Lita Ford admits she struggled to be accepted as a female rock musician earlier in her career.
Butcher Babies’ Heidi Shepherd has admitted to feeling shunned by metal elitists, and In This Moment’s Maria Brink has experienced misogyny onstage – while Ford says she faced sexism in the music industry in the past.
Ford tells Rolling Stone: “I was pretty oblivious to the fact that I didn’t have a penis between my legs. It never dawned on me. All I knew is that I had fingers and I had the lust for hard rock.
“I never thought, ‘Oh, I’m not a dude and chicks don’t do this.’ A lot of people in the industry thought it was wrong and didn’t want to accept the fact they were producing a female artist.
“Even some of my bandmates I had trouble with. They would think, ‘If she can do it then I can do it.’ They’d come back a few years later and say, ‘Do you still need a guitarist?’
Ford recently admitted that she harbours “no hard feelings” towards ex-partner Tony Iommi, despite claiming he abused her in her forthcoming book Living Like A Runaway.
Her memoir also describes drink and drug-fuelled encounters with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Eddie Van Halen and Dee Dee Ramone.
The book is out in the US and will be released in the UK on April 7.
