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New York, 2:51 PM
Mon Dec 7
33 posts in the last 24 hours
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01:55 PM
12/06/09
But, honestly, I think this is a lot of hubbub over not that much. I watched and listened to that Abigail song that was supposed to be slut shaming and... didn't think it was that at all. I thought it was about going to far with a boy only to have him ditch you later. And, yeah, that happens. It's telling girls that boys lie and that if they tell you they love you they might not always mean it as much as you do.
Also, I thought the one about loving the boy next door was perfectly legitimizing to the expieriance of young teen girls who fantasize about an out of reach guy and thinking that "well, if he just KNEW me he'd totally dump that hot girl he's with..."
I think at the end of the day the only weird thing is that I feel like the experiences she sings about are more that of 13 year olds and not 19 year olds. And I'm surprised she still has that in her.
12/06/09
In all seriousness, though, a couple folks have thrown out Dolly as an example of someone who's some kind of feminist icon, and I love me some Dolly, but please, have you ever listened to the lyrics of "Jolene"? And I see some mentions of Alanis, too, but even she released "Head Over Feet" as a single (rather than, say, "Not the Doctor" or "Right Through You"). I don't know, I guess I am sort of wading into the fray here, but I see "Fifteen" and "Fuck and Run" as two sides of the same coin, that coin being, "Wish I hadn't dated/smooched/boned/fallen in love with that dude, since he turned out to be an asshole and now I feel bad about it." In closing,
LEAVE TAYLOR ALONE!!!1!1!!11!
12/06/09
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12/06/09
In short, my point was, don't be all "Taylor Swift's music undermines feminism" and then invoke Alanis or Dolly as women whose music and lyrics, on their faces, does not. And in that vein, commenters below have lamented "Love Story" and have either been unaware of, or have brushed off the fact that, "White Horse" is Part II of that narrative. It takes context to make "Jolene" into a woman-positive narrative; likewise, "Head Over Feet" is "forgivable" in light of "You Oughta Know."
Jesus, I could write a whole nother ten pages on this (and I did, in fact, write a paper in college, 2002, on this topic vis a vis Britney); long story short, sometimes we invoke one woman's life and career as a way to undermine and criticize another's (Dolly v. Taylor), when in reality they are both tremendously powerful, successful women, and the difference between them TODAY is that Taylor is 19 and Dolly is 63 and gets the depth of context afforded to people with 40-year, rather than 4-year, careers.
I hope this is not completely nonsensical. It was clearly not "in short." Sorry. It's a topic that gets my blood flowing and synapses firing. Nothing but love for Dolly.
07:58 AM
10:04 AM
12/05/09
12/05/09
12/06/09
She's a cutie. And she's doing just fine.
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12/05/09
Anyone who makes such an AWESOME video with T-Pain deserves as much. In fact, in the video she MOCKS her nice girl status "I KNIT SWEATERS, YO." in a way that's refreshing and kind of like "I get that I'm not that exciting of a person because I like to knit and bake but that's what I like to do let me wrap about it with T-Pain!" Because I'm 24, and I like to knit and bake.
12/05/09
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12/05/09
So if she's meant to be a pure little lamb, I had no idea. Her songs are annoyingly catchy, and I find her (pretty tame) vindictive streak sort of awesome. Who HASN'T wanted to take a jab at their jerk ex-boyfriend/personal Kanye, while smiling sweetly?
12/05/09
I've always liked her simply because her songs are exactly like a teenager diary. At 20 going on 21 I'm at an age where I'm not in a teenage world anymore but I wouldn't know it by the teenage behavior this is still prominent in my work and university life.
When her first songs came out I was her prime target audience. I felt like she gave teenage girls away to be sad that didn't have the so-called emo vibe to it. It was a sparkly happiness that cried in her(my) room when relationships I had bigger dreams for fell to pieces.
