Sui Zhen – “Being A Woman”

Agnieszka Chabros

Sui Zhen – “Being A Woman”

Agnieszka Chabros

Becky Sui Zhen is releasing her third album, Losing, Linda, at the end of the month. She’s shared two songs from it already, “Matsudo City Life” and “Perfect Place,” and today she’s sharing a third, “Being A Woman.” It’s a hypnotic, extended meditation on expectations and composure, a mix of spoken word and lilting declarations of self.

“The threat of losing my mother, the person who birthed and raised me triggered these sentiments. It was just before all the #metoo stuff started coming out and I was feeling sad but empowered as if a veil had lifted – perhaps this is one of the positive impacts of grief,” Sui Zhen said in a statement, continuing:

I recognized the ways in which I had repressed myself and was able to step away from toxic relationships and step closer to projects and people that had my best interests at heart. Perhaps one of the final pieces of this was reconciling with how I identified within myself. Looking back now, I realize I was only fully able to acknowledge my queerness since Mum’s passing. I think there’s a lot of identity baggage that gets tied up in lineage. I’m still unpacking my thoughts around this. The sense of duty, obligation and function that comes with living in a female body is both heavy and powerful. It takes so much strength to live a life as a woman.

Listen below.

Losing, Linda is out 9/27 via Cascine (NA) / Dot Dash (AU/NZ). Pre-order it here.

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