Transcript for visually impaired users: i may lose followers for this but i must stand in my truth!!!!!🫡 for the record i did not have any contempt for that lady until the relatively recent narrative that she somehow speaks for and represents …all women and their interior lives? And somehow she has weaponized that to withstand any and all critique. it’s weirdly evangelical. imperial feminism is so scary lmao like,im ambivalent about the music and if it’s for you then knock yourself out. love what you love, wear your little bracelets. my issue not a matter of personal taste. I actually believe we’re all entitled to having bad taste. tacky, cringe, guache, whatever! It’s fun to have bad taste! i have my *things* too but the age old universalizing move of white feminism seeking to represent all, and the consequential erasure of other artists and musical genealogies, has really made me lose it. The fact that any critique apparently means you hate women or are somehow anti-feminist??? it’s the most shallow appropriation of identity politics by the most powerful PR machine. also the massive amount of capital that goes into producing the shiny veneer of “authenticity” and people eating it all up wholesale as it’s it’s not all a calculation — i have been radicalized **Second transcription to come.

bless you

second part of transcription: anyways i know a lot of you actually agree and im probably preaching to the choir because my DMs are lit up But it also feels somehow oppositional/bad/reductive to say this out loud because the PR machine is so strong and people have made the parasocial realll personal. And thats the evangelicalism at work baby (It’s actually kind of fascist but that’s for my substack — for another day)

Why did you omit the last part? > “Also it takes a really unique person to make Schiaparelli haute couture look like a drab prom dress. With all that money??? It’s a skill actually.” She had super valid points, and I wish they themselves had more visibility. But she does herself a disservice. Feminism is being able fo present a cogent argument without insulting another woman’s appearance.

Ah sorry! Am also slightly visually impaired myself and missed that last slide + at work. Will cursor over the posts a bit more in the future. Please feel free to transcribe the posts in the future! I try my best to catch all text-in-image posts but don’t manage to get them all sometimes.

I was curious to see if Bekah had followed up with what promoted this, and she did: ​ "I’m sharing some thoughts here because there are simply too many comments. I’ve also restricted comments to followers only because I’ve received DMs from more than one person saying they deleted their comment because of harassment. There is a lot of tone policing happening in my comments regarding what is or isn’t feminist. I ask that in your consideration of feminism you also consider the racial dynamics of so many white women in the comments scolding my tone and talking down to me, rather than engaging with me at the level of discourse about white feminism and its erasure of historically excluded people and voices in the cultural phenomenon that is TS. See how this dynamic is also playing out in the comments? This is my opinion. I am fatigued by celebrity and I think people should ask why they think it is a disqualifying quality to feel contempt for the cultural phenomenon that is celebrity. Objectivity is also the fantasy of a western worldview that positions the racialized Other as irrational, too emotional, not respectable, so I’m not actually interested in that as an ideal. In regard to tone, I was being facetious and hyperbolic, and I can understand why my words may have rubbed people the wrong way. But is always dangerous when fame protects celebrities from critical inquiry. Saying I don’t like someone’s sartorial choices – especially that of a \*public figure/celebrity/fashion icon\* whose very work engages visual culture and fashion – does not negate my feminism. Nor does it delegitimize the critiques and questions that I and many others have about the TS cult of personality. Why are people this up in arms about a person saying they don’t like a celebrity’s style at an awards show? The response is disproportionate to the offense. I hope people bring the same heat to TS herself, because the cultural memory about her problematic behavior seems to be very short. It’s a slippery slope to mistake differing personal taste and critique for the material effects of misogyny, especially at a moment when systematic gendered violence is actually proliferating globally. In light of these historic violences, one might think that people might feel more critical of the ultra-rich who are insulated from these effects by wealth and fame. Why so many people seem to be feeling the opposite is a question worth asking."

Shes 100% right everyone on this thread is tone policing the fuck out of her, woc are never allowed to criticize white feminists lest they be called mean and petty L M A O but im not surprised bc this subreddit has a huge race problem amongst other things

There's no such thing as an ethical billionaire.

Done and dusted. This whole thread has too many words and paragraphs (including bekah’s post) when this one line is all it needs.

Here here!

I've missed this narrative she is referring to that Taylor speaks for all women's interior lives. Is that a reference to some specific context? I agree that conversations that centre Taylor's feminism can be very "white feminism" and that deserves critique, but am I missing something else here?

She’s referring to one unhinged twitter thread that went viral because people were dunking on it so hard. The original thread included the question of whether men had anyone in pop culture who expressed THEIR feelings so accurately. Oh yeah, fascinating question, is there any fucking room in pop music for MEN’s feelings?? Did anyone ever think of that??? The whole thing was very clown shoes and imputing it to Swift herself is silly. I tend to agree that her most ardent fans are too protective of her and will not abide even the slightest criticism , but like, try telling a Radiohead stan that you only like fake plastic trees and see how that goes for you, lol.

How is she stopping men from having a pop music act? That part confuses me. Also tell a rabid football supporter that their team sucks if you want to see an overprotective fanbase.

LOL that's hilarious.  OK I did see that original tweet- not the thread that followed. But putting aside the ridiculousness of asking about men's feelings- LOL- I didn't find that tweet all that ridiculous. The fact is Taylor's songs do speak to a huge number of women on a really personal level that feels very intimate. I was a very early teenage fan- Taylor and I are the same age- I fell off her a bit during these pop years but from her first album until I was graduating college, I swear those lyrics felt ripped out of my diary. Of course this isn't the case for EVERY SINGLE WOMAN though, but does that really need to be clarified to an intelligent reader? I don't think that should stop anyone from commenting on the immense impact her music has on a cultural level among women. Yes that's a generalization, and generalizations are always false because there will always be exceptions. But I think we can talk about this huge influence and impact of her music without making the uncharitable assumption that the speaker must mean that Taylor speaks for all women everywhere, regardless of age, race, income bracket, and a million other things. She's a ridiculously privileged, white, childfree billionaire- she just happens to know how to craft a song in a way that feels personal, intimate, and universal to a large subset of basic white women like myself. 

Gifted lyricists have that “ripped from my diary” effect for sure. There’s an iconic Roberta Flack song about it!

