This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the powerful and inspirational force of Rhian Teasdale, co-founder of the Isle of Wight band, Wet Leg.
As well as being one of the driving forces of a globally successful band, Rhian has this week graced the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week for avant-garde fashion house, Ann Demeulemeester.
Born in Merseyside, when she was 8-years-old Rhian moved to the Isle of Wight with her family. Although she now has a home in London which she uses as a base for her globetrotting, Rhian returns to the Island when schedules allow and will be performing with band members at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival in June.
A musical journey
Prior to forming Wet Leg with fellow Islander, Hester Chambers, Rhian performed for many years as a singer and pianist, known as RHAIN.
Rhian and Hester first met while studying at Platform One College of Music and after ten years of friendship, they formed a band in 2019 under the name Wet Leg. Just over a year later, they were signed to Domino Records.
The near-quit moment
Having always exuded star quality, those who knew Rhian would not have found her rise to fame as unusual. However, despite spending years performing solo around the Isle of Wight and in Bristol, as Rhian told RNZ in 2022, she was actually ready to toss in the towel at one point,
“I just really wasn’t enjoying it. Around me all of my friends were becoming lawyers and working these proper jobs… they’d have weekends off and I would always be working on the weekends because I’d always be in hospitality jobs.”
The viral breakthrough
In the 2020 Covid-19 Lockdown, Rhian and Hester – both hanging out on the Isle of Wight – made the video for “Chaise Longue” as well as a couple more demos.
The Island band took off like a rocket when their debut single “Chaise Longue” launched online in June 2021. They went on to appear on Later… with Jools Holland, the US chat show Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Late Show with James Corden.
Award-winning success
Their self-titled debut album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart.
At the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, Wet Leg won Best Alternative Music Album and Best Alternative Music Performance for “Chaise Longue”. They also won Best New Artist and Best British Group at the 2023 Brit Awards.
Their second album, Moisturizer, also soared to the summit of the UK’s Official Albums Chart in its first week – a rare feat for a British band on an independent label.
Feminism woven into the music
One commenter on her lyrics complained, “Why can’t women just sing about sunshine and love?” When another commenter misidentified which part of her anatomy she was referencing in a lyric, Rhian corrected him directly: “He thought it was talking about my vagina. I’m talking about my vulva!”
As Asteria Magazine reported, the track “Wet Dream” contains a “biting critique of male entitlement and objectification, with lines that flip the script on traditional gender dynamics, placing female autonomy and desire at the forefront”.
So it’s no surprise to learn that key influences on Rhian’s feminist artistic angle include Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘WAP’ and rapper Ashnikko’s overall attitude. On the approach, Rhian explained to Far Out Magazine that what she admires is great silliness that is also cool – a punk ethos.
And it’s Rhian’s ability to combine utter silliness with witty and thought-provoking lyrics that has gained her a massive following around the World.
Speaking out on industry sexism
In a conversation with Hayley Williams of Paramore for Far Out Magazine – who revealed she doesn’t “dare” play guitar on stage for fear of receiving sexist comments – Rhian said,
“I think, for us, one of the hardest or most irritating things about being women is probably just the stupid comments.”
Bodily autonomy, the male gaze, and growing confidence
Rhian has spoken about deliberately disconnecting from the male gaze, both through her music and her evolving appearance. When Wet Leg emerged onto the scene in 2020, Rhian and Hester sported the Cottage-core look, long flowy dresses and lots of frills – apparently shaped by a desire to avoid being sexualised by men.
With the second album came an edgy new look for Rhian, sporting a toned, muscular body, bleached eyebrows and new electric energy.
She told Vogue Magazine,
“There’s so many men in our comments living in fear of my armpit hair. I think it’s hilarious. I never set out to be antagonizing. I’m being more me than ever.”
She added,
“I’m also more comfortable with having a muscular physique. I always had an athletic build, but as a 30-year-old woman who grew up in the time of pro-anorexia websites… I am angry that I had to go through that. I am happy feeling freer, powerful, and stronger.”
On sexualisation without consent Rhian told Decatur Metro,
“It’s the starter pack of a girl’s childhood. Men will sexualise anything – silence, discomfort, eye contact. It can be exhausting, but I try not to carry the weight.”
Directly confronting unwanted male attention
The album’s lead single “Catch These Fists” was influenced by Rhian receiving unwanted attention from men. She told Variety Magazine,
“These situations happen all the time, where you’re very clearly out dancing with your friends, and for that to be obnoxiously interrupted by some person trying to pick you up.
“It’s a very common occurrence. I think I’m conditioned to be so polite about things, but that particular night, I was not very polite.”
We salute you
From Platform One to the Grammy podium in Los Angeles, Rhian has carried the Isle of Wight with her every step of the way.
On International Women’s Day, we salute her – and every woman who nearly quit, but didn’t.
Catch these fists, patriarchy. Rhian Teasdale isn’t going anywhere!
