Shania Twain believes her 1997 hit “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” contributed to changing attitudes about sexuality and equality.
“A lot of straight men sing ‘Man! I Feel Like a Woman!’ just for the sheer entertainment of it. So, I think songs like that have been great, maybe, contributors to bringing us together,” she told Pride Source.
“If not for anything than just for the common denominator of music and owning that for whatever it means to them, and that breaks down barriers.”
Twain conceded that country music fans tend to be conservative.
“I just feel very saddened by any kind of oppression in our society in today's day and age,” she said. “Equality should be a no-brainer, automatic, all the way around. We need to have mutual respect all the way around.”
The Canadian superstar said she has strong ties to the LGBT community and "a lot of gay people" in her life. “We relate to one another,” Twain explained. “We relate to struggle, and then surviving struggle and celebrating who we are and what we are.”
She said one of the tracks on her new album Now, “Swingin’ with My Eyes Closed” is a party song with a deeper meaning.
“The song is about even when you can't see what is in front of you, you still have to move forward,” Twain said. “You can't move backwards; you gotta keep moving forward and fighting for that freedom to exercise independence and courage.”
Twain also told Pride Source about seeing her first Shania drag queen at a show in Las Vegas. “It was incredible. I thought that was so wonderful,” she recalled.
And what does a Shania impersonator need in his wardrobe? “Probably something leopard print,” said Twain. “And I would say a top hat. The boots, for sure!”