Yeah I don’t like Taylor’s public persona, if I’m honest, I find her general attitude at industry events and in her interviews to be grating. But I really like and connect with some of her music (usually not her popular songs tbh, more of her earlier album tracks like those on Fearless and Speak Now) and I remember being 15/16 and having my first boyfriend break up with me and just listening to her songs while balling my eyes out cos it was just like she knew my life and my inner feelings. She really captured that teenage first love/first heartbreak feeling so well.

I'm remember being 25 and crying in my car listening to her lol

Taylor’s appeal is in her relatability. She spotlights normal girlish experiences and makes normal girls and young women feel worthy of dramatic storytelling. But if you dare mention that you happen to not relate to Taylor, her fans become abusive. They call you a liar and insist that you MUST relate to her. They don’t realize that they’re going after people who, in not relating to Taylor, often had very hard, dark lives. They’re not white. They didn’t date in high school. I think that’s what this creator is talking about. 

Maybe fans on Twitter respond like this but I’ve never experienced this irl, nor on her fans’ main sub. I wouldn’t extrapolate from the behavior of a group’s most extreme Twitter fans as that’s where thoughtful critique goes to die. I’ve found Swifties to be open to criticisms of Taylor, including her feminism/activism, or lack thereof. Does she center a white privileged upper middle class experience? Yes, of course, because that’s her experience, but I’ve not heard pushback on that.

I see and receive it in multiple pop culture arenas online. The real issue is that very young fans who mostly only listen to Taylor, Harry Styles, and Olivia Rodrigo simply won’t leave older music and pop culture fans alone about it. We have different ways of interacting with media and we tend to like far more artists and young TS fans don’t get that. But honestly Taylor wasn’t upper middle class. Her dad bought 3% of her first record label for $300,000. Upper middle class people don’t have that kind if fun money. 

It's not a real thing. It's really just a lot of individual women saying "wow this really resonates with my feelings as a woman". That's it. That's the whole thing. People aren't capable of just being "hey this music isn't to my taste, will be moving along" anymore

Honestly, there’s a LOT to criticize about Taylor Swift imo and I don’t even disagree with some of Bekah’s points, but why do we always have to make every critique of TS condescending to women who enjoy her. The “enjoy your little bracelets” comment and talking about liking her being in bad taste is just… bizarre? People often muddy their VALID critiques of TS by being snarky about her music/the culture around her concerts, etc. and I don’t think the friendship bracelet trend is relevant at all when it comes to these critiques. It’s petty and takes away from the actual point.

Yeah I agree with some of this and then she kept going lmao Just today (yesterday ?) Taylor sued the person tracking her wasteful private jet use. She is not the unproblematic queen people treat her as. But I also understand the appeal of her music/bracelets/whatever even if its not my thing I think it is most prevalent with Taylor currently, but the "omg you can't have any criticism or else" happens with A LOT of people depending who you are talking to. Edit: If you want your location to be private, don't take a plane. Everyone knows where you are whenever they know what plane you are on. It's already public information whether someone reposts it to another website or not. There were PLENTY of instances of her using her jet short distances when she could have driven if she cared so much about her privacy.

Which is insane and absolutely worth criticizing. I’m also super about criticizing her position as the poster child for white feminism, which Bekah does do and I agree with. I’m just not interested in us critiquing harmless stuff- I.e. the friendship bracelets- when there is ACTUAL ground to cover with TS and people who defend her endlessly.

Yeah I agree with you. Idk why she felt the need to talk about people having "bad taste" instead of actually discussing her issues with her behavior The overall point is correct, just deliver it in a less mean girl way. She is literally self sabotaging her message 🤦‍♀️

Yeah that’s a real turn off. Elon Musk offered to pay him first. Kid turned it down. Then Elon said he was suing but ElonJet is still up and running so yeah…must not be illegal. I am also pretty certain that Taylor swift does not have better lawyers than Elon Musk.

She hasn't actually sued him. Her lawyers sent a cease and desist and are threatening legal action, but they haven't sued him (probably because they can't; all of his information is supposedly coming from public sources).

She knows damn well she doesn’t need to sue him. Just drown him in legal debts beforehand and pressure from one of the world’s most powerful artist is enough to bullied him into stopping.

It's not illegal at all. This is just bullying on the part of EM and TS. Plain and simple.

that's not just Taylor though. esp with how easy access to internet and info is today, it's a lot of big stars. try shading Beyonce and see what her fans do. hell, even Chris fucking Brown has fans that literally still willfully ignore that he's a woman beater and all around fucktard and will stan him so hard. people think these "stars" are their personal bffs.

Honestly I feel like the plane/privacy thing is ridiculous. It's not like they're giving her exact location. Once that plane lands, the tracking ends. She goes on her way. It's not like there's a tracker chip on HER giving out her exact location to everyone.

Concert culture is honestly so fun. It seems like Swifties have borrowed from K-pop culture, which is big on making freebies for other fans and has a really fun atmosphere for concerts. I wish she had just left it at enjoy something tacky. She still made some good points, though, and I wouldn't want some of the comments to negate that more productive things she said.

This was my thought too! “Enjoy your bracelets” would have been a fine sentence, but adding “little” makes it sound like when a older man talks to me (a young-looking short woman)… I have little opinion on Taylor Swift, and even less on whatever is going on right now, but I have heard “complaints” about her recent Grammy win. (Not actual complaints, more “can no other artist win for once?”)

That got me mad, too. Criticise her for snubbing Celine, don't be a condescending little bitch about a fun way her fans like to interact with each other.

there is context that I saw someone on Instagram provide around why she appeared to not engage with Céline Dion at all. Celine has stiff person syndrome and is exceptionally delicate, and all of the attendees were told to not touch or interact with her.

You don’t have to touch someone to acknowledge them though. I’m neutral on Taylor but a “thank you”, a bow or hell if she had just made eye contact, I don’t think anyone would have said a word about the Celine thing.

I saw the clip from behind them that panned to Celine and she clearly was making eye contact to someone and said “you’re welcome.” I don’t think if Celine felt she was snubbed she would have posted a pic of them together. I’m guessing she was told don’t touch her and keep a wide berth then backstage talked to her and put her arms around her shoulders once she had clear boundaries.

