"You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation".
Beyonce, "Formation"
"There is something rotten at pop’s core. While it is undoubtedly more welcoming to women and non-whites, it has a tendency to use and discard those same people at will. Women’s looks are under constant scrutiny in the world of pop, to the extent that a little extra weight can undermine a performer’s entire career. Once a person’s moment under the spotlight is over, hosts of cackling jackals take great delight in declaring that person a non-entity."
-Wallace Wylie
When you've won ten Grammy awards, sold over 40 million albums and sealed your position as one of the most commercially successful musicians of your generation, no one is going to leave you alone - regardless of how vigorously or sincerely your die-hard fan try to defend or protect you. As such, it should not be a surprise that country singer-songwriter turned mainstream pop princess Taylor Swift has had to face criticism for using a string of celebrity boyfriends for inspiration, for having a string for celebrity boyfriends in the first place, for being "calculating", for being 'lame', for being an "obnoxious Nazi Barbie", for spouting feminist philosophy without actually 'doing the work', for being a 'Regina George in sheep's clothing', for being a 'snake' (i.e. savvy media manipulator) after the famed Kim Kardashian expose, and, most recently, for capitalizing on a narrative of white female victimhood for over a decade.
As Bridie Jabour has pointed out, there is a blatant display of sexism in all this vindictive cackling at Swift's inability to halt the decline in public opinion with regards to her place in contemporary pop culture:
"This of course is not just about Swift; she hardly needs me rushing to her defence. It’s about the public discourse around young women: the way we still talk and write about their success, and the uncomfortable way we treat their sexuality. Why else would we criticise the number of boyfriends Swift has had, and the swiftness with which she moved on from Harris to become Hiddleswift. [...]
Swift writes catchy songs about some ex-boyfriends, appears surprised when she wins awards, complains about how she has been represented in a Kanye West song, and is never photographed with a hair out of place. Those are her crimes. And they are apparently unforgivable.
Before her, Hathaway’s crimes were crying when she won an Oscar – and obviously wanting to win an Oscar. Lawrence’s was being too goofy. Meanwhile, Woody Allen continues to make movies, Bill Murray is a loveable but curmudgeonly old fella’ and Terry Richardson is a feted photographer."
The accusations of media manipulation and the appropriation of feminist ideals as a marketing prop are both valid criticisms of Swift, however, even if viciousness of the backlash is unwarranted. But as any ambitious woman (and Hillary Clinton and Madonna in particular) knows, there are double standards for male and female success. To put it simply, a successful man's moral and ethical failings are far more forgivable than a woman's. Swift's present PR problems are further compounded by the fact that she has always relied on her 'good girl' card. Unlike Madonna, Britney Spears, Rihanna or Miley Cyrus, who have all relied on the madonna/whore dichotomy as part of their image and music (which allows some leeway for rebellious behaviour, mistakes, and bad decisions), Swift confined herself to the role of a 'morally superior', overachieving, seemingly virginal white girl next door, constantly reacting to caddish ex-lovers, mean peers and media hyper-scrutiny in self-righteous self-defence.
Taylor Alison Swift is a 27-year old American woman with an estimated net worth of 250 million dollars to her name. Even if her next album is a collossal flop and she never sells another record again (or even get further opportunities to work as a songwriter for other artists), she does not truly need anyone's sympathy. The words may sting, but they are not sticks and stones: celebrity status in the social media age is simply no place for the thin-skinned. Superstardom is a tightrope, and once you've made it past a certain point, all eyes are on you: to see if you can progress further, stumble, trip, or fall from grace and fade from the public eye altogether. Ellie Woodward's recent thinkpiece makes a compelling argument that Swift needs a reinvention to further her career and salvage her image at this point in time.
In Trump's America, will Swift dare risk politicizing her music to the same extent that Madonna dared to do during America's invasion of Iraq? Or will she attempt to make catchy tunes that speak to feminist empowerment in a convincing manner (reconciling with Katy Perry via a duet, perhaps) or racial inclusivity without being overly confrontational (besides her recent song with Zayn Malik, Swift has never collaborated with a nonwhite vocalist on a song before)? Or will she remain steadfastly unpolitical and 'play it safe' due to fear of censure or a genuine lack of artistic motivation?
In the music video for "I Don't Want to Live Forever", Swift's attempt at 'sexing it up' - lyrically and visually - seems uninspired when you consider that the movie the song is for is an adaptation of an erotic BDSM page-turner. For now, Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion have all sold more records than Swift without incorporating any particularly groundbreaking ideological subject positions in their work. Swift probably does not need to take any major artistic risks to keep selling more records, and may see little reason in prioritizing anything else besides more industry awards, concert tickets and record sales. Is the expectation that she should aspire to loftier ideals sexist in itself - or did Swift inevitably invite such expectations when she declared herself to be a feminist, invited Lena Dunham into her squad and began fashioning herself as a role model for young women? In any case, the time is ripe for the next chapter. Most people - haters, adoring fans, invested allies, detached critics, competitive fellow musicians - either hope that it will be inspiring new phase, or that Swift will hand over her place in the media spotlight and stage to someone else.
