This all reminds me of the ways culture tried to brush aside Alanis Morissette when Jagged Little Pill came out. At the time, I dismissed her too, deciding that Ani DiFranco was more authentic (now I love them both), which of course is a how far we have or haven’t come point of reference.
I will add that the continuum (Swift on one end, Rodrigo on the other) that girls have to reconcile with is real, but speaking as just one queer girl, I never felt like I was ON it, but instead watching it as an outside spectator, where the “real” girls (read straight, or even bi) lived and (attempted to) received love.
Thank you for writing this piece. It hit me in a few places (and likely more as I reread and let it simmer). I have almost 10-year-olds who are huge Swifties and Olivia Rodrigo fans. I had no clue about the feud, but I will look into it. Okay, but on to TS. I am a long-time indie rock fan who always prefers small batch to mass production. In addition, I am a fiend for a good song, whoever writes and records it. And this is where I got caught up in the TS mania. We can argue the topics about which they are written, but she is a songwriting wizard. There is immense full-body joy in her music for me. Is she a white cis heteronormative wanna-be-townie? YES. As you've said, the issues go way beyond Taylor, Olivia, Beyoncé, and SZA. That's all for now.
I’m pretty sure the feud is fake! But who knows. And I get that joy— I spend about 75% of my mothering time these days listening to Swift with my kids, so I understand the appeal!
This all reminds me of the ways culture tried to brush aside Alanis Morissette when Jagged Little Pill came out. At the time, I dismissed her too, deciding that Ani DiFranco was more authentic (now I love them both), which of course is a how far we have or haven’t come point of reference.
I will add that the continuum (Swift on one end, Rodrigo on the other) that girls have to reconcile with is real, but speaking as just one queer girl, I never felt like I was ON it, but instead watching it as an outside spectator, where the “real” girls (read straight, or even bi) lived and (attempted to) received love.
This makes so much sense.
Thank you for writing this piece. It hit me in a few places (and likely more as I reread and let it simmer). I have almost 10-year-olds who are huge Swifties and Olivia Rodrigo fans. I had no clue about the feud, but I will look into it. Okay, but on to TS. I am a long-time indie rock fan who always prefers small batch to mass production. In addition, I am a fiend for a good song, whoever writes and records it. And this is where I got caught up in the TS mania. We can argue the topics about which they are written, but she is a songwriting wizard. There is immense full-body joy in her music for me. Is she a white cis heteronormative wanna-be-townie? YES. As you've said, the issues go way beyond Taylor, Olivia, Beyoncé, and SZA. That's all for now.
I’m pretty sure the feud is fake! But who knows. And I get that joy— I spend about 75% of my mothering time these days listening to Swift with my kids, so I understand the appeal!