Post by W.T.Faulkner on Feb 10, 2017 12:15:29 GMT -5
This was such a fascinating read and such a spot-on analysis of her fame/persona.
I'm a year older than Taylor Swift, and her ascension into fame while she was still a teenager hit right around that same point in life for me. I've always disliked her solely on the principle that she's tried to stay 16 for the last decade. Like, bitch, we're grown up now. lol It's super pathetic to be writing songs like she does when you're our age.
Some of her songs are catchy, but I would be surprised if anyone over the age of 18 really believed her image. I think someone in her circle (I don't think she is smart enough to have figured this out on her own) realized that making her hopeless search for love was a great narrative - "I Knew You Were Trouble" is a perfect example - the song was written just out of general feelings - but it is much more marketable when there are whispers about who it is about, so you just feed the rumors with sly little remarks, true or not.
I do have conflicting feelings about her interactions with fans though. You know that she is doing it for attention, obviously. But does that undo the good that might come out of it? In 9th grade, I felt like I had a "genuine" interaction with Justin Timberlake - Looking back, I know I was stupid for thinking that, but god did it make me feel really good at the time. I wasn't particularly pretty or popular or happy, I struggled with an ED and depression, but that meeting somehow made me feel better. Would we be better off teaching teenagers how to find self-worth from within and teaching better coping mechanisms? Absolutely - but if a celebrity uses a little bit of that fame, no matter how self serving it is, to help kids feel good, can it be all that bad?
I do think she is re-enforcing negative ideas re: relationships and womanhood, but most movies, TV, and magazines do that. She isn't the problem, but just one more piece of it.
"Swift is clearly rejecting the traditional femininity and victimised posture she’s occupied for so long. She’s all about narratives, and the reinvention of her image is the start of a new one. The question is, however, after being exposed playing the victim in plain sight for over a decade, will anyone believe it?"
I don't think she is. She's reworking her "image", sure, but I think she's going to continue to play the victim and be all "mean people in the industry made me do it" blah blah blah. She's been in the victim role for so long she's not capable of being anything else, regardless of what she's wearing or who she's hanging out with.
Okay, that part cracked me up. She's using more eyeliner! Her hair is messier! Her friends have tattoos!
She is perpetually in the mindset of a 15 year old girl. Nothing is ever her fault, all boys are awful and everyone betrays you. Girl, please. Grow up. She is always put out as a role model for young girls and I grimace at the idea of my kids looking up to someone like her. She tries to destroy people and is worshipped for it. It is gross.
i know what you're trying to say, but be careful. 15 year old girls are naive, immature children.
TS is a manipulative, calculated, grown ass woman. she knows EXACTLY what she's doing. her mindset is not at all that of a 15 year old girl, and i actually think painting her with the "delicate, naive little girl" who just needs to grow up is just as dangerous and exactly what she wants.
that bitch that got Emmett Till murdered wasn't naive or caught up in the time or any other nonsense people try to say to alleviate her responsibility. she's a hateful piece of shit who thinks others are less than human.
TS didn't try to get anyone literally murdered, but she did her damn best to try and kill Kanye's career. FUCK. HER.
i think we should start speaking of women like her as being in the mindset of adult darth beckys. because THAT's what they are. don't insult the youth lol.
Absolutely. She got famous on the image of the sweet, innocent, naive little girl but she's not fooling anyone now (or at least any adults, anyway). She knows damn well what she's doing.
Her music is mindless running candy. The beats are generally the pace I need.
Beyond that, I got nothin else. She's a slave to her carefully-crafted image, and at some point, it'll stop making sense to teenagers why a 35 year old is still singing about their life.
And for a while she was obsessed with dating barely legal boys. And if she were a man or another race people would have been losing their minds. I just really don't like her.
And for a while she was obsessed with dating barely legal boys. And if she were a man or another race people would have been losing their minds. I just really don't like her.
Well...I don't know about that - she may not be uber-talented, but I think her level of fame would give her the same shield of Woody Allen. Maybe not...I don't really think Woody Allen is as talented as others, but he somehow garners respect in the community. Maybe it would be the same.
But if she were black or latina...ah, hell no, she would have every misogynistic slur thrown at her - "Maneater" would be considered kind.
Coming out of lurkdom on this board to say that this article was spot on.
