La Roux on sexuality: ‘I don’t feel one thing or the other’
By Nick Levine
La Roux has spoken about her sexuality in a new interview, saying she doesn’t “feel one thing or the other”.
The singer, real name Elly Jackson, is preparing to release her second album, Trouble in Paradise, after a lengthy absence and told The Observer that she remains somewhat torn between preserving her popstar mystique and speaking openly about her personal life.
“I debate this a lot – do we need everyone to be 100% open about everything before we get to the stage [that] it doesn’t matter?” Jackson said. “And I agree to a point, I am aware of the conflicts. But the problem is, if I say, ‘I’m straight,’ nobody will come around to my house and take a picture of my boyfriend. If I say, ‘I’m gay,’ then somebody will come around and try to take a picture of my girlfriend.”
Later in the interview, Jackson explained that she identifies as neither “gay”/”bi” or “straight”, but is happy to be considered a gay role model.
“I don’t feel like I belong to any of those. So I’m not going to put myself in that camp, or under that title. I don’t feel one thing or the other, I don’t feel man, I don’t feel woman – that’s where the androgyny comes from. I probably feel more feminine than I do masculine… but if people want to hold me up as a gay role model, absolutely, I’m proud to be that, but I don’t feel the need to say that I’m gay to do it.”
La Roux has recently unveiled her comeback track, Let Me Down Gently – watch it here. Her eagerly-anticipated second album, Trouble in Paradise, features nine tracks including Sexotheque and Tropical Chancer, which she debuted live last year, and will be released on July 7.