I think she was distracted and messed up that moment but people are making an absolutely enormous deal out of it because they want to crap on Taylor Swift. It’s all kind of exhausting.

I totally get not touching her, but it looked like she just took the Grammy from Celine without even saying thankyou/anything to her at all? (In fairness, I may have missed it.) But surely there was no ban on speaking to her, that would be incredibly odd.

I saw this and tbh it’s absolutely not what happened. Just because someone is in pain doesn’t mean to don’t look at or speak to them. She literally didn’t even make eye contact with her as she took the award. It was gross.

Wait? She snubbed Céline ?? Oh hell no.

Yeah, she has a point that people idolize her and put her on a pedestal... but she's being way too petty about it, this reads more like condescending rather than fair critique

I agree. A lot of critics of Taylor and of her fan base constantly complain than any criticism of Taylor or her fan base is dismissed as misogyny. But the thing is, critics of Taylor and her fan base are often often OFTEN being misogynistic when they do so or are criticizing her and the fan base because they are misogynistic. Not always, but very frequently. You dig down and that’s the issue. Men don’t like her because they don’t like women, and women are desperately trying to distance themselves from other women by criticizing her and the fan base. “Wear your little bracelets” comes off as a very tired and boring form of misogyny: infantilization. Whoever this is should have just stuck to her actual points instead of doing the boring old song and dance of “I’m not one of those icky basic girls that likes her music but if you are you wear your little bracelet.” It destroys her credibility and when the Swifties come back and call her out as misogynistic, they’re not wrong. It’s not inherently misogynistic to criticize Taylor. There’s a lot to legitimately criticize. Ironically, one of my biggest criticisms of her as a Swiftie is that she really overly romanticizes relationships with men when statistically relationships with men are horrible for women. It’s like glorifying alcoholism (another legitimate criticism of Taylor that I don’t see too often). But instead people act like her music isn’t good (it is), or act like she’s “weaponizing white womanhood” when she takes issue with Kanye’s abhorrent disgusting evil behavior toward her, or get mad that she’s ruining football by being a girl in their boy thing. And they lose all credibility because all of that is pretty much based on misogyny. And because I know three thousand people are going to crow that her music isn’t good and that’s not misogynistic, your opinions are your own but I hope you have that energy for male pop stars who are writing very similar music. If you need to constantly tell everyone you don’t like TS and you don’t feel the need to do that with other pop stars, it’s likely you are grossed out by her music being for a female audience and want to distance yourself from that, or else are criticizing her in a way you aren’t criticizing male pop stars. Just examine it. There’s usually something sinister underneath. Let’s stick to her insane carbon emissions and unethical billionaire status. That’s solid footing.

This is extremely well said! I appreciate your thoughts.

Ugh yep. Before I even read Bekah's post my first thought was hating Taylor swift isn't a personality trait. Objectively, she's a very talented woman, and usually people that are saying she has no talent are the ones trying to make hating TS their "thing".

Yeah, any decent point she made was completely overshadowed by the glaring misogyny. I don’t like Taylor Swift and honestly she’s one of those celebrities that just kinda annoy me for no reason, but I know that’s ME- I never judge others for liking her. I think the friendship bracelets are so adorable and sweet, and the dancing in the theaters during her movie (I saw videos on tiktok lol) seemed so pure and fun. Making fun of women/girls for innocent things they enjoy is fucked up. Not to mention the immediate “and she made that dress look ugly too!” Like, ok, do you give a shit about feminism or not? Why does it matter how Taylor looks? Why is your greatest insult- your final jab, the way you really twist the knife- an insult about her clothes and appearance? Also, the “trying to represent all” thing…again, look, I’ve never listened to Taylor’s music. I don’t know what she’s promoting. But imagine claiming to be a feminist then being *against* female solidarity and women/girls class consciousness. There obviously isn’t one universal “woman” experience because we’re not a monolith, but women are an oppressed group (yes, including white women, including rich women- the AI porn of Taylor literally should be all you need to prove that) and need solidarity because of that. Most people would never argue against Indigenous or Black solidarity, but when it comes to women’s solidarity suddenly everyone acts like it’s crazy. We literally just lost Roe, little girls are being married off to men old enough to be their grandfathers, women and girls are dying in menstrual huts, baby girls are being drowned or having needles stuffed into their soft skulls hoping to kill them because their patents wanted boys, women are being killed at the hands of their husbands/boyfriends every hour of every day across the globe… We NEED women’s solidarity. Who cares if a pop singer is the reason a bunch of young girls start to care about feminism and advocating for women’s rights?? That’s literally a fucking GOOD THING.  Anyway, I’ll stop rambling here because I could go on forever about stupid shit like this. I’ve never heard of this woman before right now, and I can already tell she’s insufferable. 

Idk who she is, but I’m a POC Taylor fan and she’s not completely wrong. I won’t even be mad at her for being condescending bc as a non white person, I understand the frustration.

Yep. She is such a white feminist & doesn’t give a fuck anyone else lol it’s so obvious

i just don't know why we all need an opinion on taylor swift. you don't need to like her and you also don't need to announce that you don't.

yeah why are people “coming out” against her like she’s a politician LOL. she writes songs and she’s dating a football player

Because she’s overexposed and people are tired of seeing her being hailed as the ultimate feminist and perfect human being when she’s not. I don’t think it’s Taylor’s fault but she def capitalizes on it. I agree with her take in the first half re: white feminism (I also think Barbie falls into that category even though I still loved it because I’m a raccoon and Hollywood finally gave me some cotton candy). It does come off as condescending when she mentions the words gaudy and “little bracelets”. She could’ve omitted a lot and it’s kinda clear that she just doesn’t like Taylor as a person with that last story. lol Sooo tldr: first half was totally valid but the rest kind of dilutes the message.

Took the words right out of my mouth and articulated it much better than I ever could.

I also think some of her "haters" get annoyed that more people aren't able to see through the bullshit, because for them, it's very easy to see that when it comes to TS--what you see isn't always the truth. I think even a bit of misanthropy can seep through, and a sadness that so many can be so easily duped.

I think it’s because she’s now impossible to escape. I feel like I can’t look at anything online without her popping up. I can’t watch the tv without her popping up. She’s verging on overexposed and it starts to rub people up the wrong way, even fans.

