Taylor Swift scored the cover of the new issue of Time Magazine. Time seems to be doing more and more “celebrity” and “entertainer” covers lately, or is that just me? In any case, I do think Swifty is deserving of a Time cover, moreso than nearly any other person in the music industry. She’s a rare pop star still making money the old-fashioned way, with people actually purchasing her music and lining up to for her concerts. She’s one of the best-selling artists of all time and she’s a marketing genius. I think it’s fine that she got a Time cover. You can read the full Time Mag piece here and here are some highlights.
She has no musical role models? “We’re taught to find examples for the way we want our lives to wind up. But I can’t find anyone, really, who’s had the same career trajectory as mine. So when I’m in an optimistic place I hope that my life won’t match anyone else’s life trajectory, either, going forward. I do have female role models in the sense of actresses like Mariska Hargitay. I think she has a beautiful life, and an incredible career, and I think she’s built that for herself. She’s one of the highest paid actresses—actors in general, women or men—on television, and she’s been playing this very strong female character for, what, 15 years now, something like that. And Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I really love her business, and how she sticks to who she is, and how people relate to it. In other industries, I have female role models. I just struggle to find a woman in music who hasn’t been completely picked apart by the media, or scrutinized and criticized for aging, or criticized for fighting aging—it just seems to be much more difficult to be a woman in music and to grow older. I just really hope that I will choose to do it as gracefully as possible.
She’s comfortable with being seen as a role model: “I don’t find a struggle with that balance, being looked at as a role model, because I think it’s a very obvious and natural thing for people to see you as, when you’re a singer. I’ve always felt very comfortable with it, for some reason. That in particular hasn’t been one of my struggles… But it’s the same thing as living your life based on what your grandkids will say one day… I don’t make it as much about the millions of people who would be disappointed if I were to have some sort of meltdown or scandal or something that made everyone feel like my character wasn’t what they thought it was. I think more about the people in my life that would disappoint: my mom, my dad, my kids, if I ever have them. And that way it’s not as much pressure as thinking about the millions of little minds that you must be shaping. I’m trying to live my life with some sort of thoughtfulness put into my actions, but it’s not because I feel like I’m the president of the International Babysitters Club.
On the gossip that she doesn’t write her own music: “I haven’t heard any of the people I respect in the music industry or in journalism, saying that they think I don’t write my own songs. I think, when I put out Speak Now, which was my third album, and I decided I was just going to write it entirely on my own, to me that was enough of a statement. I felt like I could move on from that. I felt like I had proved my point. That was when I felt free to collaborate with whoever I wanted, because if you actually listen to the music, you can tell that the lyrics are written by the same person. And it’s not a ghostwriter. It’s not some weird, you know—everyone’s got those weird Shakespeare theories that someone else did all his stuff for him. Not to ever compare yourself to Shakespeare. But people need to poke holes in things because of their own stuff. It’s not about me.”
That criticism and feminism: “And we all know it’s a feminist issue. My friend Ed [Sheeran], no one questions whether he writes everything. In the beginning, I liked to think that we were all on the same playing field. And then it became pretty obvious to me that when you have people sort of questioning the validity of a female songwriter, or making it seem like it’s somehow unacceptable to write songs about your real emotions—that it somehow makes you irrational and overemotional—seeing that over the years changed my view. It’s a little discouraging that females have to work so much harder to prove that they do their own things. I see Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea having to prove that they write their own raps or their own lyrics, and it makes me sad, because they shouldn’t have to justify it.”
Being a female celebrity & having her body picked over: “I refuse to buy into these comparisons, because you don’t see it happening to men… If we continue to show young girls that they are being compared to other girls, we’re doing ourselves a huge disservice as a society. I surround myself with smart, beautiful, passionate, driven, ambitious women. Other women who are killing it should motivate you, thrill you, challenge you and inspire you rather than threaten you and make you feel like you’re immediately being compared to them. The only thing I compare myself to is me, two years ago, or me one year ago… You just try to lead by example, and you hope, someday, that if we talk about feminism enough, maybe we’ll start to actually see it make a difference in the way young girls perceive themselves and each other.
