Are you suffering from Taylor Swift-exhaustion yet? Surprisingly, I am not. I remember covering the rigmarole around Swift’s Red album release a few years ago, and I remember that being so much more painful than this 1989 album publicity. Two years ago, all she could talk about was boys and heartbreak and how she has every right to write blind-item songs because she was so heartbroken. Two years later, she seems to be in a better place. She’s happier, she’s independent, she thinks some thoughts about feminism and sexism. Some highlights:
Her friends want to set her up: “People will say, let me set you up with someone, and I’m just sitting there saying, ‘That’s not what I’m doing. I’m not lonely; I’m not looking.’…They just don’t get it.”
She’s not going to sacrifice her independence: “I’ve learnt that just because someone is cute and wants to date you, that’s not a reason to sacrifice your independence and allow everyone to say whatever they want about you. I’m not doing that anymore.”
Feminism: “My girlfriends and I talk a lot about feminism and the inequality between the way men and women are talked about. The kind of things we say are, ‘Why is it mischievous, fun and sexy if a guy has a string of lovers that he’s cast aside; loved and left? Yet if a woman dates three or four people in an eight-year period she is a serial dater and it gives some 12-year-old the idea to call her a ‘slut’ on the internet?’ It’s not the same for boys, it just isn’t and that’s a fact.”
Going it alone: “It’d take someone really special for me to undergo the circumstances I have to go through to experience a date. I don’t know how I would ever have another person in my world trying to have a relationship with me, or a family. The best answer I can come up with now is ‘go at it alone.’ Life can be romantic without having a romance. I’m very attracted to how happy I am now.”
She’s the best Christmas present wrapper: “We open presents on Christmas Eve. My brother is the worst present wrapper—one year he just wrapped gifts in trash bags. Mine are perfectly creased and every single present has a special ribbon.”
My theory is that Swifty believes that saying “that’s sexist” is like waving a magic wand over a conversation to get people on her side. Do I think she’s experienced sexism? I do, actually. I think every woman in the music and entertainment industry has likely experienced sexism on a daily basis. My problem is that Swifty using her magic wand of sexism-identification to complain about how the media interprets the image she created for herself two years ago. Plus, were people really calling her a “slut” for dating Harry Styles or Jake Gyllenhaal or Conor Kennedy? Nope. They were like, “Wow, she’s dating a guy in high school? Um. That’s inappropriate.”
Photos courtesy of James White/Cosmopolitan UK.
*headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk**headdesk*
This promo tour hasn’t started, ended, & been sent to the swamps to die yet?
“It’s not the same for boys, it just isn’t and that’s a fact.”
Preach!!
Boys and girls is really the problem. Adults say men and women.
omg, this woman is in her 20s (not sure of her age) – why does she keep saying “boys”?
Seriously, that’s all I could think about when reading this interview. Stop saying girls/boys constantly. I’m picky.
In her defense, I had the same issue for years. It’s hard to break the habit when you change your views. I am sure she will in time. I no longer call myself a girl and I only date men. I am just glad she’s seeing the light. Everything worth knowing and doing takes time.
Thank you! YES
Of course there’s sexism in it at times, I won’t deny that. I don’t want to brush off Swift’s thoughts, but I think a big part of her problem is that she takes herself way too seriously. I just don’t think she knows how to laugh at herself OR critic herself. And yes, dating a teenager was highly inappropriate. But since Swift can’t look at herself with logical self-awareness, she sees it as sexism when we criticized her for it. In some cases it is sexism for her, in some cases (dating a teenager), it isn’t. She just can’t tell the difference.
Anyway, she looks lovely in those photos.
I think Taylor also forgot that she wrote songs about her relationships and ENJOYED playing coy about whom the songs were written. Taylor acts as though she had no part in creating her image; as if she was going about her dating and people decided to comment out of nowhere. Until she started becoming a joke, she had no issues with it. All of her sexism and feminism answers have been spot on, but they’ve also been self-serving. That’s what makes me partially side-eye them.
I agree, there are different aspects of this. I DO think that females in general (celebs and normal people) are overly criticized for the number of people they date, and are held to a different standard than men. At the same time, she doesn’t own the role SHE played in creating her own reputation.
