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Why Sexism and Misogyny aren’t the only reasons for people not to support Taylor Swift

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    12th September 2024 | 5 Views | 0 Likes

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    Why Sexism And Misogyny Aren’t The Only Reasons For People Not Supporting Taylor Swift

    Disclaimer: These are just my opinions, not proven facts. A single article of mine is not going to affect the success of a global popstar in the slightest.

    I was a certified Taylor Swift stan until the May of 2023. When I was 16 and staying in a hostel, away from my family, listening to her music was a great source of comfort to me. But last year, I started to re-assess my opinions on the pop icon. It all started when she began dating Matty Healy,the lead singer of a band called The 1975. It’s a well-known fact that he had made some controversial statements that were racist, sexist, misogynist, etc. I was still willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, even though she decided to associate with someone like him.

    I was waiting for her to address the issue, take accountability, and apologize to her audience, and re-affirm her beliefs of equality and non-discrimination. But, what did I get? Her flaunting her relationship even more, cold silence regarding the topic, and suddenly she announces a collaboration with the Dominican and Nigerian rapper, Ice Spice; on her song Karma, from her 2023 album: Midnights. Please note: Ice Spice was one of the targets of the many racist comments of Swift’s “romantic partner”. Also note that the post for the announcement did not even mention the issue.

    You guys see why that seems problematic, right? A white woman does not address her partner making racist remarks about another artist, and instead decides to take advantage of her having a larger platform to entice the new up and coming artist; in order to save her public image!

    This reeks of performative activism. What happened to how she thought the systemic racism faced by people of colour in the U.s was seen by her as, “terrifying, sickening and prevalent”, as she puts it in the Instagram post in which she expressed her views on politics for the first time? Where’s passion to speak out against these issues that drove her to tears, in her 2020 documentary: Miss Americana?

    When this happened, I lost all my respect for her, as an artist, but especially as a person. As a result, I became more open to hearing out other people’s criticism of her, which I hadn’t done before; as I was absolutely obsessed with her, and would get really defensive when someone had even a tiny negative thing to say about her.

    Here are some genuine reasons for people not supporting Taylor Swift. Some of them are mine, and some are more genera White privilegeTaylor Swift is a rich White, billionaire. She still loves to complain about how much it sucks to be a celebrity with lots of money and fame with millions of adoring fans. Yeah, that’s is totally believable!

    Her fans are also primarily White; we don’t need reports or expert data to know that. They also seem like they’re really rich, as they buy out 10s of copies of the very same album. I am talking about this to illustrate that, Swift’s music only discusses first world problems. People from other backgrounds who are facing real oppression find her music and her victim complex rather annoying!

    I recognize that being a woman in the music industry, you face discrimination; however, Swift’s gender is the only disadvantage she has. Compare that to a Black or Asian artists! Think about how much discrimination they face! Taylor Swift has never addressed or even acknowledged the occurences of such discrimination. Infact, she does not seem to have any issue with it, as she dated someone who endorses such discrimination.

    She only seems to care about maintaining her public image! I wouldn’t be as selfish, if I were as influential as her. I guess we could even forgive that. But she also seems to actively take down Black artists. She released a new version of her music in order to block Sza from the top spot on the charts. When Sza still beat her out, Swift’s fans cyber-bullied Sza by making racist comments on her social media, and sending her death threats. Well, did Swift even try to stop this? Obviously not. Why would she? If it had been her, she would have played the victim by writing 20 songs at the least, whining about it. But it’s not her!

    Feuds With Younger Artists:

    Even recently, she has a feud with Billie Eilish, regarding artists releasing multiple versions of the same album. I guess it’s not confirmed, but why isn’t Swift stopping her fans from harassing Eilish, on social media platforms? Oh I forgot! They are not attacking her. Are they? She also had a feud with Olivia Rodrigo, regarding the issue of songwriting credits. Overall, Swift seems like she wants to remain at the top, always. And she will do anything to maintain that position, including taking down younger or new artists who she might consider as a threat to her success, or as even a competitor. I do appreciate her cunning, for sure.

    Mediocre Music:

    As I mentioned, her music only seems to apply to rich white girls and women. It’s not a wonder that she’s as successful as she is. Because, her audience consists of people who are wealthy enough to afford to buy multiple copies of her albums, merch, tickets, etc. The artists who don’t have a wealthy fanbase might not be able to support their favourite artist in the same way. Sure, they can listen to their music on free streaming platforms. But, that wouldn’t have as much impact as if you sold a physical copy of your album.

    Anyway, commercial success does not equate to good quality of the music. Swift’s songs all sound the same. I will say, I would still consider her albums Folklore and Evermore as quality content. But the rest of her albums are just basic.

    As I previously mentioned, a lot of people might not relate to her lyrics. It does not reflect the real life struggles of any marginalised communities, or oppressed sections of the society. The world wouldn’t miss anything, if Swift’s music wasn’t in it. She does not have anything important to convey to the society as a whole. Her music is just a rich, White woman portraying other people she has a personal vendetta against, in the worst light that she is capable of.

    We need to keep in mind that Taylor Swift is ultimately a brand. The narrative that she chooses to craft around her could very well be false, and it is crafted with the sole purpose of making money. Let us not idealise celebrities and put them on a pedestal. Let us see them primarily as business people selling their content to us the consumers for money. They are just doing their jobs, no job deserves the amount of devotion or royal treatment as these celebrities get! Remember that you don’t owe them anything; they’re not providing you their content for free. Engage with swift’s content as much as you like. But, be accepting of other people’s criticism of her as a public figure and an artist. Swift neither knows or cares about you, even if she pretends to. All she wants is your money, like all other entertainers.

    Do feel free to share your opinions on my articles, or Taylor Swift in general, with me!

    Sneha Seenu vasan

    @Sneha-Seenu-vasan

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