I like the way she speaks in this interview, even if I don’t agree with everything she’s saying. She’s has moments where she can be very wry, right? Like, “it’s not because I feel like I’m the president of the International Babysitters Club.” That’s a really great line. I’ve said this before, and I’ll keep saying it – we’re seeing a Tay-Tay in transition. Her thoughts on feminism and the music industry and fame are still not fully formed, but they’re evolving in an interesting direction. But I also think it’s strange that she could not name one woman in the music industry that she would consider a role model, because everyone woman gets criticized, according to Taylor. So, she can only have a role model who never gets criticized? Someone who is always perfect?
Photos courtesy of Martin Schoeller for TIME, Fame/Flynet.
Well she seems to be saying she doesn’t see anyone that had her career trajectory to model after not that she has no role models in the music industry. The whole sentence seems like we are missing a thought.
You go Taylor.. TIME Cover.
I’m tired of her using feminism to victimize herself.
Abbott, I apologize, but you’ll have to turn in your Vagina Card immediately.
From my cold, dead hands, mimif! One can disagree with Swift and still be a social justice warrior! Even if it means I’m going to hell.
*special place in Hell.
Where is Kiddo? I think she might have the hand basket.
The question is mimif: DO YOU still have your Vagina Card???
True story, my qqbeans: I’m fairly certain I was never issued one. Or like, maybe I lost it and stuff, along with my SS card?
I agree. I do think the music industry is sexist, but it’s not a feminist issue every time a woman is criticized or questioned.
All she seems to have gotten from learning about feminism is a few new words to call her ‘haters’.
She doesn’t take criticism well. I think Abbott is right. She cries feminism when she feels attacked. And appears to feel attacked when not receiving a good review.
+10000.
I don’t see any problem of her getting the Time cover either. I just do not like that cover. Blown up close up face photo is not for her.
Its a weirdly bad photo of a very beautiful woman.
I’m not a huge Swifty fan (cough), but it looks like a pretty real photo to me, i.e., not photoshopped to the nth degree.
I will never understand people who think her squinty scrunchy face is beautiful, or ever better, conventionally beautiful. And, yup, that’s about as unvarnished a mag photo as ever you’ll see.
It is the typical Time photo. Its done by their photographer Martin Schoeller, and that is his signature style. He has done a lot of celebs/politicans like that, with the harsh light illuminating every pore and wrinkle. For guys like Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Barak Obama, it makes their grizzled faces look profound. I think people aren’t used to seeing women in such a documentary style photo that isn’t focused on glamour.
true, just google schoeller images and you will see. Some of those pictures are great. I love Jolie’s , but there are many interesting ones. Not necessarily beautiful.
Maybe she won’t be able to “relate” to any women in the music business until she herself stumbles, or has an album that doesn’t do that well. A good role model is someone who has dealt successfully with adversity on some level. Regardless, I give her credit for growing up in the spotlight and not turning into a crackhead. That seems to be hard to do in the entertainment business.
Now I’m gonna go wash my mouth out with soap for saying something nice about TayTay.
“Maybe she won’t be able to “relate” to any women in the music business until she herself stumbles, or has an album that doesn’t do that well. A good role model is someone who has dealt successfully with adversity on some level.”
Interesting point you made here. Her stance on this really just speaks to how fragile she is and her inability to deal with criticism on any level. And I actually like Swifty, but she needs to toughen up.
I actually like the girl. And yes, she’s still a “girl”. She’s still figuring it out but compared to many others her age, she’s drug free, currently drama free and seems to have her head fairly well sorted when it comes to business. What’s not to like?
No-one else has the same career trajectory?
Well, I certainly can’t think of any other female artist who came out of the US country scene, before embracing a more pop sound to sell millions of records around the globe.
Except, y’know, Faith Hill and Shania Twain and LeAnn Rimes…
Faith, Shania and Leeann were never, ever as successful as Taylor has been. Sorry. All were great artists at one time or another. Wildly successful at one time or another. But never did they have the level of fame and success she has, and has had, for the last 4 years. The only country star who has had the cross-over success at the levels as Taylor is Garth Brooks.
And if she had named someone, then there would’ve been the obligatory interviews/quotes with that person, idiot comparison articles, gossipy “Taylor’s role model thinks she sucks…” Wise move for her not to name a name in the music industry.
I thought Shania was pretty successful. Somewhere along the line (maybe after her husband cheated on her with the best friend?) she seemed to bow out. But I thought her success was pretty mainstream — to the point that she got criticized for wearing midriffs, I think. But in musical terms, maybe that’s considered a generation ago.
Really?
