Melissa Etheridge on how 'my queerness protected me' in a music scene unforgiving to women

Melissa Etheridge has enjoyed a long and storied career as a rock and roll trailblazer, but she doesn't think her success comes in spite of her queerness — in fact, the icon recently said that she's instead gotten through some situations because of it.

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, Tunecore released its fourth annual Be The Change: Gender Equity In Music Report, shining a light on the challenges facing women and nonbinary people in the industry, due in part to a lack of representation at all levels.

The report includes a forward written by Etheridge, who opened up about the discrimination she's faced as a queer woman throughout her career. While it hasn't been easy, there were times in her life where Etheridge said she felt she benefited from being queer.

"In music — as in life — being a woman comes with its own set of obstacles, both seen and unseen," she wrote. "Ranging from unequal pay and a diminished sense of autonomy, to the countless cases of sexual harassment and abuse that have come to light in recent years from all corners of the industry. And, these obstacles are compounded for women of color and gender expansive individuals."

While her LGBTQ+ identity sometimes served to alienate her, Etheridge said she feels that it also shielded her from much of the harassment faced by straight women. In a way, she noted "what was the hardest for me was also a blessing."

"I was lucky enough to find steady work in L.A.’s lesbian bars, so when I entered the music industry, it was already known that I was gay. It changed the way people responded to me," she explained. "I didn’t experience the same sexual harassment as straight women did in the industry. Men stood back and didn’t know how to deal with me, so in a way, my queerness protected me."

Etheridge said that to her, "Be The Change" means that "when you try to spend your time and energy trying to change everyone else – that’s a rough road." The best one can do is recognize how far the industry has come, "give thanks" for the work that was done before, and "become what you want to see."

"It used to be that people were either straight or gay and now there’s a beautiful rainbow – a whole sphere of beings and ways of being, and it’s important to celebrate that," she continued. "The best thing to do is not to make it an issue of us against them. People are sometimes driven by their own misunderstanding and fear, so if you become the love you want to see, we hope they will feel that and change."