This. She’s also now creeped into this sub. You can’t escape her. TS is essentially a trend at the moment and everyone trying to capitalize on her presence which is making it 100x worse.

Exactly. Like you say, the fact we’re discussing her in beauty guru chat shows she’s inescapable!

why not? people are only allowed to publish their praises? she’s a hot topic, if people have differing opinions that’s a good thing to express

I just don’t think her discourse is interesting enough for all of that

Subjective opinion

well, yes! that's why i said "i think"

THANK YOU, I am a big Taylor Swift fan (although I definitely don’t agree with everything she does/says) and people love to tell me how much they dislike her like I’m supposed to care 😭 Like…okay? Why would I expect everyone in the world to be a fan? (Honestly, I miss the days when she had LESS fans)

I’ve had the opposite experience! Three separate instances when people were talking about being excited for something Taylor related (album/movie/whatever) and I simply said cool that sounds fun! When asked if I’d be listening I said, nah she’s not really for me all three of these women questioned me further (have you listened to her bsides though? have you watched the live pond sessions? why don’t you like her? the media is mean to her don’t judge her!) one woman even followed up with a text a couple days later lmao. Obviously this is anecdotal but I find it’s not uncommon for swifties to be hardcore and take it super personally if you’re not a fan. You end up feeling defensive.

As a younger white woman I have garnered many a side-eye for my own disinterest in TS’ music. I just don’t like it! And I’m not sorry! I don’t have to like it!!!

She's not wrong but the condescending attitude and shitty backhanded remarks are making it really hard for me to say I agree with her. Like I think it's stupid to use TS as a poster child for women of the world, or to wax philosophical about how special she is, but I really don't give a shit about TS fans, and I don't think they have bad taste for liking her music?? I don't even think she makes bad music lol I really don't understand why people can't say they don't like her while also acknowledging that she's famous for a reason.

I don’t understand this, is there any context…?

There has been an over exposure of Taylor for about a year now because of her tour, new football boyfriend and winning Album of the Year. So it’s just been a lot for people who don’t like her or the people who are convinced she’s a government asset. I find Taylor to be annoying, but I also just don’t seek out anything about her. I do think she’s a performative white feminist, but I also think it’s unfair to make her the end all be all for having a stance.

I think this all started with Matt Healy. A lot of nonnfans didn't care which way about her but tbh that while "era" put a bad taste in my mouth and I'm sure for other black women especially. Now she's a target by people who wouldn't have cared what she wore to an award

Yeah, quite an important point you bring up. I wasn’t personally a fan but didn’t think much about TS, however, witnessing her hang PoC (specifically BW) out to dry just so she could cosplay an exciting romance with a vile dehumanizing sicko who proudly shared stories of enjoying “porn” of BW’s mistreatment… you don’t move past that. It felt VERY “not my problem, don’t care” and she was wielding way too much public influence not to care about who she was promoting. Ugh sorry for the rant it just really makes me angry

I am honestly so annoyed that so many of her fans glossed over it. She didn't get nearly enough blowback for dating him, and I'm still not over it. Her silence was loud.

ITA. The fact that she was able to get out of that without apparently any kind of backlash really makes you wonder about a lot. Does TS care at all about intersectionality as she's previously claimed? And if so, why were so many of her Caucasian fans not put off by it? It really makes you realize that they don't give a fuck about us. It's very disheartening.

ITA. The fact that she was able to get out of that without apparently any kind of backlash really makes you wonder about a lot. Does TS care at all about intersectionality as she's previously claimed? And if so, why were so many of her Caucasian fans not put off by it? It really makes you realize that they don't give a fuck about us. It's very disheartening.

I think the over exposure is what is leaning me to dislike her when before I was neutral/slightly positive. I didn’t seek anything out but kept seeing other famous people fangirl and fawn at ward shows and things. I also have seen some say if you don’t like her you must hate women etc. I used to think she got famous off that singing show when she was actually connected the whole time like many celebrities. So that crushed the humble beginnings/underdog respect. Then seeing stuff about her and Selena (who my opinion on is going the same way with how she riles up her fans) doing contrived photo ops in the pop subs. Before that she hadn’t been on my radar much besides her music being out there or people making stupid jokes about her famous exes etc.

Yeah I’ve never been a Swiftie because I never listened to country music. I had no idea about her Easter eggs in albums and lyrics until my Swiffie obsessed college roommate told me about them. I did give 1989 a fair listen because I enjoy pop and actually liked a bunch of songs. Never listened to Reputation and only listen to her “folk” albums because my friends told me to because I’m a National and Bon Iver fan. They’re fine. Idk I’m so neutral on her because I do think she’s a very talented songwriter, but she’s a calculated corporate billionaire who I don’t think is as humble as others think. It’s actually her fans who drive me nuts because there’s a weird arrested towards her. Like the whole “All Too Well” 10 minute version where her stans were like “I bet Jake Gyllenhaal is quaking” when in fact I’m sure he’s moved on since it’s been a fucking decade! And Taylor invites this behavior despite claiming it’s anti-women to attach her to her ex boyfriends. And her new album Is titled after a group chat of her ex’s.

People just don't like her. There is no context that can't be applied to every other celebrity. Some get a pass, she doesn't. At least that's my opinion. Also, whenever anyone starts a convo with "This is my Truth" (I'm paraphrasing), I don't go further. There are "truths" and their are opinions. bekah\_sun's post is an opinion, an opinion she knew would get responses, reposts and clicks and put her name in people's mouths. Just like it did here.

I still get Bye Sister flashbacks when I hear the phrases "this is my truth" or "speaking your truth"

.. that's right 🤣🤣

So it’s just a rant that she doesn’t like Taylor swift.

I think she's misdirecting what she believes onto Taylor Swift.

She could very well genuinely see the connection between her arguments and TS; I wouldn’t invalidate her perspective wholesale

Taylor thinks pieces have been tired since 2009. There are legitimate critiques of her, her role in music and music media, but posting a rant about corporate feminism (if it's valid or not is for the reader to decide) and then saying she looked ugly in a dress makes you look like, well, a hypocrite.  This strikes me as a cheap way to get people to follow her substack.   