Shania Twain’s Come On Over is the best-selling album by a female artist OF ALL TIME, shipping over 40 million copies. She is also the only artist to have 3 consecutive Diamond-certificated albums (Taylor has zero).
Faith Hill’s first “pop” record Breathe sold as many copies in the US alone as Taylor’s most successful album to date (Fearless) did in total worldwide.
LeAnn Rimes went 6x Platinum in the US at age 13 and her Coyote Ugly soundtrack was one of the biggest-selling ever.
@tig @a different kate
That’s true even internationally. From the others you mention, Shania maybe had a bit or two, but I do not recall them right now. Faith Hill who? She might be good but her appeal was not international either. I found out about Leann here on CB after the divorce debacle (tho I know the Coyote movie which influenced fashion, I do remember one song from it, was it Leann’s?). Before that, she might have been another occasional video on VH1 for those who have cable.
TS’s appeal is with teens, it’s important I can see young people recognize her and consume her music in Katy Pery level ( I know, I know, but KT is sold aggressively in my country) or even one of those teens throbs. That is great, she is a woman and deserves a piece of the cake, besides, she has been a decent role model of sorts, she is not giving gynecological exam concerts, for example, she knows she appeals to young people and has been wise to keep a nice image regardless of her love life.
@Tapioca, çI am no expert, but the last time I went to the US, I went to the Ozark/OK area and I was blown away by the strong fan base of country music, I got to go to outdoor concerts and everything. I was even gifted a mixed cd with rock-pop- country that I really love (the song Picture is a favorite of mine, and now I know it is Sheryl’s, but you never hear it on the local radio). It was an eye opening experience, not everything was pop or rock, or what we in the rest of the world see as mainstream.
Besides the old Kenny Rogers songs and that Brad Pitt song from Shania you really do not get to hear lots of country in my country’s radio.
I learned about Woody Guthrie and some other legends from a friend fan on folk (is this right?) that was at exchange in my country, some things are not very known outside the US.
Yeah, I would definitely consider Shania as successful as Taylor.
At some point, she seemed to be everywhere.
Maybe the music industry is in such a sad state today (or maybe in transition?) Taylor’s success seems surprising to people? But there are many female artists who came before her that seemed just as successful.
I find Taylor’s success surprising only if you compare her to someone like Debbie Gibson, who was also a teen phenom. But compared to women as a whole, I don’t think what she’s done is unprecedented. Perhaps people have short memories.
I think it’s fair to say Taylor’s a bit of a standout given the age in which she started, the amount of control she’s retained over her career, and the fact that we’re living in the era of the Internet and streamed music. To be able to sell records the way she does in an age where music sales are showing a distinctly downward trend is pretty incredible. How long she can maintain that momentum is another issue entirely, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders and will probably last quite awhile.
I think her success in this day and age where streaming is popular is notable. But at the same time I’m not sure if she would have been successful pre-Milli-Vanilli when singers were actually expected to know how to sing. I suppose every artist benefits from the time period in which they achieve the most success. She’s someone who would be successful today (given her work ethic and ability to work tools like Twitter to her advantage) but I’m not sure if she would have been successful during Dolly Parton’s time since the expectations from a singer then were much different.
Of the examples you listed, only Leeann Rimes hit it big as early as Taylor, and who in their right mind would consider her a role model? Shania and Faith were older than Taylor is now when they first hit. I read her comments to reflect her reality now. Will she experience the “falling out of favor” syndrome? No doubt- and then there will be plenty of role models!
LeAnn Rimes is going to hate reading that. At one point she made a statement about how she remembers Taylor going to her concerts and being a big fan of hers. Im sure she likes to paint herself as a role model/inspiration for Taylor. LOL!
Her “career trajectory” has been a meticulously planned marketing campaign, jumping from country to pop music princess and now to self-styled “feminist” (which is ludicrous) and ubiquitous street model. Pretending that she hasn’t been mercilessly flogged to the public like McDonald’s hamburgers in disingenuous in the extreme. At least Madonna controlled all the marketing during her career – it seems as if Swift has just been carefully packaged for maximum return, as if she were a new iPhone or something.
She’s pretty, but very marginally talented, and that doesn’t bode well for career longevity. In this interview she sounds like every other Aughtie and Teens kid: convinced she’s unique and a trail-blazer, when she’s really just this generation’s Debbie Gibson.
