Kate Couriel: A musical feminist icon

Meet Kate Couriel

"Draw me a woman!" Kate Couriel demands in her second solo single, Draw me a Person. If you haven't heard of Kate Couriel, you're not alone. She has around 125K followers on instagram, which might be a huge number on it's own, but when compared to more popular singers like Olivia Rodrigo's 42 million and Katseye's 10 million, isn't as gigantic.

Kate Couriel is a vocalist and violinist, and a member of the band Seb Lowe, which releases songs such as Dogs and Cats, which talks about prefering men (dogs) over women (cats) with lyrics like "You love dogs, but you hate cats / And you really only ever talk to lads." and Don't Say No To Hitler. She also helped co-write the song Mr and Mrs Human Race, about the burdens of being human.

Each song Kate writes is not just amazing music, but also relevant social commentary. This year, Kate has begun to release her own solo music, starting with her debut single Patriarchy's Dead, released this April, shortly followed by Draw me a Person and Are you a Puppet?, with her fourth single, A Kid A Wife A Man coming out later this month.

Draw Me A Woman

Have you drawn a woman yet?

I first discovered Kate through the song Draw Me A Person. The song is about stereotypes, expectations. She asks the listener to draw her a person, leader, a god, a CEO... Then she asks the listener a question. Have they drawn a woman yet? Then suddenly the theme of the drawings shifts. Nurses, caretakers, love interests. How many of you who drew men at first are still drawing them?

Kate sings about how societal expectations can ingrain themselves, both consciously and subconsciously into a person's mind over time. She says it best in the following verses:

"What did he say in the meeting?" I cringe as you say it / the word 'he' just slips out / a symptom, a sign / could blink and you'd miss it / but inside the cartridge is spilling / you picture a man in your mind / shouldn't the drawing be stopped as a child?

The song also talks about the differences in language when talking about a man and talking about a woman that oftentimes occur. Crazy and controlling rather than protective. Overreaction rather than passion. Even asking men about work first when your first question for a woman would be if she has kids.

The final bridge also explores how societal pressures can impact someone's life.

And still we say / we didn't alter the life that she lived / draw me a parent / I think that we did

What the future holds

Kate has been promoting her newest song, A Kid A Wife A Man on her instagram, hailing it as one of her favorite songs she's written. It definitely lives up to the title, another feminist anthem like Patriarchy's Dead and Draw me a Person, this one appears to focus on a what a woman's future is expected to hold. She talks about expectations for women to be mothers and to have children:

You've not long left / You should be thinkin' about havin' children / Being a mother is the best part of being a woman

She also mentions the idea that women are supposed to change their name after they get married, and not wanting to change her own, even asking the listener, likely within the context a man, if they would change his last name to match hers.

I don't want to give up my name / Would you for us?

All in all, Kate Couriel is a masterclass in using music to spread awareness, combining amazing commentary with songs that get regularly stuck in my head. What does the future hold for her? This teenage feminist can't wait to find out.