Pulling a ‘Swifty’

blog swift 3

BLOG SWIFT

As a self proclaimed T – Swift fanatic and lover of all things great and Taylor, it is not ideal that I find myself having a touch of “bad blood” (pardon the pun) with my musical stimulus and idol.

Now let me take a moment to set the scene for you, “We are never, ever, getting back together” is one of my ALL TIME favourite shower songs, and I’ve cried incessantly to “Clean” after a break up (sigh) – and I guarantee you I would kick your ass at a car karaoke duel of “Shake it off”.

Tay is my guilty pleasure.

But goddam – she is more guilt than pleasure.

Recently I attended Taylor Swift’s 1998 world tour, flying across Australia just to have a small taste of a woman who sings about extremely imperative world issues, such as boys, breakups and mean girls. Understandably, being the Tay Swift enthusiast that I am, I sat back quietly in the bleachers, looking on in admiration as Swift paraded out her beautiful model #squad – each taking their turn to rave about Tay - Tay and her love for the simple things, baking and cats. As the video continued, I began, for the first time (since seeing Taylor sing “crazier” when I was just 14) to see through the façade that demonstrates Taylor Swift as relatable – realising much to my horror that I am far too “normal” to ever grasp the opportunity of being one of Taylor Swift’s friends, even if it were an opportunity that existed only in some kind of virtual reality and the crazy place where Donald Trump speaks favourably in support of females – my dreams.

Swift and her people closely guard her image – and this is why we should care…

Journalist Dayna Evans thinks her subtle manipulation of ideas about friendship and feminism is dangerous for young fans – and alas, I tend to agree. (Sorry Tay, Tay – please don’t hurt me).

“Swift isn’t here to help women – she’s here to make bank. Seeing her on stage cavorting with World Cup winners and supermodels was not a win for feminism, but a win for Taylor Swift.”

"Tay’s music videos are on the wrong side of “thought provoking” – in fact some of them, are just plain wrong.

OK – so Tay’s “Blank Space” is a great song with an incredibly catchy beat – and I applaud her for piss taking the media who portray her as a “boy hungry”, “dating monster” (wow – excuse my incredibly poor analogies) I actually think the fact that she can have a #lol at herself is great, and is part of the reason why I once managed to find her incredibly relatable –

BUT HAVE WE ALL SEEN THAT FILM CLIP?

The entire video, with the lyrics set against it, is a story about entrapping men in a fantasy world with lavish gifts and activities, only to keep them by means of what can only be described as abuse. Not only does she threaten him with a knife, but she tries to set him and his clothing on fire, where soon after she attempts to poison him; and oh, then she goes on another rampage and smashes his car. I’m not sure about you – but when we delve deeper into all of this, it seems that Taylor Swift is essentially demonstrating to her younger fans that violence against the opposite sex is alluring, cute, sexy and tolerable, when really all of those things - are definitely not.

(If you want to see if for yourself click here)

https://youtu.be/e-ORhEE9VVg

Lets compare Swift with some other noteworthy artists.

I think for a while there I was definitely blindsided to what is the “Taylor Swift steam train” - I was taken on the ride of a life time through song lyrics that can only be described as genius – as I believed the girl that I was listening to was just the same as you and I. However – when I truly ponder Taylor and her rise to fame – I realise that there are other artists who are far more genuine then Swift and have not rose on the coat tale of models and other exceptionally famous artists.

In November, I remember the re – emergence of singer Adele (after a career hiatus to raise a child). Her new take on fame was refreshing as she highlighted “My Career’s not my life, it’s my hobby,” she told rolling stone magazine, adding that she’d reconnected with a bunch of childhood friends and was thinking about taking them on tour.

So that’s your squad? The interviewer asked her.

“I’ve heard about a squad”, Adele replied snorting in amusement. “I wish my squad was all supermodels, we are in our brains”.

OH Adele, what a refreshing blast of reality.

So, where does this leave us?

BY no means do I dislike Tay Swift, as I mentioned at the beginning, I am somewhat a fanatic. However – no longer do I want to be her friend – nor would I like to join her squad. Taylor Swift epitomizes what it is to be the ‘popular’ group at school, and that is not a group I have ever, nor will ever be apart of. I think it’s time for Tay to ditch flaunting all her gorgeous ‘friends’ and start writing some lyrics that tackle female empowerment – in an already male dominated society.

I still love you Tay – but please, PLEASE start showing me that someday you might just love me back.

Until then, I have no problem listening to Adele – she’s not likely to pull a ‘Swifty’.