The only difference between Taylor a and some inspiring artists before her time are technology and inflation. Her talent isnt bigger than others…just her auto tuner…shake it off!
The cover itself does her no favors and she’s a very pretty girl! She’s shrewd, too, and 100% calculated. I suspect she’ll be around for a long time.
She’s certainly the female equivalent to Justin Timberlake, but their problem is that for all their ambition, they can’t really go beyond pop music. That’s their metier, but unfortunately neither is satisfied with it. That will be their undoing.
I think Swift sounds shrewd because she’s been coached to sound shrewd. She’s now a full participant in her own exploitation, but just because her handlers have convinced her that she’s special and unlike anyone before her doesn’t mean it’s true. Little overproduced songs about how mean boys were to her because they didn’t recognize her “specialness” are going to really wear thin when she passes 30.
I actually like her a bit more after this article. That cover is terrible though, it makes me feel like she can’t breathe out of her nose for some reason, like she has a cold.
She definitely seems like a mouth breather.
I agree! My confusion is to have a role model they have to be exactly like you? These other women are very successful but yes their age and beginnings may have been different then Taylor’s… So that means they can’t be role models?! I’m so confused. She could have female role models in other genres based on a lot of different reasons. I find this extremely arrogant but I feel like she’s always this way.
I disagree that Taylor is maturing. Mostly because she blames every criticism on sexism. It sounds like she’s parroting comments and doesn’t understand what she’s saying. She also blames everybody else for her problems and doesn’t take any responsibility for her part in them. I think she wants to mature but still has a juvenile way of looking at things.
Everything’s still all about her. How special and awesome and amazing she is and how mean and nasty and less than everyone else is. She’s just added a few new words to her usual shtick.
I agree with her. Male singers – whether rock, pop, etc., are not picked over to the degree female singers are in their early stages of their career. As someone who follows music, it is the truth and most female singers who have accomplished a lot say that. Now, male singers or groups start being critiqued harshly as their catalogue builds and they can’t possibly match their masterpieces and when they are bored trying new things. But nothing else about them is critiqued too much, the way female singers seem to get it from all angles, and male acts really seem to be all to be the architect of their music trajectory, whereas females are intimidated and have people around them trying to make them fit a mold to keep their songs selling, repeat the same thing, formulaic, because it will sell and make up money.
And being a female in the music business is a lot tougher because you are surrounded by older, more powerful males on the label trying to tell you what you need on your next album and you have to be a strong female like Madonna, one of the few at a young age that created her own destiny in the music biz standing up to the suits who thought they could boss a young pop singer around.
+1
Do you really think that male singers aren’t told to shut up and make Daddy money? Come one. It’s the reason they all exist.
As for someone on her level of ridiculous tweenypop fame, let’s take….Justin Beiber. Now seriously tell me he wasn’t criticized even before the mess he got himself into now, wasn’t rumored to be a tranny, wasn’t rumored to have no genatalia, be a homosexual, sound like a whining baby girl who could never grow up and be a sexual attractive adult man, etc. Word: If you are famous, you take crap. And if you are mega tween famous, you take mega tween level crap.
+2
@ Jayna I mostly agree with you! This site is pretty female friendly and the comment section can still be pretty awful on here sometimes. There are ALWAYS people talking about how she looks. There are ALWAYS people saying that she doesn’t really write her own songs or have any control of her own brand. That just doesn’t happen to male singers to the same degree.
+3. Agree with you too Alyce, I find it interesting that people complain about the excessive use of photoshop on magazine covers. Yet here is Taylor, natural and photoshop free. For the most part, those same people who complain about photoshop are now criticizing her looks.
@Louise177 @Jessica All of diiiiiz. Her feminism is very self-serving and she is using it to get everyone on her side.
you almost have to admire how Taylor manages to turn everything in her favour. now she is using feminism to victimize herself when she has put out so many antifeminist songs.
I really liked her interview. You could pick apart a few things, but then that’s not necessary, really. She’s 23 or so. Everything she says isn’t going to be filled with insight. But most of what she says makes a lot of sense and she seems to be thoughtful and have a lot of insight into herself.