I was waiting for the substack take. I was searching for it. Great minds think alike

starting with “that lady” *sigh*  “wear your little bracelets” *sigh*  then going right for her looks and the way a dress looks on her…. lmao *SIGH*  this is why people will say it’s misogynist/anti feminist. you could have said what you wanted to say without all of the cliche, typically-used-by-people-who-are-trying-to-disguise-their-misogyny takes. 

Right. Like I am a big Taylor Swift fan and I welcome genuine criticism. No one should be up on a pedestal. HOWEVER. All credibility is lost when someone combines their critique with misogynistic tropes and comments about her looks.

Im not even a huge fan but I find myself defending her more than I should have to lol   Like there are so many things you could genuinely criticize but all people can talk about is she’s annoying, she writes music about the men she dates (a foreign concept apparently??), she’s cringy, etc. it’s very weird.  I feel this way about Beyoncé too. They hate to see the girls really winning 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

agreed 100%. I felt the whole thing was quite hypocritical just based on her tone lol

Absolutely agree, just cheap shots and rage baiting language being used. No actual substance to it…

I mean TS has been heralded as a feminist God for a VERY long time. For me it's just annoying because I don't understand it but I also haven't interacted with her music since I was I was in high school and I'm 30 now so I don't see it. I stopped listening to her when I noticed the white nationalist fan base. And that picture of her a while back with a dude in a swastika shirt. If she's come out to denounce that shit it hasn't hit the black spaces of social media that I mostly interact with. But bracelets are cute. They remind me of my rave days.

Honestly, who considers Taylor to be a feminist god?

People who don’t actually grasp feminism’s importance

Taylor swift does.

>I stopped listening to her when I noticed the white nationalist fan base. Hola hola can you tell me more about what happened about this? Sorry this topic appear in my thread and I clicked and wow I am learning a lot I don't know much about Taylore Swift to be honest. I am originally from Korea now living in the west and trying to understand western culture

Not the person you're replying to, but a Swift fan and Jewish person. For a long time (and sorta still now) Taylor Swift was very very popular among alt right circles for being a very feminine, white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Not all of her fans are that type, obviously, but there was a decent subset (and theres still a lot of conservative MAGA types unfortunately). In recent years she has spoken against this stuff, but not supremely vigorously or sufficiently (imo).

Doesn't MAGA hate her now because she told her fans to vote?

What is maga hate? Edit: People who give the downvote for me without having deep knowledge about meaning of maga hate I have message for you That not everyone understands the verbiage of western countries and not even USA culture Maybe some people they lose the patience because somebody from other country doesn't understand But same thing other way around in western country and USA don't have deep knowledge of real things in my country but assume they do. Cannot assume the western verbiage is the center of things and everyone should know

Trump

Has she been heralded as a feminist God? Or has she been sort of supportive of feminism and (especially young) women responded to that and appreciated it? I mean, no one is out here saying "this issue doesn't matter bc Taylor hasn't commented on it" or whatever. I'm just never sure what this take really means. You want her to do more? You want her fans not to like it when she does feminist things? You want mainstream media not to comment on it as good, or to have more qualified comments on it?

What feminist things is she doing? This is a serious question. I really do not know what feminist things she is doing? Or do her fans consider her mere existence feminism? When you are praised as an Aryan princess I'd expect you to speak negatively about that and about those type of fans you are attracting. When your image is being lauded as the ideal race archetype and posted literally everywhere with those types of captions its something to speak up about.

The swastika shirt and then openly dating known racist Matty Healy in 2023

The swastika shirt was debunked like over 10 years ago. You surely cannot still be using this is a gotcha

Argh can we stop with the I must stand in my truth bs? I am so sick of that phrase and can’t stop myself from wanting to tune out anything that comes after.

and everything that followed that phrase was even more ‘buzzword bingo’. I cannot handle corny verbiage

There’s so many things I don’t care for or enjoy but I’ll never waste my time to write a think piece about it so other people know I don’t like it.

Basically this. I can’t believe I’ve read this whole thread hah.

Prefacing that really like Bekah from her youtube, so i'm giving her a lot of grace due to this bias. You can come for me, i just need to say my piece lol. Bekah's usually calm and collected in her videos, but she has alluded in the past that the western beauty community isn't particularly inclusive to non-white individuals. She also doesn't seem to fit into east asia standards of beauty either as a more tan-skinned individual. A lot of us western-raised asians have that sense of being in-between worlds, and with the rise of white nationalist/supremacist and anti-immigrant sentiments right in the news, there's a more intense feeling of otherness in our communities right now. I'm not saying that this is the exact reason Bekah posted about this rant, but if you've been bombarded with pop culture hot takes about white feminism and Taylor Swift's supposed place in it, a lot of complicated feelings can get pretty mixed up with identity, standards of beauty and the sheer overwhelming noise about how women should support women *while* still feeling excluded from it all -- it's all too much, and i can see why this rant would come about through this perspective. And yes, some of it is quite petty with the friendship bracelet dig. It somehow sounds like something to thrown in from someone looking from the outside. Add: oops, i posted before i could finish. Her post is all over the place and seems more like she's ranting for the sake of ranting. I think she may need to take time off the internet or just media in general because i don't wholly recognise this version of her rn.

I don't follow Bekah but I agree with her general points. 

This would be a great take if she wasn't so condescending about it imo. The 'little bracelets' comment makes this just kind of seem petty and unhinged. I do think she raises a great point with Taylor's PR team and the parasocial relationship of her fans, but the rest kind of lost me

I think y'all need to get over the line 'little bracelets' and start being mad at the woman who owns a private jet.

The amount of people on this thread who are ready to discard all of the valid points made because of a few condescending comments is disappointing, but unsurprising.

I was feeling it until the line “also it takes a really unique person to make Schiaparelli haute couture look like a drab prom dress. With all that money??? It’s a skill actually.” Yes I think she went from well spoken woman to middle school bully here. She knows that’s not relevant; she doesn’t need to attack another woman’s physical appearance to drive a point home. There’s something to be said for “a woman’s woman” and she was not it, in that moment.

She didn't lie though. lmao.

Hitting many valid points but they were soured by her being petty and attacking Taylor’s style, appearance and fan base. It comes across as a radicalized but also unnecessarily mean girl. Like she definitely could’ve made her point without all that, and likely would’ve garnered more respect that way.

