Women of Country on Women in Country: Trisha Yearwood
On the nineties:
“What I loved about being a woman in country music was there was something for everybody. There were a handful of us, probably 10 of us that were doing really, really well, but we were all a little bit different and I always thought it was easier.
People always said it’s so hard for a woman, but it’s easier because if you were a guy back in the 90’s you had two choices: You either wore the hat or you didn’t. So it was hard to distinguish yourself. As a woman it was easy because your image could be so completely whatever you wanted it to be. It was an awesome time to be a woman in the business.”
Source: Billboard
It was probably much easier for Trisha in that era, but she was also very much aware of the kind of singer she was and how she presented herself–which was as she really was. Since her biggest role model was Linda Ronstadt, who always encouraged singers to be themselves and not the way the record company bigwigs thought they ought to be, this shouldn’t be too surprising. Carrie Underwood seems to be that way, as well (IMHO).