For this reason I'll always support the (current) music she is putting out. And I'm going to enjoy myself at her concert this May :)
12/05/09
Let her wear cute dresses and write songs about boys, but don't use those things to make guesses about her intelligence or beliefs.
12/05/09
After all, feminism is a lot about accepting women how they accept themselves.
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12/05/09
Even though it totally irked me to hear college-age girls belt out "Romeo save me, I've been feelin' so alone," I would have been totally inclined to agree with you because a feminist certainly does not need to be overtly sexual. But then I saw her "15" video, which Sady Doyle discusses in the link hortense listed, and I was swayed Doyle's analysis. The judge-y attitude goes beyond "I'm a cute, doe-eyed romantic" and into the dangerous realm of slut shaming.
But one song does not a career make, so I guess we'll see what happens when she gets older. Luckily 15 wasn't one of her more popular hits.
12/05/09
12/05/09
Let's get together and send her a "THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE" t-shirt, please?
12/05/09
12/05/09
Although Marie has had her troubles (two divorces and a very public postpartum depression period), she still remains the sweet, innocent girl I looked up to. If Taylor has the right people around her, she can survive the trappings of Hollywood. I really hope she can.
Between her goofy appearance on Dancing with Stars and those creepy dolls she sells on QVC, I still love Marie Osmond!
12/05/09
Part of the reason she seems so likable may have to due with the fact they we're surrounded by the opposite as far as young entertainers go.
I have to say though, I kind of love Nick Jones (the youngest, I think). He has type 1 Diabetes, and so does my 12 y.o. cousin. She wrote him a letter and got to meet him...she was encouraged and absolutely thrilled.
12/05/09
12/05/09
At first, I was accepting of the whole new squeaky-clean Hollywood generation but it has officially begun to bug me. The vast majority of teen idols do not make good role models for kids and parents used to know that. I'm just sick of these uber-pure Jonas Brother type celebrities. They all seem either artificial or extremely annoying.
As for Swift, I genuinely like her. While I dislike the "super wholesome image and princess-fairy-tale" aspect of her popularity, I feel like that's only from others projecting that image onto her. Plus, the girl actually has talent, which is becoming alarmingly rare these days (have I mentioned the Joans Brothers already?). I get really sick of her "Ugh, that boy is so cute! I wish he liked me!" songs but hopefully as she becomes are more respected artist, she'll realize that she doesn't need that trite anymore.
That said, I REALLY MISS THE '90s! Think about it, we had the Spice Girls preachin' girl power and teen comedies starring thirty year-olds and featuring realistic/non-preachy messages. Those were good times that the youth of today will never be able to get back.
P.S. I hate you, Disney Channel. You went from Bug Juice and Even Stevens to Hannah Montana and JONAS. YOU'RE RUINING THE YOUTH OF AMERICA!
12/05/09
That girl's got a lot to learn.
12/05/09
12/05/09
1. no one is better than the Beatles for so many reasons there is not enough time in world to even discuss it. Accept as fact.
2. the Reverend Ted Haggard
3. Every guy over an 8 on the tween girl hot-scale = raging homo or at the very least styled by one (see Zac Efron).
12/05/09
Unrequited crush on your cute, hot, kind male BFF, ahoy!
12/05/09
12/05/09
I find Taylor Swift so vanilla that I can't really enjoy her music. The songs are too homogenous in a Nickelback way. There's no passion or introduction to a new way of thinking.
I hate that the Disney Channel morphed into a bland mush when it had such a variety of shows and naturally talented kids. I became disillusioned that they tried to make all their actors triple threats in the Kids Bop variety and immersing themselves in tv movies. I breathe a sigh of relief that talented young girls like Dakota Fanning, Abigail Breslin, and Jamia Nash don't fall under their allure.
12/05/09
ONE WORD: HEARTED.
(Seriously, your comment perfectly defined everything - well almost everything; MTV has nothing related to music anymore and tabloids have reached critical mass - that I find wrong with today's pop culture)
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