I go again on the she doesn’t write her own songs. I agree with her. She is picked apart when people say she doesn’t write her songs. She does. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have co-writers that add something and get credit or that she doesn’t have music producers who help her take her songs and create them or help arrange them into a different sound. U2 writes their songs, well Bono lyrics and The Edge the music, but they bring on producers who help shape the music and sound. Brian Eno was instrumental in helping U2 transition on The Forgettable Fire into taking their songs and creating more of an atmospheric ambient sound. They had to talk him into coming on as he didn’t relate to their sound but saw the poetry in their music they presented to him and took on the project when he saw they didn’t want to stay with their usual sound. It’s not a hidden fact. It’s talked about when discussing the making of their albums, like so many artists.. Achtung Baby was a massive re-invention for them and the producer was instrumental in helping them incorporate other musical elements and sound to their songs. The same with Danger Mouse on half of their new album. You can actually tell the songs he worked on for them, more experimental in the way the songs U2 wrote are structured.
No one goes around and says U2 doesn’t write their songs. They do. The same with act over act. Seal’s great songwriting never was as good as when the brilliant Trevor Martin produced him, because what he helped create with Seal on his first few albums was amazing and never cookie cutter in musical arrangement. But you have to have the core songs already written to do that, which is why Taylor is a songwriter and does write her music and you can hear her voice to her lyrics on all of her songs. A pop producer helped bring her vision to life with her songs as far as creating more dance music with them. Gaga writes her own music and melodies but she has music producers who bring beats and help craft those songs into what they are on most of them, like Zedd, etc. No one says Gaga doesn’t write her own music.
Trevor Horn, not Trevor Martin. The Unforgettable Fire, not Forgettable Fire.
I need coffee.
Either they don’t believe she writes her own songs and when they do they take the worst lyrics they can find as evidence that she’s shit (from a catalogue of what? 50-60 songs?). All of a sudden she doesn’t have co-writers anymore, everything falls on her shoulders.
Also, I don’t know which song it is but I know she co-wrote one song with somebody (for her new album) and she didn’t like the sound. It felt different than the other songs on the album so she arranged it differently. Her album is very coherent which shows she has a good ear for what is good mainstream music.
Firstly you compose a lengthy post about how men are treated differently than women in the music biz and then you use exclusively male examples with which to compare Swift, who is actually a mere four weeks away from her 25th birthday. The problem with Swift is that she was sold (and sells herself) as a homegrown Girl Wonder who milked her own cows, strained her own jelly, made her own prom dresses, and wrote her own lyrics. She then renigged on that image to pursue pop superstardom, causing people to question the authenticity of her image. It came to light that (shock surprise!) she actually had been using songwriters to lend a helping hand since the getgo…just as one would have seen all along if they looked at her lyric books! And then people began to wonder how much of her schtick was authentic at all, and *that’s* the part that drove Swift crazyfans insane.
But back to the part about women. Does Katy Perry, for example, get credit for co-writing her songs, or do people just laugh at the notion of her as a genuine contributor and dismiss it whole hog? Because if you read the stories about how “Firework” and “You Belong To Me” were written, you’d find that they are nearly identical. They both involve the singers sitting in a corporate room somewhere tossing out ideas with a paid songwriter until they hit upon something they thought worked- no difference at all.
If she wants to rely on the glaringly obvious direction of a rarefied group of music producers (and writers) to change her sound, that’s all on her. The “she doesn’t write her own music” cannard is just the latest way to point out the inauthenticity of a tween phenomenon who has always sold herself to the public as anything but insincere.
I agree with this. Her whole schtick when she first came out was that she was the good, sweet, “not popular” girl who was *so talented* because she writes her own songs, but could never get the guy because she wasn’t like “those girls” who “wore short skirts (while she wore t-shirts).” That gave her an edge, marketing-wise. I mean, actresses and other celebrities say that they were nerds in high school these days for a reason.
Definite +1 on the Katy Perry comment. How many times here have other female pop stars (Perry, Cyrus and Beyonce, for example) been said to have gotten songwriting credit because they only changed a word or two?
(Which is not to say that Swift is stupid and/or is merely a tool of a bunch of executives – but I think Swift is popular primarily because of how she’s branding herself, not because of her musical talent.)
To be honest, as someone who grew up in the ’90s grunge/metal era, the whole selling of “she writes her own songs” is weird to me. It’s not like the members, for example, Slayer or Heart, got constant head pats for writing their own songs. Those bands are generally assumed to write their own songs and would be mocked to oblivion if they didn’t.
I sincerely hope she writes her own music, if only for the sheer fact that if she doesn’t that would mean she pays someone to write that garbage.