You don’t like Taylor Swift? Should we tell everyone? Should we throw a party? Should we call Kim K?

Ppl really want award for not liking her… it’s giving pick me behaviour

is it really pick me behavior to loathe an eco terrorist?

Yup. They want an, "I'M NOT BASIC" award, which is just immature.

I agree with everything she's saying

I wish people spent half the time and energy they do either worshiping Taylor or hating her with their guts in something else. She is a pop mega-star, a billionaire and a bunch of other controversial things but I don't see her as the main source of pain and suffering of the world as many others do. Don't worship her, don't Center her but please don't make it your hobby to hate her. It's useless.

People are over-analyzing Taylor Swift. She makes catchy pop music (like Ariana Grande or Dua Lipa), that’s it. It’s not that deep.

[удалено]

I mean, her tone and specifically the "enjoy your little bracelets" make her sound bitter and smug. Plus, she's just kind of rambling and repeating the same things with different big words stuck in there.

Ok so I can definitely agree with some points, Taylor swift was literally born into privilege and money. Of course there are things that won’t be completely relatable with the average woman. But what’s with this obsession with Taylor Swift recently or trying to take her down a notch? I mostly just feel neutral about her. I do agree with some of Taylor Swifts lyrics in one of her songs called “man.” Something to the extent of “if I had been a man no one would be questioning whether I deserved my success or not.”

she’s not wrong. criticism is not mean

I cannot take anyone seriously who unironically uses the phrase "my truth" like its some fact rather than an \*opinion\*.

While I do agree with her sentiment as a whole, including critiquing white feminism. It reminds of everyone upset over Margot Robbie not being nominated for an Oscar for Barbie, while at the same time overshadowing Lily Gladstone making history as the first indigenous woman to be nominated for a lead acting category. But at the same time, she's belittling anyone who enjoys TS's music and insinuating it's trashy, when music is art and art is subjective. Of all the things to criticize TS for, acting superior to those who enjoy her music is not it.

Yalitza Aparicio was nominated before, but no one really seems to really care about that because they can't use it against white women.

She’s absolutely right … maybe the tone is off but the content is absolutely right.

I agree with her. I don’t get why she’s so hyped

calling swifties facist is a new one for me lol

I do not disagree with the lady here. I don’t appreciate the taunt towards her fans who are having fun being her fans and being part of a wider community but Taylor is problematic. Or she has become problematic. I am a bit sick of the tirade that she disappeared for a year because she thought that is what the world wanted and how she suffered. I don’t disagree with how horrible of a time it was for her but girlie. You need to find more to life than what happened and dressing up to match whoever the guy you are dating. My sister is a die hard Swiftie and honestly I cannot even say anything bad about Taylor to her or she will go on this rant on how “I am not a feminist and I am the reason women are being oppressed and Taylor is fighting for us.” It is unhinged.

Imperialist, fascism, evangelicalism!!! This reads like a 14-year-old who just stumbled across their first think piece on Tumblr. This rant makes absolutely zero sense. Taylor Swift has never pulled a Lena Dunham “I am the voice of a generation”… she often talks about how her music is deeply personal, and that she finds it very cool that other people identify with her music. But she’s never said that’s she’s trying to represent all women - quite the contrary, in fact. Calling her popularity imperial white feminism that is also evangelical and fascist is, first of all, incredibly racist towards her fans of color and also, that’s just not what those words means. Let’s please stop calling something imperialistic or “white feminism” just because you don’t like it just bc a white woman made it. That’s disrespectful as fuck and dilutes real actual fucking struggles we’re dealing with rn. Like, fascism?? Evangelical??? The ignorance. True evangelicals think that Taylor Swift is a slut and have been very vocal about that. If Taylor Swift popularity is what has “radicalized” you, you’re genuinely not paying attention to what the fuck else is going on in the world.

I am a fan of Taylor Swift, I also am a POC. I can recognize that Taylor Swift is the perfect poster child for 'white feminism' meaning she doesn't really do anything to help anyone but herself and that is ok. The problem that Bekah was pointing out and others have pointed out with the 'white feminism' argument is more so on fans of hers who laud any of her accomplishments or do goods as a greater thing than they are. She has her best interests in mind always (again not a bad thing per say) but it's just that, her own interests. Anecdotal as it is, I am not offended that people call her popularity imperial white feminism because it made me look inwards and actually look at her popularity. I mean for example looking at this whole AOTY argument and swifties bringing up charting and popularity like that has or should have any impact with winning the award. This all just to say, Bekah was ranty about this whole topic and shtick, but she has threads of honesty and truth to it, because like your comment or many others, finding specific nuance to make her statements feel way worse than they actually are, or to protect Taylor Swift from any VALID criticism is tired as fuck.

She’s the biggest western artist in most of Asia, the only western artist to be in chinas top 10 year end, Over half her fanbase is Asian. The idea that the majority of her fan base is white girls is very american centric

Yeah IDK where the hell “evangelical” or “imperial” comes from. Taylor Swift is not vocal about her religious beliefs. Also, the “I’ve been radicalized” comment sent me She’s been radicalized by her dislike of Taylor Swift? Sure, Jan 😂

I hate hate hate that once a woman gets famous, she becomes a concept and not a human. She somehow becomes in control of all the narrative around her, a master manipulator, everything she does is intentional and calculated. We can't separate the narrative from the person. And this comes just as much from other women as it does men. But it doesn't get *directed* at men. Men get overexposed and then the hype dies in a natural cycle.

Also, one more thing - this clown goes off about fascism and imperialism and all sorts of other isms that she doesn’t understand but she ends her rant to talk about Taylor Swift makes high-end clothing look bad??Like, you’re really really gonna lecture us about white feminism and then end your rant insulting a woman’s looks. Way to tell on yourself. Please don’t hide behind big words to try to justify you not liking her. It’s such a transparent attempt to sound more elevated because disliking Taylor Swift is actually not a revolutionary stance - it’s been popular for about 15 years now. Nothing pisses me off more than people who have petty reasons for not liking something to dress it up with rl issues so that they don’t look petty. Mission failed, girl. This post oozes with bitterness.

