Taylor Swift, the most influential female artist and culturally significant entertainer, has the power to make change but promotes a white-woman feminism, a philosophy instructor from New Mexico State University said April 23 at Trinity University.
Trinity hosted its annual Lennox Lecture Series seminar. Taylor Swift and Queer Politics: Parasocial Expectations and Exceptions” led by Dr. Ley Cray.
This year’s topic for the seminar was Taylor Swift as a literary and recording artist. This was the fourth and final lecture of this year’s seminar series.
“I do not identify as a Swiftie,” Cray said. “My goal for today is to be for you all a feminist killjoy”
Cray cited a quote from Sarah Ahmed, author of “The Promise of Happiness” from 2010, who pondered about the “feminist killjoy” as someone who destroys people’s joy by identifying sexism or who uncovers negative feelings hidden under public signs of joy.”
Ahmed also wondered if anger over sexism already exists or if it gets brought to the surfacewhen someone exposes it.
The lecture did not talk about Taylor Swift as a private individual person, but as the iconic and influential public figure constructed as a “Social and Media Object.”
Cray explained a performance persona as a cultivated mask one puts on for performance purposes and there are times where one can see the construction of the persona.
In the 2020 Netflix documentary “Miss Americana,” Taylor Swift converses with her dad and peers about her public criticism of Donald. J Trump and the backlash that can come with speaking out.
“I really hope that it actually, actually does something,” Swift said in the documentary. “I feel 200 pounds lighter.”
Swift is negotiating her public persona and the inclusion of these scenes in the documentary are part of the construction of the persona.
Cray explained queer politics with quotes that help explain what queer can be.
Cray included a quote from bell hooks’ 2014 panel discussion “Are You Still a Slave? Liberating the Black Female Body.” hooks said “queer” is not defined only as one’s sex partner but by identifying oneself in opposition to everything and finding “a place to speak and to thrive and to live.”
Cray also cited José Esteban Muñoz, author of “Cruising Utopia,” who said queerness rejects the present state of affairs and explores the potential for an alternative world.
“Now I don’t know about you all. I find these words deeply moving, this is a world that makes it extremely dangerous for some of us to walk through.” Cray said. “The project of queerness is building a future where we have a home.”
Cray also noted that understanding sexism requires understanding racism.
Cray described the difference between parasocial relationships (PR) and mass parasocial relationships (MPR): The former is an asymmetrical non-mutual relationship between a person and a public figure.The latter is a collection of (PR) with one public figure and a mass amount of followers. Usually the public figure has no personal contact with the masses.
Swift and Swifties have curated a parasocial connection that some consider friendship due to Swift’s expertise in creating and maintaining MPR. She does this through her song writing, confessional style interviews, personal interactive performance and encouraging her audience to interact with teasers and clues.
“Leaving little trails of things for fans to follow, to feel closer and closer and more connected not just to each other but to her as well,” Cray said. “Despite the fact that they have never met her and Taylor doesn’t know who you are.”
Swift has a lot of power, a massive influential figure and great responsibility to not harm her supporters and the people in MPR with her.
Cray said her lecture is a response to a proposal from a philosophy conference last year. The. proposal hypothesized that Swift serves as a role model for women and girls in her mass parasocial relationships.
Swift donates to charitable causes including schools, libraries, hospitals, individual GoFundMe efforts and has had a history of vocally supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
“She has no qualms in being clear that in some broad sense, she supports some broad entity called the LGBTQIA+ community,” Cray said. “So, yeah, feminist icon, she satisfies her imperfect duty, given her power of position in the mass parasocial relationship through these ways.”
Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department,” blocking Charli XCX from hitting No.1 in the UK music charts. Swift’s re-releasing her songs makes it so other women don’t have an opportunity of hitting the top of the charts, Cray said.
“It’s a way of manipulating the market, so if we are feminist and we are trying to help out the girls, it’s a weird way to do it,” Cray said.
Cray said Swift acts as controlled opposition by reinforcing the “straight” agenda, upholding capitalist values and preserving commercial and political appeal through generalized, non-specific support of “LGBTQIA+ people.”
“It is not controversial to say I support the LGBTQIA+, but if you care about trans kids, say you care about trans kids, and to date she has not done that,” Cray said. “Why? Because this is generic, this is love is love, this is department store rainbow store capitalism, this is Target activism, this is not actually taking a stance for vulnerable marginalized people.
“She also disproportionately contributes to the ongoing climate crisis, which disproportionately affects people including women and girls in the global south through her willfully oversized carbon footprint,” Cray said.
“I will also say she remains to this date silent on the ongoing genocide of palestinian people including the mass indiscriminate slaughter of innocent women and children,” Cray said.
“Don’t say you support women if you are watching thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of women being slaughtered every day,” Cray said. “You can say you support white women, but don’t say you support women.”
Cray cited a quote from Elie Wiesel, who said taking sides is imperative in helping the victims; Being neutral and staying silent incentivises harassers.
“Looking at Taylor, the Construct I would say guilty, guilty, guilty,” Cray said.
Ultimately, she promotes white feminism, Cray said.
“It’s as much a feminism as a rubber duck is a duck. Which is to say that it’s not, it’s a cheap imitation.”
Cray encouraged the audience to practice objectively analyzing their favorite artist, start understanding the political nature in everything and give an unapologetic voice to queer identity, queer experience and the struggles of queer people.
“They should really listen. Listen to the marginalized voices and really be mindful of when your own desire for entertainment or satisfaction is causing you to ignore struggles of other people,” Cray said. “Is our need for entertainment from a particular artist greater than our need to take care of our most vulnerable people globally?”
