WCXX

LADY GAGA

"The context of taking off your clothes for porn is different from undressing for a particular song with particular lighting for particular effect in a particular moment. In the beginning, my record company wanted to tone me down. The Just Dance video is not nearly as naked as I would have liked. I said this in a meeting, 'is this the only major label on planet earth that is asking a female pop artist to put more clothes on?' But I grew a keener eye for it. Because let's be honest, when they met me I was onstage in a thong, with a fringe hanging over my ass thinking that had covered it, lighting hairspray on fire, singing songs about oral sex. I think I have the right balance now."

Lady Gaga - Just Dance on MUZU.TV.

ALICIA KEYS

"As a young girl coming into [pop music], there is huge pressure. You don't know how to navigate it because everyone's going 'oh that's beautiful, that's nice, why don't you unbutton the shirt a little lower, pull the skirt a little higher.' I trusted people and then I would see things back and feel embarrassed and uncomfortable. That kind of set me on my path to be stronger about not letting people tell you anything.

"There is a certain sexuality or sensuality to [my] performance but I've been fortunate not to have to depend on my physical attributes. All I can do is make sure that what I choose to be a part of has a certain standard to it, and if I am uncomfortable with it, I would choose not to be part of it. We have a lot of power and we should consider how we use that power."

LAURA MARLING

"I think that women and men in the modern pop industry are given very similar choices, jumping through the sex hoop, jumping through the reality-TV-gossip-magazine-giving-your-life-away hoop, and everybody makes choices relevant to their wants in life. That's women's lib, in a sense, because there is choice. It's subjective whether one choice is right or wrong. I've never felt any pressure to be anything other than what I am, and I think that's absolutely the way I should be. Certainly my career would have been different if I had decided to get a tit job or do a photo session for GQ. Sometimes the radio is on and I think, 'oh, I exist in this industry'. I don't know if I want to. Sometimes I do feel like I don't exist in the same world, let alone the same industry."

LULU

"A lot of [the new generation of female singers] are unbelievably good. I'm gobsmacked sometimes. Women are taking over. But I don't personally like that they have to get naked. I'm completely crazy about that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams track, Blurred Lines, but the video, the naked one, I want to spit nails at. Why didn't Robin Thicke get his kit off? It's always women. I really get angry."

ELLIE GOULDING

"I'm aware that I'm not a model and photo shoots can be difficult but I'm very proud of my body, because I don't starve myself, I work out and I keep fit. And if my body looks good it's because I worked bloody hard for it. I'm a woman and I want to show off a bit."

SUZI QUATRO

"The music industry is so sexualised now. The difference is that the females are choosing it themselves, so you can't say they are being used by the industry. Nobody told Madonna what to do, nobody tells Lady Gaga, so you can't say it's the men sexualising them anymore. There are so many semi-naked women in videos. You think naked is next? I don't know. I am hoping it's gone to a point where the only way is to go back again."

SANDIE SHAW

"I think a lot of women artists are boxing themselves in, rather than being boxed in. There are a lot of women with real talent and they are experimenting with the ideas of how they can present themselves. You get somebody like Adele who is breaking all the moulds; and Lady Gaga, who's not really presenting herself as a sex object, she's more like a camp object. But the pressure is on the whole industry. To make a living you have to be a brand, you have to look a certain way, present yourself in a certain way. So you have issues about your weight, your hairstyle, everything. Because unless you can sell a fashion range you are not going to earn much money in the modern music business."

SHIRLEY MANSON

"I think women in pop have been declawed and defanged, and they're just meant to look pretty and sing pretty. You don't really hear a female perspective on the radio, because so many of the songs are being written by men. The girls are out there doing the streetwalking, but the pimp daddy is at home, living the life, collecting the royalties. I am delighted that women are dominating the charts, ruling the world with pop music, but the thing that slightly sours that victory is the men behind the scenes.

There is still an imbalance in mainstream culture. Where is the alternative voice? I want to hear from the creature who isn't blessed with unbelievable good looks and incredible genes. I want to hear from the geek girl, the forgotten girl, the invisible girl and the miserable girl. I don't want to just hear from the perfect cheerleaders."

RUMER

"I think women in music should connect and support each other because there's a lot of us, and it's a very male dominated industry, and actually there's still a lot of sexism. It's not a regulated business, there's no independent advocacy, you are getting advice from people but they are all being paid or have interests or agendas. I never felt like the prettiest person in the room. But I think we all have issues with that. It's the same old thing. I don't mind being listened to, but I don't want anybody looking at me and judging me on my appearance."

DIDO

"If people are proud of the way they look and want to get their kit off, more power to them. I've never ever felt that pressure. To me, the two don't go hand in hand. I make music, I don't know if I would sell more music if I got my kit off."