She’s not bending genders so much as gender roles. Le Butcherettes’ Teri Gender Bender is an advocate against exploitation, against women’s expected roles in society and the oppression of social norms. Foremost, she’s a person with a message. The musician part, ironically we learned, comes last.
In her role as lead to Mexican punk band, Le Butcherettes, Teri Gender Bender plays a housewife drenched in blood: a laborer who deeply devoted to serving her husband and family by routinely washing dishes and cutting meat for dinner, puts her own needs aside. The drummer, Normandi Heuxdaflo, is the dominant male figure that in accordance to social norms, is the bread winner and nucleus of the family. That’s the message to the band according to Teri Gender Bender’s views on social roles and female identity. It’s a message that has been stirring in her mind since high school when Sylvia Plath readings filled the void that Teri’s then teachers failed to illustrate with daily curriculum.
We meant to speak to Teri about her Sin, Sin, Sin album which was produced by Mars Volta’s, Omar Rodriguez-López, and about Le Butcherettes’ upcoming Cali gigs, but somehow, we got carried away and talked about everything from gender roles, making music for money and Teri’s fear of rocks. Here’s a peek into that conversation.
Ok then, Teri Gender Bender. You’ve got a message? Very well. Spit it.
TGB: I remember being in high school and thinking that the teachers were really lazy. I hid in feminists books, not the anti-men type of books but more of the women’s rights type of readings. Somewhere I got this idea to make a band that would keep that concept alive. I wanted to talk about the exploitation of women as sex objects and slaves, and that’s what Le Butcherettes does through its music.
“Teri Gender Bender” is not what it sounds like, I’m not a transvestite. More power to them for being who they are, but the name “Gender Bender” means that our genders really don’t matter. If you think about it, our last names don’t exist. My mother’s last name comes from her father, my grandmother’s last name comes from her father, and so on. “Gender Bender” is meant metaphorically where I take the gender and throw it out the window because the gender doesn’t matter and I don’t care about it.
The on-stage antics with the fake blood and pig heads and all, that too has a message?
Of course. We get labeled as a gore band because of it but really, it represents all of the blood that is shed by women around the world. For example, the women that go missing in Ciudad Juarez, assassinations against women and the people that have sacrificed their lives for equality.
But there are men amongst those people as well, correct?
Definitely. It stands for the men as well. And I think that’s when the concept of the band came full circle: when I included a male drummer to the band. Le Butcherettes was originally a girl band. I met this cool, chick drummer and we started playing as the band. We started getting “big” in Mexico but sadly this thing kind of got to her head that I was getting more attention than she was and she left the band. But to me that wasn’t what it was supposed to be about. I didn’t care about getting “big”, it wasn’t just about the music.
So then, instead of replacing her with another female, I completed the concept of the band by adding a male element to it. He represents the nucleus of the family. He puts the money on the table and that’s his contribution to the family. Both the men and the women are oppressed in these situations and with the addition of a male figure into the band, neither sex is excluded in the concept.
Wait a minute. Rewind. Did you just say that’s it’s not just about the music?
It’s about the whole box. Or better yet, about trying to get out of it. I wanted to start this band to keep the concept alive. In Mexico there were no female bands that were doing this. I mean, there were female bands that existed, but they were selling themselves as sex objects and that to me wasn’t inspiring. There are bands that are really great like The Kinks, who have gone on the record stating that it’s just about the music. But to me, the music itself isn’t going to make a huge change in my life. Bands that have a message that sticks to me and that helps me grow as a person is what will stick with me in the long run. And that’s why it’s not just about the music. It’s also about the motive and the message behind it.
What about making music that sells?
I don’t like it when people try to sell me the Bible or Scientology, or things like that. It’s too aggressive. If people want to buy our CD then great, but if they don’t then it’s fine just as well. I’m still gonna make music because my motivation is not the money.
But having Omar Rodriguez-López (Mars Volta) produce your “Sin, Sin, Sin” album helps, right?
Well it definitely helped the music. It got more ground and more solid. He definitely helped for the best and I learned a lot of different ways to record in a studio from him. We share a lot of the same philosophies and we talk a lot about women’s rights and other subjects of similar interests. He’s a very liberal man. It’s pretty interesting to get into conversation with him because he knows so much and he gets the bands concept and our music.
Are you afraid that your concept may be misunderstood?
It’s one of my biggest fears because frustration starts to grow from it, and then you start to get mad, vengeful and spiteful. So yes, there is that fear, specially of being called a hypocrite. People may say “If you’re such a feminist then why are you dressing sexy?” But those people probably don’t read and are probably easily manipulated by the media. They probably don’t know that there are different types of feminists.
I’ve heard that some bands have gotten rocks thrown at them. That hasn’t happened to me but the possibility still scares me. My mom always taught me to expect the worse because if something bad happens, then you’re already prepared for it. So if people were to ever throw things at me I’d have to take it like a big girl.
I wear my heart on my sleeve so when people don’t understand me, it hurts. But I guess I’ve gotten used to being misunderstood because I’ve learned to deal with all of the haters. But no matter how much they throw my music out the window, I’ll keep making more albums and I’ll keep on playing shows. Maybe some day they’ll get the point.
—
You can catch Le Butcherettes at their upcoming Troubadour gig in West Hollywood, and meanwhile, take a look at their Spaceland performance where Omar Rodriguez-López himself introduced the band onstage. Check it out here, and see you at the show.
{flv}lebutcherettes_1{/flv}
{flv}lebutcherettes_2{/flv}
www.myspace.com/lebutcherettes
