Because let's face it, we all have songs like that. Most of mine just happen to be Taylor Swift songs.
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| "Hi" indeed |
Firstly, I'd like to address her thing at the VMAs. She basically said "I have a VMA now so the dude I wrote "Trouble" song about can suck it" *camera cuts to Harry Styles*. It was sort of infantile but honestly, tell me you haven't had some kind of revenge fantasy where you do exactly the same thing?
I'd like to thank my parents, for inspiring me to end world hunger and win this Nobel Peace Prize, and the academy for giving my movie about it all of the Oscars... Aaaand I'd like to thank Jimmy O'Reilly who used to take my chocolate biscuits in third class. Let's see your award, Jimmy? Bet you feel real bad now?!"
We have all been there. Most of us just don't get that kind of opportunity. Or have that kind of bad judgement. So yeah, decision making is not necessarily Taylor's strong point. Does it reflect in her songs? Um, yeah. A little.
Which brings us to the first song I'd like to talk about. It's called "Speak Now". Give it a listen (there's no official video to my knowledge, so it's just a lyric vid):
You can probably already tell where I'm going to take issue with this song. However, I'm going to briefly sidetrack and tell you how I view Taylor Swift's song-writing persona. I do not see her as the "could and probably does pass for a model" Taylor Swift we see today. No. In my mind's eye when listening to her music (at least back in the day) I see this kid:
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| This is 13 year old Taylor Swift. I shit you not. |
Not that that's out of the way, "Speak Now" is about a freaking home-wrecker! What the fuck, Taylor! What the actual fuck! I am going to, as I am wont to, being the little English class nerd that I am, compare this song to some of Taylor's earlier work (I would call her Swift but I generally associate that name with Johnathan Swift, quite a different artist altogether). I wish to compare this song to "You Belong with Me", fairly well known song from her second album "Fearless". In that song she is the friend (and is also smitten with) a boy who is going out with someone who seems to be the type of girl I described in my explanation of "This won't end well". This girl is framed as a bit of a bitch. And the whole song is Taylor complaining about how she understands this guy better than his current girlfriend and how they belong together and stuff. The question as to why the boy is not in fact dating Taylor is interesting and perhaps an indication of an exaggeration in Taylor's mind about either how unhappy this guy's relationship makes him and/or how compatible they are. I draw your attention once again to thirteen year old Taylor Swift. It could be that guys can be shallow (everyone can, relax people) or that she's not confident enough to tell him that she's interested and so sits in her room writing love songs he'll probably never hear. That's relateable and kind of endearing! What teenage girl hasn't done that?....guys?.....why'd it suddenly get so quiet?
Contrast that with "Speak Now", where she gate-crashes a wedding and stands up and essentially convinces the guy to leave his would be wife and run away with her AND HE FUCKING DOES. Just a wee sidenote on the subject of marriage (oh, I have feels. A topic for another day, dear readers). As I understand it, one's wedding day is a scary day. You are making the decision to spend the rest of your life legally connected to someone. That's freakin' terrifying! Hell, I myself have trouble committing to either steak and chicken in a restaurant, deciding on one person for the rest of your life? Dayum, that is a big decision. And Taylor Swift shows up all, "Hey, why don't you run away with me?". This dude, ever faceless it seems (a common theme in Taylor's songs. I'll get to that kettle of fish later) is clearly a little stressed out and rational thought goes out the window with a simple, "Sure, why not?" potentially fucking up his chance at a perfectly functional and happy marriage. He's not thinking about consequences, he's just scared out of his mind and he sees a short term, get out of jail free solution. We all do stupid shit without thinking, especially in such a vulnerable state. Taylor on the other hand...
There's honestly a degree of malice about the song's protagonist (presumably Taylor) in the fact that she is old enough to know exactly what her actions mean. Marriage (even in small country towns) is generally something you don't think about until at least 22 years old, and that's early. You'd want to be certain you know this person well enough, you do love them, that you have similar goals when it comes to family, all that fun stuff. It's hardy comparable to dating someone who might not be right for you. Taylor, who it can be assumed is around the same age as the couple, must know the implications of this snap decision and regardless of how self centered the persona is, realise that she is, in a sense, taking advantage of her male interest.
