Taylor Swift's new album is called "Reputation" and many of us are already rolling our eyes at the whole thing. She teased her new work with a video of a snake, the symbol Kim Kardashian used to refer to Swift when she exposed Swift for lying about Kardashian's husband, Kanye West.
But now she actually seems to be addressing her "reputation" as a snake. But what this probably means is that she's going to continue to use white feminism as a brand and preach girl power while tearing down other women, only addressing issues that directly affect her, and playing the victim.
Here's why Taylor Swift isn't the feminist she claims to be.
She's only a feminist when it's convenient for her.
Taylor recently went to court to testify against a DJ that groped her at a meet-and-greet. It's undeniable that she took a brave and important stand against sexual assault. Pursuing her case, despite the lack of privacy she was afforded, was a commendable move to prove to her gargantuan fandom that women deserve agency over their bodies.
And while she also very publicly supported Kesha during her sexual assault trial (which was criticized by many as a publicity stunt), her advocacy for women's rights starts and ends there.
She hasn't stood with Planned Parenthood, she didn't attend the Women's March, and she never condemned any of Trump's racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic rhetoric.
When Black girls started disappearing at alarming rates in Washington D.C. or were shot and killed by police, Taylor couldn't even be bothered to tweet #BlackLivesMatter or #BringBackOurGirls. When Trump banned transgender women from the military: crickets. The list goes on. If you don't look like her, you are not part of her feminism.
She made Nicki Minaj getting overlooked at the VMAs about her.
Taylor is incredibly skilled at making situations that have nothing to do with her somehow about her. When Nicki Minaj got snubbed at the 2015 VMAs the rapper tweeted, "If your video celebrates women with very slim bodies, you will be nominated for vid of the year." It was in no way an attack on a specific artist — Minaj was simply pointing out a very real double standard.
But of course, Swift immediately took it as a dig. She responded, "@NICKIMINAJ I've done nothing but love & support you. It's unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot.."
Nicki Minaj was very confused tweeting, "Huh? U must not be reading my tweets. Didn't say a word about u. I love u just as much. But u should speak on this. @taylorswift13."
Not only did Nicki tell Taylor that she literally wasn't talking about her, she praised her and asked if she would join her in holding MTV accountable for this problematic beauty standard and erasure of women of color. But of course Nicki was villainized by the media — and Taylor did nothing to stop it.
"Bad Blood" was supposed to promote girl power but it was all about tearing another girl down.
There were undoubtedly some kick-ass women in the "Bad Blood" music video. Seeing so many women depicted as action heroes when we're so frequently depicted as damsels in distress definitely should have been a powerful message. But if you listen to the lyrics, you'll quickly realize that the song and video really miss the mark.
The "squad" (ugh, no, Swift did not invent that term) of women in her video are all seen getting ready for an attack, probably against Selena Gomez's character. It's clear that the song is about her female pop star rival Katy Perry. She sings, "And time can heal, but this won't/So if you come in my way/Just don't." Doesn't sound like someone who wants to end the feud.
So basically, she's gathering a group of women to tear down another woman — exactly what she has accused Katy Perry of doing. That irony was lost on none of us.
She implied that Kim Kardashian can't think for herself because she's with Kanye.
Kanye West apologized a looong time ago for interrupting Taylor's VMA speech in 2009. And Taylor accepted that apology a long time ago as well.
So when Kanye called Taylor to approve a line for his new "The Life of Pablo" album – you know, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/Why? I made that bitch famous" – and she then lied about the phone call and played the victim, we were very happy to see Kim K save the day.
After Kim Kardashian released video footage of Taylor approving the line and promising Kanye that she'd tell the press that she was in on it, Taylor very foolishly stuck with her lie. She even accused Kim Kardashian of being "influenced" by her husband. Yikes. Because other women can't think for themselves, right?
She said in the statement, "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, one that I have never asked to be a part of, since 2009." Classy.
She used her 2016 Grammy win to make a feminist statement — but it was based off a lie.
When Swift won the Grammy for Album of the Year with "1989," she took to the stage to make her victimhood obvious.
"As the first woman to win album of the year at the Grammys twice, I want to say to all the young women out there: there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame," she stated.
If that's really how she feels, why did she tell Kanye she didn't have a problem with the lyrics? She took advantage of the moment to brand herself as a feminist icon to little girls, but was capitalizing on a lie to do so. It felt fake and contrived. What Taylor Swift did with her sexual assault trial was incredibly important. But we're going to need some more evidence that she's changed before believing she's truly the feminist role model she claims to be.
