غم نہ کر

i mean, being criticized for a music video where she larped being a colonist in africa wasn’t enough for tswift to address her privilege–which goes way beyond race, given her generational wealth–in any way. being criticized for using black women as props in the video for shake it off wasn’t enough. being criticized for acting personally victimized when nicki minaj pointed out that she and beyonce were snubbed by the mtv vmas in 2015, using the classic white feminist refrain of “pitting women against each other” to paint nicki as the angry aggressive black woman, wasn’t enough. (i’m not even a fan of nicki minaj, so don’t start lecturing me about her wrongdoings. i’m aware.) being criticized for comparing the negativity she receives to homophobia, while appropriating black gay slang, in you need to calm down wasn’t enough. having a very active and large white supremacist fanbase didn’t prompt any meaningful action, either. no, the only thing that could bring tswift to speak out is marketability.

swift built her career on two things: 1) her generational wealth, and 2) being a paragon of all-american white womanhood. pale, blond, skinny, surrounded by a cadre of equally skinny famous women, always the victim of a black woman or man. victimhood is integral to white womanhood; i’m not saying that white women are never victims of injustice, obviously they can be. but to be recognized as a victim of anything in the first place, it helps to be a delicate white cis woman with a mostly family-friendly image and a privileged background. 

swift was country back when growing up on your plutocrat father’s christmas tree farm was a more profitable image. she had a faux rebellious image when that was what sold albums. her visuals and her music change to fit what sells best–more than your average pop star, which is saying something–because her music, her image, all of it, is so tightly calculated to represent the most marketable white girl next door. now that there’s a massive public discussion around racism and being gay or bi is more socially acceptable in the US than ever before, she’s pivoted to surface-level reformist anti-racism (if you can even call it that) and putting rainbows in her visuals.