now’ is so helpful. You can manufacture the situation you’re in to make sure you look good.
Eilish went on to provide her top ideas for getting the most of a self-reflective pleasure session, including altering the lighting and selecting particular clothing and poses that are’more attractive’.
‘I have learned that looking at myself and watching myself feel pleasure has been an extreme help in loving myself and accepting myself, and feeling empowered and comfortable,’ she added.
The ‘TMI’ confession comes as she pivots to a sex-positive approach to life.
‘That’s literally my favourite topic. My experience as a woman has been that it’s seen in such a weird way,’ she continued.
‘People are so uncomfortable talking about it, and weirded out when women are very comfortable in their sexuality and communicative in it.
‘I think it’s such a frowned-upon thing to talk about, and I think that should change. You asked me what I do to decompress. That s**t can really, really save you sometimes, just saying. Can’t recommend it more, to be real.’
The Bad Guy singer has long spoken out about her complicated connection with her physique and wardrobe choices.
In May of last year, she responded to trolls who blasted her for experimenting with styles ranging from ‘boyish’ to ‘feminine,’ arguing that ‘women may be diverse.’
”Shocking right? Believe it or not, women can be interested in multiple things,’ she scathingly added.
She previously spoke to Vogue about her body image issues throughout her teen years.
‘Going through my teenage years of hating myself and all that stupid s**t,’ she said at the time.
‘A lot of it came from my anger towards my body, and how mad I was at how much pain it’s caused me, and what I’ve lost because of things that happened to it.’
Hit Me Hard and Soft comes out on May 17.