Also, anyone else remember when she tried to silence nicki minaj with her fake ass feminism?? Classic TS and exactly why I could never stand her. Soooo fake. As a pp mentioned, I knew she was phony back in the day of the wide eyed omg award acceptance speeches she gave. Ugh. Hope she fizzles out.
Coming out of lurkdom on this board to say that this article was spot on.
Also, anyone else remember when she tried to silence nicki minaj with her fake ass feminism?? Classic TS and exactly why I could never stand her. Soooo fake. As a pp mentioned, I knew she was phony back in the day of the wide eyed omg award acceptance speeches she gave. Ugh. Hope she fizzles out.
I dunno, maybe she realizes that she was going against much more deserving artists so she is genuiniely surprised.
Thought bubble says "OMG, I can't believe they are still eating this shit up! How basic can I be and still win...."
That Romeo and Juliet song pisses me off. (A) She's forbidden from dating the guy and he goes behind her back and sorts it out with her dad and announces they're getting married and she's all "yay ok!"; and (B) Romeo and Juliet DIED you dumbass
There's also a reference to the Scarlet Letter in that song. I always figured she wrote it after a 10th grade English class.
That Romeo and Juliet song pisses me off. (A) She's forbidden from dating the guy and he goes behind her back and sorts it out with her dad and announces they're getting married and she's all "yay ok!"; and (B) Romeo and Juliet DIED you dumbass
There's also a reference to the Scarlet Letter in that song. I always figured she wrote it after a 10th grade English class.
Oh yeah! Her dad forbids her from dating yet she's the Scarlet Letter? Whuh?
Post by BlondeSpiders on Feb 10, 2017 19:16:36 GMT -5
I just wanted to pop in to give a shout out to Buzzfeed. It gets slammed all the time for being nothing more than ridiculous listicles, and that is most of their content, to be fair. But I've read some amazing longform pieces from Buzzfeed and I don't think they get the props they deserve for their news journalism. Not that this piece is the best example of it!
There's also a reference to the Scarlet Letter in that song. I always figured she wrote it after a 10th grade English class.
Oh yeah! Her dad forbids her from dating yet she's the Scarlet Letter? Whuh?
She gives blowies under the bleachers to get back at her Dad..? Sorry 😐 I've never heard the song; this thread is the most I've learned in one sitting about SwiftyDelight, but I know a Fake Ass Bitch when I see one. P.s. She's never read The Scarlet Letter 😉
I'll give her a pass on her early work because she was a child, but come on, girl, you're grown now. PLUS she got to sleep with Hiddleston. Don't expect my pity.
My daughters do love her music, but they are 4 and 6, so...
I think this is where I'm at (and I'll admit to finding Shake it Off catchy). To me, it was one thing to write songs like that Romeo & Juliet song when you really are 16. But now when you're old enough to rent a car? Nah.
Leaving aside the Kanye feud which is a mess in which I think each side is guilty...it's sort of a stretch to say a female songwriter is exploiting her victimhood by writing about her breakups. That's ripe material. See Kelly Clarkson, Adele, etc. I remember reading that Ani DiFranco's fans were pissed when she got married because she wasn't the angry female anymore. I think Dear John is a great song! Fuck that dude. (I mean, in theory, I have no idea what he did to her but I just love the "shining like firelights over your sad empty town") lyrics. If I ever broke up with someone that would be my song.
That is a great article. Is there anything authentic about Taylor Swift? At all?
According to blind gossip, no. She says TS's relationships are all contracts, half her bf's are gay and she's brearding for them. That the breakup narrative is part of the deal and that she may also be gay. And also thatbher girlfriend pack (whatever they call it) is all young actresses and models who hate her but want career exposure. She ruthlessly kicks them out of they displease her.
Post by lyssbobiss, Command, B613 on Feb 11, 2017 7:54:48 GMT -5
She's the fucking worst. And fuck us collectively as a society for ignoring Kanye's claims until his wife, another white woman, came in with the receipts. I'm so fucking sick of her and her privileged ass thinking she can just rewrite the narrative as innocent white girl hurt by the mean black man. She needs to get fucking lost and shut the hell up about feminism. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM, TAYLOR.
"This prick is asking for someone here to bring him to task Somebody give me some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him I'll pull the trigger on it, someone load the gun and cock it While we were all watching, he got Washington in his pocket."
Post by sugarglider on Feb 11, 2017 10:47:51 GMT -5
Amazing article.
