Entertainment of Monday, 9 April 2018

Source: ghanaguardian.com

Stop intimidating female acts with your hypocrisy - Stephanie Benson slams Ghanaian men

Stephanie Benson Stephanie Benson

Sultry UK based Ghanaian Jazz and Soul singer, Stephanie Benson, has called out Ghanaian men for 'hypocritically' pushing out female acts in the entertainment industry.

According to the 50 year old singer, women in the Ghanaian music industry are unfairly treated by men in terms of their choice of outfits to the point where they get intimidate.

Stephanie Benson who was speaking in an interview with Graphic Showbiz, women in showbiz are expected to act and behave in certain ways and those who dare to go contrary to that are tagged with unsavory words.

She said, “People expect women to behave in a particular way but it is up to us as women not to accept it. Women in the music industry should not allow themselves to be oppressed by anyone.

When a woman acts sexy, she’s tagged a “whore” and not surprisingly Ghanaian men’s favourite word is Ashawo,” she said.

The UK-based singer, who is noted for her sultry act on stage as well as the sexy manner in which she dresses, also encouraged women in the entertainment industry to be free to express themselves and use their sex appeal in any way which works for them.

“As a female artiste, you need to find what works for you. You can choose to be explicit or you can tone down your appeal but how you choose to express yourself should come from you and should not be dictated by some hypocritical men who prefer you act and dress in a particular way.

“For some female artistes, their sex appeal is in their lyrics while for others it is in the way they dress. The important thing is to do what works for you and it should come from within and should not be fake,” the mother of five said.

She continued, “you should not be scared to be yourself as a woman. Just remember that people will criticise you because of who you are but your voice will always shine through and you will succeed as long as you do not compromise yourself.”

Stephanie said there was so much pressure on young women to succeed in the male dominated music industry that many end up having to compromise just to be noticed.