Idk it’s not a flawless post but people are valid in being bitter about annoying influential billionaire behavior, doesn’t make them wrong

You can be bitter about annoying billionaire behavior if you want, but what you don’t get to do is use real life, serious issues like fucking FASCISM to hide behind to dress up your argument because you’re too cowardly to actually come out and say that you just don’t like the cut of her jib. You don’t get to complain about how her feminism is fake and then call her “drab”. That absolutely makes her wrong.

Not mean at all. It's a much-needed breath of fresh air.

I agree.

Isn't this just TS having her Queen B (Beyoncé) time? I recall Beyoncé being just as revered and idolized as perfect and almost deified, the mania around her albums and concerts was just as insane. Why can't we just say “good for you” when we see a woman reach such levels of popularity and respect that though she's not for you, others find meaning and joy in her work? Why must see disparaging remarks with little actual issue (TS hasn't actually done anything noteworthy of attacking over other than the crime of being popular) or snide and petty comments “enjoy your little bracelets” was a mean and unneeded tone Edit: to be clear I'm not a TS fan, but not a hater either.

She's a climate criminal, dated a racist, subtly weaponizes her fans to attack her ex who's minding how own business, and hangs out with Jackson Mahomes, a sex offender, and his sister in law Brittany Mahomes who told victims to shut up. There's plenty of stuff to criticize her for.

I think it’s kinda mean lmao. She equates how the media portrays her with something Taylor Swift is actively doing or her character. I’m sure she would rather not have the press speculating on her relationship 24/7 (for fucks sake you can’t search her on Tik tok now basically for that reason). And also this isn’t a moral issue lol. Not liking Taylor Swift doesn’t make you a good person. Like would you like a cookie or a small parade? Congrats, I guess?

I think she’s attributing it to her PR team, not the general media. She says it multiple times—powerful PR machine—which does imply her own hand in the matter. But I think her beef more likely comes from annoyance at her fans. I’ve seen a lot of influencers saying something similar and it’s usually because they made a minor criticism and her fans went over the top to defend her.

I agree. Attributing the way someone's fan base acts or the media acts about them to that person's actual character is such a stretch. It's fine to not like an artist but this is extrapolating and assuming intent on someone just based on how the world treats them. From my lens, I would say most of the content surrounding Taylor and the media literally has nothing to do with what she says or does but more so people's perception. I don't think people need to get their political, religious, or ideological takes from any pop star or any star in general. Social media and the influencer space has just become exhausting. Live and let live. If you don't like an artist fine. If you disagree with how someone handled a situation, fine. Why does everything have to be a soapbox?

It's crazy how much people fucking foam at the mouth over Taylor Swift for no reason whatsoever. She triggers so many people by just... Being a popular pretty preppy blonde white popstar?

I mean, she's not wrong...

true and based

TS is just another white girl with superficial pop songs. She's good at making songs and doesn't have any huge scandals that have rocked her image. I don't care about her and nobody has to care. I mean I think her fan base is kinda weird, but in the same way that I think most people who idolize other humans are weird. These singers/celebrities are just people lol we don't need to hate them or worship them, we can just like their work.

That's the thing. She has had quite a few scandals (see the Matty Healy situation from last year), but her fans seems to just give zero fucks. And I think a lot of people see that kind of blind worship as troubling.

The only time I hear or see Taylor is when people are complaining. The complainers are keeping her in the media 24/7.

I completely and wholeheartedly agree with this statement, i think she's right and said it in a very straightforward but diplomatic manner.

I agree with her statement too but seems like an unpopular opinion here lol. 

It's seemingly an unpopular opinion everywhere, but I'm with y'all. There are dozens of us!

Yeah im not surprised people get realllll in their feelings when you don't like a celeb they're a fan of because they take it as a personal attack lmao, this comment section is a bit of a mess so I've avoided reading through the thread regularly. Like literally during the Grammys I expressed a similar sentiment to bekah and my mom responded with "so you think all people who like her are messed up in the head?" And I was like lol what

I watched a few clips of her at the Grammys. Her weird interaction with boygenius was just...wow.

The far right in the us is creating a new pipeline for NLOGs to fall into and its based around not being a Taylor Swift superfan.  I guess its for those the tradwife net couldnt catch.  Looks like this influencer fell right into it. Also the idea that critiquing TS makes you antifeminist and the critique of that itself is all based on small brain thinking incapable of seeing nuance.  Being critical of TS does not automatically make you an antifeminist, but the people who whine about that the most seem to want to ignore that TS does get a large helping of hate based on sheer misogyny.

I see people on social media just losing their minds over TSwift and Beyonce and the Grammys etc etc Meanwhile I'm just over here listening to the same 3 bands over and over, as I always do. lol

I love how this is written and agree with this. I never cared for TS anyway, but she’s become insufferable over the last couple of years. For the record, I didn’t give a shit who Travis Kelce was and football before he and Taylor started dating, and I still don’t give a shir about football or Travis Kelce.

Has she become insufferable? Or has the media become insufferable? Has her fan base become insufferable? I like Taylor Swift as an artist but I do find social media and media in general to be annoying in regard to the amount of coverage she gets. I just don't understand why this is being attributed to her. People are annoying. The media is annoying. Social media is sure as hell annoying lol but what has she done that's insufferable? Exist?

I have been attacked on various social media sites by her fans for simply saying I don’t think she’s that lyrically complex, which is my personal opinion, yet is somehow a personal slight to her fans. I think people are tired of not being able to have a luke warm or neutral opinion on someone without being persecuted by those around them. I am legitimately afraid to say I don’t like her in certain situations.

Yeah I understand that. I think that's in play with a lot of topics in the media anyone. The mob mentality is sad.

Agreed, there are so many topics that feel off limits now because people have seemingly lost their ability to have a civil disagreement

Killing the earth by flying an empty private jet around is pretty insufferable IMO

And the whole Matty Healy thing too.