My initial dislike of TS came from my observation that she cannot sing. (See, whatever awards show when she butchered a Fleetwood Mac song alongside a far more talented Stevie Nicks.)
And I think I've probably given her a pass for her immature lyrics in Romeo & Juliet because she was literally a child when she wrote them (right?). And I do appreciate that she is a pop star who actually writes music instead of leaving it to those four Swedish dudes.
But this article really drove home for me how she has used and gained celebrity by embodying a dangerous stereotype of white feminine fragility. I do think there is some positive in her outreach to fans, but is that outweighed by the method through which it furthers her racist narrative?
And I can't recall how I felt about it at the time, but Beyoncé >>>>> TSwift
Whenever TS gets caught in shenanigans, go directly to The Read or look online to see Kid Fury's thoughts because he hates her and is hilarious. He once called her the physical embodiment of white lies and I about died.
I never paid her much mind, but when you see it all laid out like this it's pretty plain she's the worst.
It was this very board that got me to realize that she and that other white blonde chick whatshername Carrie Underwood (?) were actually different people. CEP Teachable Moment
I misread this and thought you were going to ruin Carrie Underwood for me. I don't listen to that pop-py country anymore but I've always liked her as a person.
Also, Pearl Jam's "Black" is the best breakup song of all time. </3 /gavel
Coming out of lurkdom on this board to say that this article was spot on.
Also, anyone else remember when she tried to silence nicki minaj with her fake ass feminism?? Classic TS and exactly why I could never stand her. Soooo fake. As a pp mentioned, I knew she was phony back in the day of the wide eyed omg award acceptance speeches she gave. Ugh. Hope she fizzles out.
This article was the first I had heard of the Nicki Minaj thing. It made me sick my my stomach when I read what she said and how she tried to put a feminist spin on it. Way to make everything about you, Swifty.
And this? This is some psychopathic behavior right here: "Despite saying she wants to be “excluded from the narrative”, Swift has reminded the public of this same narrative countless times in jokes and speeches. She even has a framed photograph of the moment in her Nashville home."
It was this very board that got me to realize that she and that other white blonde chick whatshername Carrie Underwood (?) were actually different people. CEP Teachable Moment
I misread this and thought you were going to ruin Carrie Underwood for me. I don't listen to that pop-py country anymore but I've always liked her as a person.
Also, Pearl Jam's "Black" is the best breakup song of all time. </3 /gavel
Amen, sister. That is the best song. It's actually at my top 10 of all time.
"Not gonna lie; I kind of keep expecting you to post one day that you threw down on someone who clearly had no idea that today was NOT THEIR DAY." ~dontcallmeshirley
It was this very board that got me to realize that she and that other white blonde chick whatshername Carrie Underwood (?) were actually different people. CEP Teachable Moment
I misread this and thought you were going to ruin Carrie Underwood for me. I don't listen to that pop-py country anymore but I've always liked her as a person.
Also, Pearl Jam's "Black" is the best breakup song of all time. </3 /gavel
Post by notsocreepylurker on Feb 11, 2017 22:14:35 GMT -5
Not at all surprised by NQB's thoughts on TS. She's been on my eye-roll list for awhile after her fat/obese comments about her MIL (was it MIL? might have been another relative)
Honest question - what type of things did the mean girls say to TS in middle/high school? I don't want to dismiss ANYONE'S experience of bullying but when I was growing up, skinny pretty white girls with blonde hair didn't get bullied in my school so I cannot think of what was said to her.
Post by notsocreepylurker on Feb 11, 2017 22:16:33 GMT -5
OH! and while anything by PJ is THE BEST. My best break up song vote is for You Oughta Know. C'mon - she asks if the other chick goes down on him in a theater! The song was slightly ruined for me learning it was about Dave "Cut it out!" Coulier.
Not at all surprised by NQB's thoughts on TS. She's been on my eye-roll list for awhile after her fat/obese comments about her MIL (was it MIL? might have been another relative)
Honest question - what type of things did the mean girls say to TS in middle/high school? I don't want to dismiss ANYONE'S experience of bullying but when I was growing up, skinny pretty white girls with blonde hair didn't get bullied in my school so I cannot think of what was said to her.
Pretty sure her version of being bullied was coming in as homecoming court rather than Queen. Between daddy's money and her thin blonde being, she no doubt expected adulation and when she didn't come in first or adored, she was "bullied" per pretty princess blond mean-girl standards.