Okay ladies now let's get in formation.
Let's talk about girl gangs and feminism, shall we? I think it's a pretty easy topic to digest, no?
Wrong.
Taylor Swift -- you know, legendary, iconic, will go down in history, Taylor Swift -- brought forth the power girl group movement in 2015. Compiled of 10 to 15 various celebrities -- models, singers, actors -- Swift and her entorauge make headlines and swept the media off their feet.
But what makes them so special?
Swift rose from her ashes of a media witchhunt from her last album, Red, and bloomed a powerful, quasi-feminist character that demanded equality and acceptance of the strong woman. Swift, who was practically ripped down and torn apart for years over her running theme of bashing ex-lovers in her songs, deemed it time for women to stand up for themselves. Why should One Direction be able to sing about every girl that wronged them and it's "so hot" but Taylor crooning over one of the star-studded men she courted and then left is "totally annoying"?
Taylor led the charge of the Strong Girl Movement. She brought her gang on red-carpets with her. She wore more black, tight clothing, and more red lipstick. She called out sexism in interviews. She made it clear that she was done.
But.
There's always a wrench in the cog.
There's many faults to Taylor's weak infrastrucure of her New Wave Feminism.
Firstly, Taylor very much is a figurehead of white feminism.
When MTV released the nominees for song of the year for their 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Swift -- who often wins multiple awards in one award show -- received a nomination for her Girl Group anthem, Bad Blood. Nicki Minaj, a feminist-rapper in and of herself (with a few theoretical faults in her platform) felt slighted that her smash-hit song Anaconda wasn't nominated.
If I was a different "kind" of artist, Anaconda would be nominated for best choreo and vid of the year as well. 😊😊😊— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
She then made a comment that was heard around the world.
If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊— NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) July 21, 2015
Swift, taking this as a personal attack
From there, all hell broke lose. Nicki said she wasn't even talking about her, and didn't even mention her name. She began RT'ing fans defending Nicki and attacking Taylor for attacking Nicki.@NICKIMINAJ I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 21, 2015
Taylor failed her. She failed in her lack of knowledge on the subject. She not only attacked Nicki when Nicki wasn't actually attacking Swift particularly (the entire entertainment industry has a body-awareness and confidence issue) but she had to add the "Maybe one of the men took your slot."
Not cool, Taylor.
We could trot down the trail of feminism vs. racism. We could look at how black women are almost always hyperaware that they are not only women, but they are also black. Not only do they have to dismantle the patriarchy, they have to fight racism also. But, we won't. (But there are plenty of resources to read if you are interested.)
But let's just look at the obvious. Taylor Swift was celebrating women and women sticking together. She then dragged Nicki through the mud on a public platform, knowing Nicki's obvious anger. It was completely unjustifiable.
Furthermore, Bad Blood, though a video of strong women looking tough and badass, is ultimately a song dedicated to destroying Katy Perry, Swift's known enemy in the entertainment industry. The entire music video was about fighting and destroying another woman. It almost negates the entire Girl Gang momentum.
But now, let's take a minute stop in the Kardashian World.
Enter #Swiftgate.
Kanye West's hit song "Famous" includes the lyrics, "I think me and Taylor still might have sex. Why? I made that bitch famous."
West, referencing his infamous 2009 interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the VMA's, claims that he had Taylor's permission to release the lyrics, after Swift publicly attacked him for including the lyrics. At the 2016 Grammys, Swift said,
“I want to say to all the young women out there: There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame.”"
Then, the media and the public sided with Taylor.
Kim Kardashian, who was keeping quiet, decided to unleash a wrath unlike any other.
In a series of Snapchat videos posted to the reality stars Snapchat account, Taylor can be heard talking to West, saying that the lyrics are "an honor" after West reads her the lyrics. She can be heard saying,
“And, you know, if people ask me about it, I think it would be great for me to be like, look, he called me and told me the line before it came out. Joke’s on you guys, we’re fine.”
The videos rapidly spread through social media, calling on to Swift to make a comment. She posted a note from iPhone on her Instagram.
It's interesting because Taylor says she wants to "be included out of this narrative" and yet, her entire career seems to be built on the platform of those attacking Taylor and Taylor being the "sweet, innocent" girl that has nothing to hide or shy away from. Her platform was built on that innocence and Kim Kardashian, alongside Minaj began to topple it.
Don't get me wrong, I love Taylor Swift. But there's a lot wrong with her platform and what she stands for. She is a perfect example of the falsehoods of feminism and idealism that exists in Hollywood. Though I respect her trying to unite women, she's also uniting very specific women. Her "innocent" act is slowly crashing to the ground, as more and more people are doubting how trustworthy she is.
She claims to be a "huge" feminist but didn't stand up to speak out for Hillary Clinton -- like many starlets, such as her arch nemesis Katy Perry did -- and she hardly spoke out against any sexism in the media.
Taylor epitomizes the struggle that many celebrities face when they try to appear three-dimensional.
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