There's also the matter of "If this guy would genuinely rather be with you, why isn't he?" Where's Taylor been while he's getting hitched? Weddings don't exactly happen overnight. Was it a case of "They've loved each other for years but never voiced their feelings and now he's getting married"? That's still a little flimsy and not alluded to in the song. Plus, generally the guy has a fair bit of power in the whole proposal dealio, as it's usually expected of the guy to pop the question, not the girl. So, if this guy was harbouring feelings for this other woman he wouldn't necessarily feel the pressure that many women do at the thought of never being asked to marry someone because it's usually the dude asking (not to mention relative lack of biological clock). In the world we live in, would such a situation occur? And, if that's the case, that there is some kind of "end of the romantic comedy church crashing confession scene" would it kill Taylor to allude to that in the song? Geez, all we get is "you wish it was me". I maintain the belief that the speaker is the one in the wrong here. The song expresses that she wasn't invited to the wedding. Could there be a reason for this perhaps?
Now to the second song I have a problem with. If I'm boring you, feel free to go get a snack and/or a butt pillow right about now. Don't close that tab, there's a whole lot more. Here's the part where I properly get into my rant stride. Oh yes, that last bit was warm-up, this is the marathon. There will be talk of feminism, objectification and women hating women. You have been forewarned.
This song is called "Better that Revenge" and, once again, you're probably gonna see early on where I'm going to take issue:
Yeah, that. I'm probably going to dedicate a whole article to this topic but for the most part (being female myself) I support equality. Who wouldn't want their gender to be treated like a valid part of society? I don't know if I personally identify as such but it's an important issue, and one that I shall discuss another day.
However, it is a slightly different beef I take with this song. There are some people out there who use the label of "feminist" as an excuse to support their own double standards. I disagree with this sentiment. There are lots of "strong independent women" in the public sphere guilty of this; Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and now, it seems, Taylor Swift. It's not a good thing.
Because, believe it or not, pushing the belief that women are better than men as a gender or that they should be treated as such, is not feminism. It's sexism. I don't really want to use the term "misandry" because it's so often used by MRAs being whiney but in a sense that's what this it. It is hating on an entire gender for being just that and that ain't right. I know you may be yelling at our computer "No, Rachel, you are only young! You have yet to experience the injustices of the world at the hands of those male things!" I know. And maybe I'll look back on what I'm saying now and hate it, or maybe I'll agree with it as much as I do now.
This is what I know: People are people. And people should be treated with respect regardless of race or gender or sexuality. Treating people like property is not very respectful. So, Taylor Swift, referring to this guy you up until recently cared about (I think, we don't really hear much about him) as a "[toy] on the playground" makes me ever so slightly angry. Not so much at the song, but at the attitude it supports and perpetuates. The idea that men are so easy to manipulate that they can't possibly be held responsible for their actions should they be "stolen" by another woman. The idea that men are things to fight over and that they have no say in the matter. The portrayal of the bitch in the song.. eh, I'm fine with that because I know there are women out there like that. But honestly, if this guy can be "taken" from you, maybe he wasn't quite so loyal in the first place. I don't take sides in this song because I can't; there is literally no context to go on. All we get is "happy one minute, bitch comes along, not I'ma get revenge on yo ass". And this is present in the first song I mentioned too.
Contrast that with "Speak Now", where she gate-crashes a wedding and stands up and essentially convinces the guy to leave his would be wife and run away with her AND HE FUCKING DOES. Just a wee sidenote on the subject of marriage (oh, I have feels. A topic for another day, dear readers). As I understand it, one's wedding day is a scary day. You are making the decision to spend the rest of your life legally connected to someone. That's freakin' terrifying! Hell, I myself have trouble committing to either steak and chicken in a restaurant, deciding on one person for the rest of your life? Dayum, that is a big decision. And Taylor Swift shows up all, "Hey, why don't you run away with me?". This dude, ever faceless it seems (a common theme in Taylor's songs. I'll get to that kettle of fish later) is clearly a little stressed out and rational thought goes out the window with a simple, "Sure, why not?" potentially fucking up his chance at a perfectly functional and happy marriage. He's not thinking about consequences, he's just scared out of his mind and he sees a short term, get out of jail free solution. We all do stupid shit without thinking, especially in such a vulnerable state. Taylor on the other hand...
