Listen to Softcult’s new single, Queen Of Nothing

Softcult have unveiled their next single, Queen Of Nothing.

Following previous releases Pill To Swallow, Naive, 16/25 and She Said, He Said, this fifth preview from the band’s debut record When A Flower Doesn’t Grow is about “the double standards, harsh judgements and unrealistic expectations that patriarchal society places on women,” according to singer Mercedes Arn-Horn.

“We’re expected to be sexy, but only as it applies to the male fantasy; somehow a virgin and a slut. We’re expected to constantly nurture the men in our lives, and shamed if our aspirations exceed becoming wives and mothers. The world demands maturity from us, but discards us when we’re old and ‘unfuckable’, our value reduced to our ability to attract men. And when we attract men, we’re labelled ‘whores’. We’re expected to be ‘cool’ and ‘like one of the guys’, but not too abrasive, loud or ‘unladylike’. Our intelligence and our success is tolerated so long as it isn’t too threatening or intimidating to our male counterparts. From unconscious biases to blatant sexism, misogyny and gender violence, women face an impossible amount of discrimination in the world today. And no matter the amount of vitriol or ignorance we endure, we’re still expected to smile.

“This song is about the realisation that these cycles of abuse are bigger than our personal experiences,” Mercedes concludes. “It’s recognising the systemic nature of mistreatment and discrimination.”

Listen to Queen Of Nothing below:

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• “I promise, somewhere in there is this glimmer of hope”: Why Softcult’s debut album is a story of self-reclamation
• Softcult: “We feel a responsibility – almost a desperation – to change things before our time is over”
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