+1 million.
She sounds kind of arrogant to me. No other female artist has your career path? You may have a good business plan, Swifty, and great people behind you, but here is one thing you don’t have: real talent. Her voice is thin, her lyrics insipid, and her cutesy innocent persona isn’t gonna’ last her another 10-15 years as she ages. She is all smoke and mirrors (like a lot of modern pop stars) and doesn’t have anything genuine to back it up.
Amen to Abra and Winter Lady! The reason I laugh whenever the conspiracy about whether or not Girl Wunderkind has any help writing her lyrics rears its ugly head is because of how ridiculous the thought is that an adult would have to assist with the drivel that spews out of her mouth.
And by the way, the answer to the million dollar question is “yes.” Others are constantly credited as songwriters, and there was a hilarious article when she first came out in the New Yorker about how she wrote “She’s cheer captain” and a lyricist said “Something about bleachers” and they worked to come up with the line together. Teamwork, people!
I never thought of her as being criticized for not really writing her songs. I thought she was criticized for not really being able to sing.
She could probably be like Diane Warren who writes songs for other people, but maybe she likes performing too much to give up making it clear to people that she can be kind of tone-deaf at times.
Having said that, I do think she articulated herself well in this interview. I did wonder if she got a new PR person to help her frame her answers in a way that makes points both for herself and for the cause of feminism.
Yes, she totally fired her old PR people for her big move to pop. And yes, she is being spoonfed pseudo-feminist poor-me nonsense by her PR people, and like a competent politician, she is good enough at repeating it.
The cover is not flattering, it’s too close, I had to lean back away from my phone to look at it. I also love the barefoot contessa and I’m obsessed with the pioneer woman.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her fully straight-on before. I didn’t recognize her. lol
As for what she said, I almost didn’t click the post because I didn’t want to read her complaining. But after reading it, I like where she is right now and where she might be going.
Love her, always will. She’s grown and matured so much since she came onto the scene and it’s refreshing to watch. Her parents did a good job raising her and she is now doing a great job of becoming herself.
Dolly Parton just rolled her eyes so hard she got a migraine.
I do not think she is comparing herself to Dolly, nor saying she is better that dolly. she probably did not want to mention names at all. Dolly has mostly been a country music star, even if she is very recognized internationally, and has had very successful pop songs next to her country career.
If TS mentioned her name people would be calling her out for trying to compare to Dolly. It is a lose-lose situation.
She didn’t have to compare herself to anyone. She could have claimed Dolly was a huge inspiration not just as an artist but a brilliant business woman who has a strong connection to her fans. TS is smart in business and good to her fans. I don;t see how she can claim NO ROLE MODELS in the industry when Dolly Parton is inspirational to woman in ANY industry.
What?! Um, how about Dolly Parton? Yeah, she has fake boobs, but then again, so does Taylor Swift.
That cover reminds me of Lily Rabe.
Taylor, you sh&t, you are standing on the shoulders of giants. GIANTS.
“But I can’t find anyone, really, who’s had the same career trajectory as mine.” This comment confuses me. Debbie Harry, Madonna, Chrissie Hynde, Joan Jett, Grace Jones, Stevie Nicks,Carly Simon. The list of women in music to look to as role models is endless. There are plenty of women in music that called the shots in their careers. I don’t get it.
If Tay-Tay doesn’t have a role model or mentor in the industry by now…it’s her own damn fault.
She is using her grandmas purse again. What is it with her and these granny bags? Taylor go get yourself some really great purses then I will listen to some of your blah blah I have a vagina whining.
RA , RA feminism ):
The pressed anti- Taylor comments on the site are the most comical and pressed. Wow.
Taylor comes off really smart, interesting, and driven here. Love 1989 and I really like her. And this is coming from someone who was not a fan even a year ago, but watching her you can really tell that their is a driven smart person inside who is bitingly funny.
One thing that I really appreciate about Taylor Swift is that she seems to be actively invested in growing and learning. Clooney has that famous quote about how people stop maturing at the age when they become famous, but Swift seems to be consciously trying not to let that happen. Sure, she’s young and rich and famous and sheltered in a way none of us are, but she pushes herself to grow. Also her fall style is even cuter than her summer style. I want that outfit on my body right now.
