So I’ve noticed a trend on social media as of late that is
really starting to bother me. Less because of who it involves and more because it’s
really difficult for me to understand that people don’t see it for the misogyny
that it really is. I’m talking about all of the attacks on Taylor Swift.
Honestly, this has been something that has been going on in
the media for years. T-Swift did a whole song based on the media’s perception
of her and her personal life. That’s really what “Blank Space” is about after
all. Swift has an image of a serial dater, but even that is steeped in
misogyny. The media and the public at large criticize Taylor for dating
different guys at a rate that isn’t honestly out of the norm for women of her
age. However, for some reason, we attach this idea to Swift that this makes her
some kind of boy crazy siren. It’s ridiculous. When I was in my early 20s, I
probably dated as many guys as Taylor has.
Then there’s the double standard that accompanies her
songwriting. Swift is consistently criticized for writing songs about her
relationships. It’s treated as though somehow she should be ashamed of
relationships ending. The truth is that the best songwriting comes from a place
of honesty. Taylor is just expressing her own regrets and feelings surrounding
her relationships. We praised such honest and vulnerable songwriting when it
comes from the male voice. Ed Sheeran has made just as much of a career
discussing his past breakups and relationships. We need only look to his hit
song, “Don’t” for an example of this. But somehow, Taylor’s songs like “Dear
John” and “We Are Never Getting Back Together” are exploitative and used to
paint this picture in the media of the “crazy ex-girlfriend.”
However, for a long time, despite the media’s
characterization of Swift, she was still considered by many in the general public
as an “American sweetheart,” the good girl who can do no wrong. In the last two
years, there has been an increasing backlash against Swift. Some of her critics
call her out for a carefully cultivated public image, even going so far as
going above and beyond for fans, that they deem as unauthentic and fabricated.
Her feuds with Katy Perry and Kanye West have mostly been nurtured and
cultivated by a media who would rather tear successful women down than build
them up.
Here is the truth about American culture, as much as we
enjoy putting our celebrities on a pedestal, we love it even more to tear them
down off of the pedestal where we put them. When it comes to the way we treat
young female celebrities the whole thing reeks of misogyny, internalized and
otherwise. I just want to look at a couple of the issues that people seem to
have with Taylor Swift.
Her battle with Apple Music over how they pay artists for
streaming their music was the hot topic of 2015. It was the policy of Apple
Music to not pay royalty fees to artists for music streamed during a user’s
free trial period of three months. In response to the policy, Swift decided to
pull her new album 1989 from the
streaming service. The truth is that Taylor was right. If a company is using
her music, she should receive the proper compensation, and this was a battle
that Swift was able to fight because she already had a certain level of
success. But the result of Apple reversing their policy didn’t only benefit
Swift; it benefited all artists. I think back to a similar battle that
Metallica fought against Napster in the early 2000s. Sure some people wanted to
vilify Metallica, but the backlash didn’t seem to be at the same level of
vitriol as the charges leveled against Swift for her stand.
Swift is also criticized for her silence on certain social
justice issues. Now, Taylor is coming from the country music genre, a place
that saw the band, The Dixie Chicks, lose much of their fan base for speaking
out against the war in Iraq and specifically against then President George W
Bush. It’s honestly a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situation. If Taylor
uses her voice to address the social issues that some have decided that she
should address, then she is likely to face the same level of backlash because
she should “just shut up and sing” rather than express her opinion, a directive
given to female singers far more frequently than their male counterparts. If
she doesn’t speak out, she is accused of being uncaring about these issues,
particularly when it comes to women’s issues.
However, her actions often speak louder than words. Instead
of just talking about the injustice in the trial around the accusations of
sexual assault by the singer, Kesha, and her fight to be released from her Sony
contract to make music without her abuser, Dr. Luke, Swift donated $250,000
dollars to the cause. Swift also famously sued a radio DJ who groped her for a
single dollar. She made it clear that this suit wasn’t about money but about
doing what’s right and standing up for herself as women.
Yes, it’s true that as a white, successful entertainer
Taylor Swift has a certain level of privilege, but it is unfair to put all of
these expectations for her to represent all women in their fight for equality.
As a feminist, she should have the choice to use her voice and platform when
and how she sees fit. To somehow say that she is less of a feminist because she
doesn’t go headlong into the social justice battles that we have decided she
needs to fight on our behalf is a micro-aggression that demands she act as a
spokesperson for all women. This is an unfair expectation. We don’t expect
successful male African American artists to act as the spokesperson for all
issues involving people of color. I don’t remember a targeted outrage and
attack on Kanye West when he met with Trump during the transition to the White
House.
There are somehow different standards for women in
entertainment. It’s unfair, and it’s misogyny. So can we please stop tearing
each other down all of the time? Can we stop this culture of calling out others
for what they didn’t do that we’ve decided is their responsibility?
Can we please just leave Taylor Swift alone and focus on the
real problems of misogyny in this country instead of contributing to the toxic
environment?