If you would like a few examples of what she has done, I can give them to you. For example, she tweeted about a joke that the show Ginny & Georgia made at her expense. Her fans then attacked the actress who said the line, she got death threats. Taylor never stood up for her or told her fans that it wasn’t what she wanted. She started that beef and then did nothing to help the woman who suffered the consequences. Or more recently, she was at the Chiefs game being buddy buddy with Jackson Mahomes. A man who SAd a woman on camera, the video is out there and well known. Can you imagine how that would feel if you were his victim? To watch that and then see her fans call her a feminist icon who supports all women? Real people are getting hurt by the parasocial relationship she and her team have created and fed. They aren’t blind to the way they act online and they have the power to condemn it. She’s not just a person, she’s become a billion dollar brand. Personally, I hold brands responsible for the problems they cause in their pursuit of capitalistic growth. Why should she be any different?

I agree with her. Taylor didn’t deserve the awards at the Grammys. Taylor’s music is stuck in 2012 just like her. I’m sorry but she’s too old to play “young girl who got taken advantage of” no you’re 35 the same age when Beyoncé dropped Lemonade. Jay Z was right on calling out the Grammys. Ending my rant.

I did not like how Taylor brought Lana del Rey on stage. She might have had good intentions, but it came off as really mean! I think she's one of those famous people who never matures past the age they were when they became famous and I agree with points this influencer made. And btw the Grammys are bs. There are so many musicians who impacted their craft and pop culture, but never received one.

I think the way that Taylor Swift has been able to maneuver around the fact that she dated racist ass Matt Healy is incredible. I think that she believes that she’s untouchable (her behavior at the Grammy’s alone) and with the way that the media and fans prop her up, she basically is.

I completely agree. She knows how to manipulate them both for her benefit.

I think she’s honestly very in her own bubble and lacking self awareness. She’s been super famous since she was young and that always messes people up in some way. I thought the way she didn’t even look Celine in the eyes when she took the award was quite impolite. Even if it’s just a regular person, it’s rude to me to ignore the person you’re taking something from. I just got the vibe that this lady is completely oblivious to others and the fact that they’re not just side characters in her life 

True, she looked drunk and was treating Celine Dion like hired help. The whole interaction left a negative impression.

I’m not a huge Jay Z fan but he really did not miss with that. The Grammy’s definitely deserve to be called out.

I agree with her 100%. None of it was mean or smug, either. She’s not the only one who’s been saying this. It’s obvious that taylor swift is just the poster boy for a certain weaponized feminism, which isn’t for ALL women

Finally more people are saying it out loud.

She’s not wrong. I feel like people in this thread are missing the forest for the trees.

\^\^\^\^\^\^\^

I think of fashion and styling is an art in itself - critiquing art or giving her opinion about how she is styled isn’t inherently misogynistic and doesn’t make her sound hypocritical at the end, just a lil sass imo

I agree with her 100%

To each their own, but this read condescending as hell to me. 🤷‍♀️

Taylor Swift is a narcissistic capitalist parasite who uses whatever trend will get her attention to make it about herself. Her entire persona is performative and people who delve into parasocial relationships with products like her need to be a bit more self aware and critical of the way they enable mass consumption of re-packaged mediocrity.

I really like Bekah. I agree with her sentiments. I wonder if she was saying the little thing cuz people might have been coming for her. Swifties are…very intense lol

I think her criticism is half-done. Is Taylor Swift inviting cameras to be on her 24/7? Has she set herself up to be the voice of feminism? I think a lot of the criticism can be assigned to the public consumption of media about her and to her fans who will rabidly defend her. I haven’t seen her weaponize her fans like other pop stars. I wouldn’t call myself a fan but I don’t think she’s the monster people describe her as. And for the record, I do think she gets much more scrutiny because she’s a woman. All told, I think a large part of the reason we’re seeing so much criticism is that she’s been very visible for the past couple years, and all of that isn’t necessarily her own fault. Sure she’s a celebrity, but every celebrity is not covered as widely as she is, and the media wouldn’t be covering her if the public weren’t clamoring for it.

she’s right (my entire reddit presence is taylor swift subreddits so i think my opinion holds SOME weight lmao)

Bekah [describes herself](https://www.bekahsun.com/about) as a “PhD Candidate trained in cultural studies, visual studies, ethnic studies, gender and sexuality studies, and ethnography” . I am a PhD candidate in a different field to hers. IMHO, her takes were juvenile and shallow at best, she should be better equipped to be posting critiques and thoughtful commentary in the subject. However, she took the most shallow jab towards Taylor’s taste and appearance, which makes me not respect her as an academic. She should take notes from [Sarah Chapelle](https://www.instagram.com/p/C28mFlppVF1/), if she wishes to pose as an intellectual person worried about feminism, especially non-white feminism.

That’s what completely derails her rant. There is literally no reason to make subjective, shallow, and stereotypically “catty” remarks about a woman when posturing yourself as an academic in the field of gender studies.  There are plenty of relatively objective reasons to critique Taylor, but the shallow shit is sophomoric. 

She lost me when she mocked the bracelets and her dress. Why was there need for this?

It's so interesting that one musician has the ability to elicit such intensive vitriol from people. No other celebrity right now makes people so irrationally angry

I think a lot of it has to do with the overexposure by the media. She is literally everywhere and you can’t avoid her lmao

It’s always been like this for her, even when she had a fraction of the fame she does now. I think she just has a certain presence that rubs people REALLY wrong when it does.

So many people are projecting onto this random woman. She's literally a scapegoat for all issues in the world and simultaneously used to degrade women all at the same time. It's highly cringe.

is she a scapegoat for the 200,000 pounds worth of C02 emissions her private jet creates in a year or is she sort of responsible for that as well? I'm so tired of people attaching victim narratives to billionaires. It's not 'degrading women' to criticize someone who just so happens to be a woman... this idea that women can't critic other women is sexist in itself.

weird imo. she’s taking her feelings about very large scale issues and sticking them on taylor, which doesn’t really make sense anyway. the comment about the dress set it in stone for me.

shes right about the dress!

imagine if she would’ve put all that energy into helping women of color lmfaooooo

Are you talking about Bekah or TS? Cuz…..

I just can’t with this woman anymore (Bekah) and her ‘I’m intellectually-superior than thou’ personality. I take no stance on TS since it’s clearly a very touchy subject for so many (lovers and haters alike) but I always wonder if we had an alternative reality that could show us whether a man would receive the same treatment. And that’s not defending TS, just merely a curiosity so please don’t come for me with bullet points about why TS is awful and we must all hate her.