I understood her point as that female musicians/celebs get ripped apart, and we are encouraged to engage in that process, which is what makes it difficult to view them as admirable. Who wants to grow up to be a “slut” or “boy crazy” or a “diva.” We don’t create such polarizing narratives around men as we do women, and I’m pretty sure that’s intentional. What you get instead are the packaged products like Katy Perry, or you are Rihanna, defined by an archetypal characteristic rather than a rounded personality.
Her opinions aren’t fully formed yet – you’re right at that – but we might be looking at the development of of one of the best voices for female agency coming into herself. Being told “you can” could make a world of difference for some of her listeners.
This woman has laid down with some very famous older men and dated and bought property near her plythoria of younger man. While she eternally wants to run across the wheat field with flowers in her hair, her history speaks for itself. Yet moms across the country look at her sweet demeanor and say oh yes I want my daughter to be like Taylor. Looks are deceiving. For those who disagree, every other actress/singer who even talks to a man is accused of being a wanton woman, but for some reason, Taylor who writes about her trysts and acknowledges them is given a pass.
She doesn’t need to be given a pass because her sexuality is not for you or anyone else to police. If you aren’t defining male musicians by the number of people they’ve slept with, don’t do it to women. As far as I’ve seen, she hasn’t dated more or less than anybody else in their young twenties.
I have always believed and I know I am in the minority. Taylor Swift is the Walmart of music. Tons of people buy it…like it…consume it…doesn’t mean it’s good though. McDonald’s sells alot of Big Macs too. Good for her..good for walmart and good for McDonald’s.
All the women in the music who have paved her path- who REALLY fought sexism–none of them had any qualities for her to emulate/admire (ie: what a role model is about)? Tay needs to read up on some history….pretty recent history too. To acknowledge those who came before you is a big step. Acknowledging those who really had it tough also might give her a bit more humility.
Is she a marketing genius..yes- and so is McDonald’s
Just my two cents as an old crabby woman 🙂
I agree with you! Although Walmart is a step up. She has become so full of herself, she’s about to bust out of her buster browns. If it were earlier in the day and not Friday and not a semi-blizzard here in the East…..lol……you’d have a team of T-Swizzles telling you how fantabulous…..have a good weekend!
I must be a crabby woman as well; I totally agree. its utterly absurd that she “doesn’t have a role model” in the music industry. That’s almost insulting to the women who came before her and made her getting where she is easier (not saying it was a breeze, she very clearly does work hard). She doesn’t emulate Stevie Nicks for standing up to the pressure of being sexy? That was all Swifty’s idea? She doesn’t emulate Dolly Parton for being a country/pop artist with a huge production crossover success? I can think of a lot of female artists whose careers she should be admiring. She seems more arrogant-and in some areas, ignorant-every interview. You are not revolutionary, TS. You might stand out from the crowd of your peers, but in the world of female musicians you really don’t.
I’m crabby and old myself, and I feel the same way. She is so bland and manufactured. So she is successful. So what? My ex was always talking about what movie he wanted to see in terms of its box office success. Like, ” this movie made SO MUCH money, we have to go see it.” It would genuinely make him cranky when I said that the trailer looked bad or that I didn’t like it after the fact. His POV was that if something made a lot of money then it deserved to be consumed just for that fact alone. Never mind whether it was actually good or not. Sigh. He isn’t alone, that’s for sure.
I think she’s got a point about no female pop stars being like her, to be honest.
Most female pop stars are put on display and have their sexuality played up. I don’t even think it’s their fault; the industry tells them they don’t dare NOT look as sexy as possible. Think of the horrible pressure Dr. Luke put on Keisha, for example.
Taylor looks attractive in her videos and on tour, but she never looks like she’s dressed and behaving in a way engineered to titillate men — and it would undermine her appeal to her fanbase if she did.
There really are no other high-profile female pop artists right now who do not bow to the pressure to be sexualized. Even Pink, who is awesome and kick-ass, has videos where she is dolled up and posed specifically to make her as titillating as possible.
@Bread and Circuses (love the handle, btw)
I guess it all depends on what you believe is dressing to “titillate”. In the last two years, I would argue she definitely plays to the sexual element. She knows what she is marketing- and who she is markeing to. Remember, many women/girls are not “dressing” for boys/men..but for other girls/women.
I would be very uncomfortable with my daughters’ wearing some of her red carpet or concert outfit choices. I mean she had one outfit at the VMA’s where it was pretty much bodysuit with no pants. No pants, bright red lips seems kind of sexy image to me?
