Lorde has opened up about exploring gender for the first time and reflected on the moment she first taped her chest.
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She was speaking to Dazed for their autumn 2025 issue, with the interview falling just days after the secret set at Glastonbury that saw her debut her latest album ‘Virgin’ in full. Several tracks on the record, including ‘Man Of The Year’ and ‘Hammer’, have seen Lorde touch on her evolving relationship with gender.
Discussing that journey in the chat, she reflected on taping her chest for the first time, which was heavily featured in the video for ‘Man Of The Year’. “Something really happened for me when I taped my chest for the first time,” she said. “I came into some understanding about myself, and felt a very pure version of myself present.
“Right now, it feels as it should. But some days, I can’t wear women’s clothes. I’ve had to figure out how to have my make-up done in a way that doesn’t make me feel trapped or tight or like the wrong thing.”
The New Zealand singer has been frank about her gender becoming “more expansive”, and previous told Rolling Stone that the opening line of album’s first track on – which reads “Some days I’m a woman/Some days I’m a man” – reflects her current headspace in terms of gender fluidity.
While speaking to Dazed, Lorde maintained it was “all a journey” that she felt had no permanent end point. “I’m sure it’ll keep unfurling, the way these things do,” she continued. “It really took me by surprise how much shame I felt – feeling all that come up wasn’t easy. Even as I see my friends coming fully into their genders, feeling nothing but pride, love, respect and bliss.
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“I just think it takes time to metabolise and find itself. I’m excited to find out where that lands, if it ever does land. Your whole life it keeps unfurling.”
She went on to talk about how song writing was integral to that process, and how it helped her learn to be “OK with states of being that feel too big for just me, Ella. If I can use this skill, it really helps me. I know I still have so much to learn.”
“That’s why I’ve been careful not to take up space that isn’t mine – just to say, ‘This is my experience over here,’” she added. “Because I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be trans in this world. It’s not a joke, especially in the States right now. I’ve got a lot of friends who are really frightened. But where I was at still had value to me. My job is to make the expression as truthful as possible.”
The confessional quality of ‘Virgin’ saw it awarded four stars by NME’s Alex Rigotti. “With her newfound candour,” the review read, “the record combines the emotional whirlwind of ‘Melodrama’, the chilling minimalism of ‘Pure Heroine’ and the breezy freedom of ‘Solar Power’. This might be called ‘Virgin’, but Lorde proves she’s not afraid to strip herself bare.”
Prior to the album’s release, she penned a letter to fans back in 2022, opening up about her desire to play with gender and beauty conventions: “If I’m not careful I’m just gonna end up striving for conventional (albeit alternative/chic) hotness until I die.”
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