Mar 2, 2017 Music
Tegan and Sara, Singer-songwriters.
Tegan and Sara — surname Quin, age 36 — took their electro-pop bangers on a tour of North America, including their homeland of Canada, during the last half of 2016.
The pair’s sound has evolved dramatically since their punk-pop days in the 90s. What hasn’t changed is their fight for LGBTQ+ equality, says Sara, on the phone from Calgary. “We ended up being political because we were gay. We were out and gay because we really couldn’t hide that. We were fucking gay! And everyone knew we were gay and we thought, we’re just going to use this. Why do we have to feel bad about this? It’s awesome!”
After 13 years of using music as the vehicle for their message, the twins have launched the Tegan and Sara Foundation to raise funds and awareness for LGBTQ+ women and girls. “It became clear to us that by making it official and starting a foundation, we could probably do a lot more.”
Their 2016 tour gave the twins a platform to meet with other LGBTQ+ women, which Sara says gave them insights into the extent of workplace sexism and homophobia. Despite this, she is more hopeful than cynical about the current socio-political climate. “There are people, I think, who are ready to be mobilised and engaged and sometimes it takes really fucked-up things happening for them to finally get in the ring.”
Get Metro delivered to your inbox
/MetromagnzL @Metromagnz @Metromagnz