There's honestly a degree of malice about the song's protagonist (presumably Taylor) in the fact that she is old enough to know exactly what her actions mean. Marriage (even in small country towns) is generally something you don't think about until at least 22 years old, and that's early. You'd want to be certain you know this person well enough, you do love them, that you have similar goals when it comes to family, all that fun stuff. It's hardy comparable to dating someone who might not be right for you. Taylor, who it can be assumed is around the same age as the couple, must know the implications of this snap decision and regardless of how self centered the persona is, realise that she is, in a sense, taking advantage of her male interest.
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| Damn, I sure hope Taylor Swift doesn't show up and convince me to leave the love of my life. It was bad enough the first time... |
Now to the second song I have a problem with. If I'm boring you, feel free to go get a snack and/or a butt pillow right about now. Don't close that tab, there's a whole lot more. Here's the part where I properly get into my rant stride. Oh yes, that last bit was warm-up, this is the marathon. There will be talk of feminism, objectification and women hating women. You have been forewarned.
This song is called "Better that Revenge" and, once again, you're probably gonna see early on where I'm going to take issue:
This song, as I should probably mention, is annoyingly catchy and clever wordplay-wise at times which makes my writer brain and thinking bout stuff brain conflicted with each other. On one hand, the song is more interesting than a lot of her other stuff. It's faster, got a good beat and it's got that awesome guitar bit in the background; musically I really like it. It's the lyrics and their meaning that get to me. Again, as I've said, I'm conflicted on this. Part of me revels in this side you don't often see where Taylor Swift is being mocking, gibing, almost cruel. That part of me (the part of me that made the decision to write "This won't end well" out of spite) is like, "Yeah, you tell that bitch!" and wants to know the girl's name so it can guess what Taylor rhymes it with. And I honestly do enjoy a lot of the wording and the rhyme but think about it for two seconds and you can't help but ask yourself one glaringly obvious question:
"What the hell is the guy doing while all this is going on?"
This is where the parenthesised portion of the title is going to start coming. Recently the internet has been awash with feminism. Feminist blogs, discussions on twitter, all the debates. And, because the internet is my home, I have been marinating is so many feminist sentiments for at least the entire summer. For the two people unfamiliar with the concept, feminism is:
However, it is a slightly different beef I take with this song. There are some people out there who use the label of "feminist" as an excuse to support their own double standards. I disagree with this sentiment. There are lots of "strong independent women" in the public sphere guilty of this; Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and now, it seems, Taylor Swift. It's not a good thing.
Because, believe it or not, pushing the belief that women are better than men as a gender or that they should be treated as such, is not feminism. It's sexism. I don't really want to use the term "misandry" because it's so often used by MRAs being whiney but in a sense that's what this it. It is hating on an entire gender for being just that and that ain't right. I know you may be yelling at our computer "No, Rachel, you are only young! You have yet to experience the injustices of the world at the hands of those male things!" I know. And maybe I'll look back on what I'm saying now and hate it, or maybe I'll agree with it as much as I do now.
This is what I know: People are people. And people should be treated with respect regardless of race or gender or sexuality. Treating people like property is not very respectful. So, Taylor Swift, referring to this guy you up until recently cared about (I think, we don't really hear much about him) as a "[toy] on the playground" makes me ever so slightly angry. Not so much at the song, but at the attitude it supports and perpetuates. The idea that men are so easy to manipulate that they can't possibly be held responsible for their actions should they be "stolen" by another woman. The idea that men are things to fight over and that they have no say in the matter. The portrayal of the bitch in the song.. eh, I'm fine with that because I know there are women out there like that. But honestly, if this guy can be "taken" from you, maybe he wasn't quite so loyal in the first place. I don't take sides in this song because I can't; there is literally no context to go on. All we get is "happy one minute, bitch comes along, not I'ma get revenge on yo ass". And this is present in the first song I mentioned too.
We need to stop this, guys. It is the plot of too many shitty romantic comedies and crappy romance novels. It's insulting to everyone involved to even suggest that another person could be stolen. Someone has to have made a decision somewhere in there. Maybe it was you, deciding to see something totally innocent as someone being "stolen" when you broke up with them and still weren't completely sure if that was a good idea. Maybe the guy's just a douche who'll screw you over when some hot piece of ass walks by. Maybe, as in the context of "Mean Girls" the guy was not in fact aware of your feelings and so could not factor them into his decision making. We can't possibly know, because Taylor's song is so vapid and shallow and grrrr.
Anyway, I think it's a bad message the song is putting forth. That's it really, I just had a lot of feelings to vent.
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| C'mon, you knew this was coming |
Embrace the Madness
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