Women of Rock: Tina Turner

It was only after I started chanting that I realized, well, that's what you've put out there. That's what people see. They have no way of knowing anything else. So that's what I accepted. And as soon as I got around to accepting it, that's when it all started to change — where the knowledge of who and how I am became public and people accepted me differently.

Do you think there is a double standard for physical beauty in rock & roll? There are no female Meat Loafs or Alice Coopers.
Yeah! It's always been a priority for me to look as good as I can. Even when Ike was totally in control, telling me what I could and could not wear, I did my best. I knew that I was always capable of making myself look better. I'd look back at photographs, and I wasn't pleased. And I wanted to be. Now that I'm in control, I'm still working on myself. I don't think I'll ever stop. I'm crazy when it comes to this. I think what people don't realize is that it's important for self-esteem. It's not dressing always for someone — for a man or for your public — it's for the individual. It has to be for you. You must love and care for yourself, because that's when the best comes out. You need to know what is good for you.

The last time we talked, you were joking about coming to terms with that unusual body of yours.
For me that was half the battle — taking a good, hard look. I have a short neck. Very short neck. I have very long arms, very long legs, and the torso is short — just like a horse. My problem is to stretch myself, make myself look long. So I'm in the mirror often; I care about open-toe shoes, how the foot is setting in a shoe. It's down to that.

Ah, but anyone who's seen you dance knows it's some kind of voodoo physics — to do what you do on such a small surface area in such high heels. Tina locomotion is the bedrock mojo of rock & roll.
Well, you know, it's because you're on your toes. I'm never standing on my feet, with all the weight on both of them. I'm always either on the right leg or the left. And it's basically with the weight on the front of the foot. The only time it's full on is when I'm doing a heavy dance step, because you need to balance. But it's not about the high heel at all — it's the lift for me. It keeps me up where I can have the spring, the ability to move fast, to leap.