She put clues in her liner notes, ffs! They spelled out things like “Maple Latte” for Jake G. and “Hyannis Port” for the Kennedy kid. She used her love life as a gimmick to sell her products, so invited the scrutiny.
Says the MULTI MILLIONAIRE who basically had her success handed to her on a silver platter.
aims, Im not 100% sure thats accurate. I think she just had parents that supported her dream early on. She still had to work for it, best I can tell.
I guess what I mean is that she wasn’t a struggling artist waiting tables. She is a hard worker, I get that, but she came from a wealthy family and then accumulated her own wealth.
But didn’t she essentially call Camilia Belle a slut? And not just on the internet, she dedicated a whole song to it.
THIS.
And I agree with the bit about Tay-tay seeming to think that saying sexism is akin to waving a magic wand that will get everyone on her side and make us stop saying mean things about her. She doesn’t really seem to get the full extent of what constitutes sexism, that it has a scope that goes beyond people saying mean things about her on the internet.
What??? When was this? I need details please.
It was in song:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21222
YES and she has never apologized for it. You believe in feminism Taylor? Maybe you should apologize to the girl you called a slut for dating a guy after he dumped you. That was the point where I seriously disliked her. That and I’ve never heard good stories about her from people who went to high school with her. She seems permanently stuck in high school at times
Taylor has said on this promo tour that she’s grown up a bit and knows now that a girl can’t take a guy from you–he has to want to to go. I think that’s her way of acknowledging that she was wrong without naming names. Besides, that song came out 5 years ago when she was still a teen. Would you want the stuff you did and said as a teenager held against you years later?
@Goats No, I wouldn’t, but I also didn’t publicly write a shame song about someone who dated my ex, then publicly join the discussion about sexism on multiple platforms. IMO, she is talking about sexism because it will benefit her, not because she wants to help cause a change. If she wants to be a part of the conversation, she has to own up to the fact that she has been a part of the problem. She prides herself on being a role model. To me, her words would hold more weight if she also held herself accountable since she has no problem holding others accountable when she’s on the receiving end.
I go back and forth between liking her and finding her a bit much, but I don’t have a problem with these comments. It wasn’t so long ago she was on the “not a feminist” train. I’m not even saying she’s an opportunist. Given some of the women who she’s friends with and some of the recent media coverage, I think there’s a reasonable chance that she actually bothered to learn what “feminism” means. For her, one of the basic examples she’s probably started with is how she’s treated differently than her friend Ed Sheeran. Doing a little reading and thinking is basically what I’ve been wishing these young, famous women would do, so I can’t complain.
Taylor seems willing to self-correct if she needs to, and that is admirable. Her motives are sometimes questionable, but I believe that she is a sincere person who tries. Of course she will stumble like all of us, but I don’t believe that she is a rotten apple.
I agree, though I think she’s hopped on the feminism bandwagon (not a bad thing) and her answer to so much lately has been “sexism”. It’s really good for someone who’s a role model for many young girls to stand up for equality, especially in her business, but I don’t think it can be used as a defense for EVERY criticism.
@lucy2 I don’t think Taylor is waving the sexism flag for every criticism directed at her. I think she’s using it in relation to people implying that she slept around because she “dated” a handful of guys. I think describing that as sexism is correct.
There’s been 3 or 4 posts about her saying different things are sexist in the past couple of weeks. In the case you’re talking about, I think she’s correct to use it, but for some of the other instances I don’t think she was exactly right in her reasoning. My feeling is like now she’s on this feminist/sexism path, she’s seeing it in everything – even when there are other factors at work.
I don’t know why, but it irks me the way she says boys instead and men and girls instead of women. Doesn’t sound right to me.
I agree, and I think that’s a big part of her problem. When she moves away from the high-school “girls and boys” mentality, she will see and feel real change. Call me when she starts saying “men”.
I think this cover- with her dress and the sparkles- is pretty.
