trigger warning // r*pe, domestic abuse
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]aylor Swift did something that defies her feminist views again. I’m not surprised. Granted, we can’t necessarily define her feminist views, only she can. You’d think that writing a song for a movie that not only normalizes, but glorifies abuse, would be against a female empowerment rhetoric. Or really, any rhetoric, because who the fuck is pro-abuse?
“Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is the first single from the soundtrack to “Fifty Shades Darker,” the sequel to the highly popular—and highly controversial—“Fifty Shades of Grey.” The movie, depicting Seattle entrepreneur Christian Grey’s BDSM-charged relationship with Anastasia Steele, received vicious feminist criticism on behalf of the movie perpetuating and even romanticizing intimate partner violence (IPV,) and misrepresenting relationships in a BDSM context.
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/807076804687183873
And this isn’t unsubstantiated. In a study published in the Journal of Women’s Health, surveyors talked to 655 women aged 18 to 24. The 25 percent that had admitted to reading “Fifty Shades” were found to be more likely to have been victims of abuse, and there are multiple lines in the novel that indicate a lack of consent. “Fifty Shades” also romanticizes Christian Grey’s emotionally manipulative tendencies, as a Washington Post writer describes. So, essentially, this book has abusive ties in more than one context, and directly defies the concept of a BDSM relationship, which is based heavily on permission. And, you know, not rape.
If it wasn’t apparent, this is not a series you should want to fucking associate yourself with, feminist or not. I’d be embarrassed to read this in public. The only thing more humiliating than picking up a copy of E.L. James’ book in a Barnes and Noble would be buying two of them.
So if this is a franchise that capitalizes on the understatement of domestic violence, why is Taylor Swift associating herself with it? The obvious answer is that she totes feminism when it benefits her, but chooses to dismiss it when its used to criticize her. But the problem seems to run deeper, especially concerning this series and self-proclaimed feminists. Because while Zayn was on this track too, for all we know, he could have supported Trump. His most socially-outspoken stance this year was during his Twitter beef with Azealia Banks. He isn’t the problem right now.
But getting back to feminists somehow supporting this series – Swift isn’t the first to do so. Ellie Goulding and Beyoncé contributed to the first movie’s soundtrack, with “Love Me Like You Do” and a 2014 rework of her 2003 single “Crazy in Love.” And that’s frankly incredibly disappointing. While all of these women have been on par with their views outside of this specific instance, and gone above and beyond in Beyoncé’s case, it’s difficult to consider this a bad apple of their career. Both because this isn’t a bad apple, it’s an orchard full of them, and save for Bey, these artists haven’t done much to improve their rhetorical feminist resumé. This year Swift refused to even speak out against Donald Trump’s intense and overt misogyny and Goulding could only tweet about it.
https://twitter.com/elliegoulding/status/736193293336334336
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, at least in my opinion, that Taylor Swift would contribute to the soundtrack after she’s already been defying her own views since she aligned herself with them. Not to mention, celebrities that can at least be an example of a good feminist have already contributed to this soundtrack, so why not drag the bar down a little fucking lower? But listen, this is not something to shrug off. Usually, when celebrities get caught doing something considered wrong, one of two things happens. The first option is they delete the evidence and make a half-assed apology. That doesn’t seem very likely, because this is something everyone involved is going to profit on, and it seems a little out of character for the entertainment industry to prioritize monetary gain over the societal implications of it. The second option is nothing is said, because it’s just easier to not say anything and therefore avoid the backlash. That seems to be Taylor Swift’s M.O., but make no mistake, this is something to speak out about.
This contributes to the normalization of abuse. Purposefully, or unintentionally, this normalizes abuse. And Taylor Swift, or anyone else, cannot get away with that unabridged.
So what is there to do? Well, the chances of this song being wiped from existence are sadly slim to none, so the best course of action is to make sure people understand just how shitty it is that a self-proclaimed advocate for women’s rights is openly supporting relationship violence. How is this done, though?
Talk. Tweet. Write. Inform. Educate. Yell. Scream. Just get your message across. Tell Taylor Swift stans their fave is being problematic, and that they better grow up and acknowledge it. Continue to speak out against “Fifty Shades,” and continue to inform the underlying context of the franchise. I don’t think I have to spell that context out for you at this point, but just to really emphasize: it’s fucking abuse. Victims of it are already forced into silence, either by their attackers or by the society around them that fetishizes what they go through.
And it’s important to try to distinct yourself from being part of that problem.
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