She is more toned down than some–totally agree..but she DOES put it out there, have no doubt. Lorde has been much more toned down than her.
And there are many women in music (perhaps not pop and the advent of what you used to be MTV when they played actual music) who did not have to play that card at all. they had chops.
There’s also the fact that not all women inside the entertainment industry or outside of the entertainment industry need to be ‘made’ to wear certain things or be be sexual. I’m not denying that women are ever pushed to be more revealing or sexual beyond what they naturally want by men or others, but I don’t automatically assume that that’s the case with all of them because there’s also the matter of personal preferences. I don’t think Pink is letting herself be forced into anything; she’s never been a modesty crusader, has always been about women doing what they want, women not letting themselves be controlled by men, and has a reputation for not letting anyone control her.
Sometimes women do and wear things not because men forced it upon them or because they’re tragically pining away for the approval of people with dongs, but because they find it badass, appealing, edgy, rebellious, attractive, or cool. Maybe it’s something that in their past they would never have been ‘allowed’ to wear or do. But sometimes the way we’ve been socialized to look at things like red lipstick, or leotards, or miniskirts, or a dance move, or short shorts, or even just female nudity, makes us automatically assume that it’s about having to seduce men.
Go back a couple of generations to the World War II era. There you will have plenty of role models for being a classy singer.
Not your fault Tay-tay that you were born into an era of trash singers and celebrities who are known more for the body parts they flash than for their talent.
I highly doubt that Taylor Swift or any of us for that matter need to regress back to World War II sexual mores. She said role models, not ‘good girls’ or “women who exemplify standards of chaste dress and behavior.” I suppose that if somebody places too high a value on whether or not somebody is willing to comply to being what’s considered “proper and ladylike”, then that is the requirement for being a female role model. But based on her own recent comments about slut-shaming, it looks like Taylor Swift has started to grow past basing female worth on purity, which is a good thing and a sign that she can be growing and evolving as both a person and a feminist. Her objections to having a female role model in the music industry seems to be about the unrealistic standards society holds female entertainers up to, the ways they are treated by gossip/tabloid media, the ways they are judged, and the effects of that.
I think she’s referring more to the business model. There have been very few who have managed to steer their career on the upward trajectory that she has and maintained so much control over their image. Remember, she got her first contract at – what, 14-15? For her to still be going strong ten years later and NOT under the heel of a producer, being able to state flat out that she’s the one running the show…well, that’s pretty impressive. Beyonce is pretty close, but she got launched as part of Destiny’s Child. Dolly Parton is another good one, but her music stayed country and she became more active in film. She actually has a fairly good point about how few empowered, driven women manage to last in the industry before getting knocked down.
AGAIN with the ugly old lady purses and the hoity toity way she carries them. If you’re going casual, Tay Tay, that’s not the purse to carry. This girl needs serious help in the styling department.
As for her comment about not finding anyone in her field to consider a role model? She comes off as super conceited and totally out of touch with reality.
When i think of a role model music-wise, Adele is the prominent one. Adele did not have a wealthy background unlike taylor. Adele made herself succesfull purely based on her talent. Sinds i have watched the epic reaction of taylor on adele winning the golden globe, truly believe that she is jealous.
Taylor is lucky that Adele hasn’t been active lately. When Adele is back ,the backseat is for taylor. Can’t wait.
I believe Taylor writes her own songs. I just don’t believe that they’re very good.
Re: her not having musical female role models.
I am looking at her entire statement, that whole paragraph, and I find myself agreeing with her. Sure, there are a number of very successful women in music but like Taylor said, nearly all of them have been criticized about their bodies or how they have aged or how they have fought aging or have paid for their success in some rotten way. And none has had quite the same career path as she’s had (e.g. securing a songwriting deal in Nashville as a teenager instead of say, being discovered singing country songs at a state fair or something like that).
Even someone like Stevie Nicks, who is an amazing songwriter, developed such a severe cocaine problem after becoming famous with Fleetwood Mac, that it cost her her original nose. And don’t tell me that Dolly Parton has not had to endure comments about her face and body. Anne Wilson of Heart is an incredible singer and she has written some great songs too but she was still heavily criticized when she gained weight as she got older.
In short, I don’t see the problem with Taylor looking at other industries to find a template to follow in order to achieve her personal and professional goals. I think looking outside of her own world is a healthy and creative thing to do.