I don’t think every single comment made about her dating life is sexist, but yeah, she has been called a slut and other things more than once for her dating life. I’ve noticed that without fail as soon as a woman in Hollywood who’s in her late teens/early twenties has dated more than 2 or 3 guys, the ‘slut’ whispers begin, no matter who it is. I haven’t noticed the same trend with male celebrities in their late teens or early 20’s. She’s definitely right that there’s a double standard when it comes to how young men and young women are perceived when it comes to being sexual, even though not all of her criticism is sexist.
“Yet if a woman dates three or four people in an eight-year period she is a serial dater and it gives some 12-year-old the idea to call her a ‘slut’ on the internet?’’
I’ve always found it pretty disturbing how quick younger teens and preteens are to slut-shame women on line over the littlest things. I think it has to do with their not yet being fully comfortable with human sexuality. Let’s face it, as much as things may have changed, we still don’t live in a utopian society of tolerance, equality, and sex-positivity. Slut-shaming and other types of sexual intolerance are still taught by adult example. But sometimes people who were judgy puritans as tweens mature and grow out of it.
Thanks, Captain Obvious!
I do not like her music, but I appreciate her, sort of.
She has transitioned from her younger image in a more mature one without getting naked.
She comes out like someone who at least tries to improve herself: the other pop singers of her generation after getting naked (Miley), becoming a mess (Selena) are nowhere to be seen, or are repeating the same antics over and over. She has evolved, and I think in a better way.
I like Swifty’s tranformation and stuff, but I agree with the author here. She’s starting to use sexism as a shield and that’s exactly the reason so many people nowadays can’t take feminism seriously. Sadly, a lot of women do this, claiming E-V-E-R-Y criticism aimed at them stems from sexism and how things would be different if she were a man (most of the time it’s true, plenty of times it’s not).
And come on. “Boys can date a million girls but if girls date 2 boys she’s a slut! How unfair!” Honey, I figured that out by 7th grade. Good you’re talking about it but if you’ll carry the feminist banner, try going a little deeper.
“My theory is that Swifty believes that saying “that’s sexist” is like waving a magic wand over a conversation to get people on her side”
This is pretty much her whole promo tour. She is still doing the same thing writing about ex’s and giving obvious as fu*k clues about it but she doesn’t want to be made fun off and called out for her stunts so she keeps saying it’s sexism at every turn when she had the biggest hand in her image and didn’t mind any of it until people were laughing at her.
They actually did call her a slut back in the day: they compared her photo with Miley’s in a poll with a question that asked, “Which one is a bigger slut?” It was all over People and US weekly.
I don’t think people are arguing that she has never faced sexism. As a female in the public eye she undoubtably has. That said, it seems (to me, at least) that she throws out sexism as almost a blanket statement to combat any form of criticism she gets. Do I think she gets unnecessarily harsh comments about her dating life thrown at her? Yes. But I can also understand why people feel like they have a right to comment because she airs out of dirty laundry and cashes in on it. It reads as if she’s saying “you can have an opinion, but only on my terms and only through my music” and then changes her tune when people don’t see it her way. I think it’s great that she’s starting to learn about sexism and feminism, but I hope she understands that they are bigger issues than just her being the butt of a joke.
Oh no, I remember there was a show during her heavy dating period that pitted her against Miley Cyrus in a “slut off.” Then there was the time she gave a performance in black cigarette pants and a cashmere sweater, and the reviews claimed she was “sexing it up” – despite the fact that a male performer had worn nearly the exact same ensemble right before her. So yeah, as annoying as some her earlier comments were, I think it’s starting to hit her just how jacked up the industry really was. When you are young and immersed in that atmosphere, it’s easy to fall into the thinking that, “This is the way things are.” While I don’t think she’s a perfect candidate for well-thought feminist theory, I do think there is an awakening realization in her about the double standards that exist in the industry.
Yes, people called her a slut and things just as bad for dating age-appropriate guys and older guys. Including on here.
She is 100% correct.
THANK YOU, CELEBITCHY!!!!!! Finally, someone is seeing through this girls shit. She got treated differently then bruno mars and Ed Sheeran because she is and always was a different artist then them. No sexism involved. But you are also right that she and every other woman is treated with sexism, her love life being a focus in her career just isn’t an example of that….
Actually, a lot of people on this very site were calling her a slut two years ago. They were bitching about her having a “revolving door of men in her bed” (actual quote) while acting innocent.