Billboard Woman of The Year" Speech

First of all I wanna uhm, I
Wanna say thank you to Labyrinth
That was an
Amazing, amazing performance can I
Put this down?
Sorry, seriously it's better this way ahh
I always feel better with something
Hard between my legs

I stand before you as a doormat oh, I mean
As a female entertainer thank
You for acknowledging
My ability to continue my career
For 34 years in the face
Of blatant misogyny, sexism
Constant bullying
And relentless abuse when I started
There was no internet
So people had to say it to
My face there were very few
People I had to clap back at
Because life was simpler then

When I first moved to New York
I was a teenager it was 1979 and New
York was a very scary place in the
First year I was held at gunpoint
Raped on a rooftop with a knife digging
Into my throat and I had my
Apartment broken into and robbed so
Many times I just
Stopped locking the door in
The years to follow, i lost almost every
Friend I had to AIDS or
Drugs or gunshot people were
Dying of AIDS everywhere it wasn’t
Safe to be gay
It wasn’t cool to be associated
With the gay community

As you can imagine
All these unexpected events not only helped
Me become the daring woman
That stands before you
But it also reminded me that
I'm vulnerable and in life
There is no real safety
Except self-belief and an
Understanding that I'm not the owner
Of my talents i'm not
The owner of anything everything I have is a
Gift from God and even the
Shitty fucked up things
That happened to me, that still happen to me
Are also gifts to teach me
Lessons and make me stronger

I'm receiving an award for being
Woman of the year
So I ask myself "what can I
Say about being a woman in
The music business? What can I
Say about being a woman?"

When I first started writing songs
I didn't think in a gender-specific way i
Didn't think about feminism i just
Wanted to be an artist i
Was of course inspired
By Debbie Harry and Chrissie
Hynde and Aretha Franklin
But my real muse was David
Bowie he embodied male and
Female spirit and that suited me
Just fine he made
Me think there were no rules but I was wrong
There are no rules - if you're a boy
If you're a girl
You have to play the game what
Is that game? You're allowed to
Be pretty and cute and sexy but
Don’t act too smart don’t
Have an opinion don't have an opinion
That is out of line
With the status quo at least
You are allowed to be
Objectified by men and dress like a slut
But don’t own
Your sluttiness and do not, I repeat do not
Share your own sexual fantasies with
The world be what men want you
To be, but more importantly, be
What women feel comfortable with you being
Around other men and finally
Do not age because to age is a
Sin you will be criticized you
Will be vilified and you will definitely
Not be played on the radio

When I first became famous
There were nude photos of me in
Playboy and Penthouse magazine photos that
Were taken from art schools where I
Posed for back in the
Day to make money they weren't very sexy
In fact I looked quite bored i
Was but I was expected to feel
Ashamed when these photos came out
But I was not and this puzzled people

Eventually I was left alone because
I married Sean Penn, and not
Only would he would bust a cap in your ass
But
I was off the market so for a while I was not
Considered a threat years later, divorced
And single - sorry
Sean - I made my Erotica album
And my Sex book was
Released i remember being the
Headline of every
Newspaper and magazine and everything I read
About myself was damning i was called
A whore and a witch one
Headline compared me to Satan i
Said, "Wait a minute
Isn't Prince running around
With fishnets and high heels and lipstick
With his butt hanging out?' Yes
He was but he was a man this
Was the first time I truly
Understood that women really did not have
The same freedom as men

I remember feeling paralyzed it took
Me a while to pull
Myself together and get on with
My creative life get
On with my life i took comfort in the poetry
Of Maya Angelou, and the
Writings of James Baldwin
And in the music of Nina Simone

I remember wishing that I had
A female peer I could
Look to for support camille Paglia
The famous feminist writer, said
That I set women back by
Objectifying myself sexually "Oh", i
Thought, "so if you're a feminist
You don't have sexuality
You deny it" So I said "fuck it i'm a
Different kind of feminist i'm
A bad feminist"

People say that I'm so
Controversial but I think
The most controversial thing I have ever
Done is to stick around michael is gone
Tupac is gone prince is gone
Whitney is gone amy Winehouse is gone david
Bowie is gone but I'm still standing
I'm one of the lucky ones and
Every day I count my blessings

What I would like to say
To all women here today
Is this: Women have been so
Oppressed for so long
They believe what men have to say about
Them and they believe they have to
Back a man to get the job done
And there are some very good
Men worth backing
But not because they're men
- because they're worthy as women
We have to start appreciating our
Own worth and each other's
Worth seek out strong women to
Befriend, to align yourself with, to
Learn from, to be inspired by
To collaborate with, to support
To be enlightened by

As I said before
It's not so much about receiving this
Award as it is having
This opportunity to stand before you
And really say thank
You, as a woman, as an artist
As a human not only to
The people who have loved and
Supported me along the way
You have no idea you have no
Idea how much your support means

But to the doubters and
Naysayers and everyone who
Gave me hell and said I could not, that
I would not, that I must not - your
Resistance made me stronger, made
Me push harder
Made me the fighter that I am today made me
The woman that I am today so thank you