#SquadGoals refers to the objectives a group of female friends want to accomplish together. The hashtag #SquadGoals took off running in 2015 after Taylor started bringing out a band of her famous girlfriends - including Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, and Selena Gomez - at all of her concerts. Her Use Of "Squad" Is Also Cultural Appropriation While those are valid concerns, she doesn't seem invested in the immense struggles nonwhite women face every day. She defines feminism as "another word for equality" and complains about the double standards we still face. I have yet to see anything from Taylor that would indicate that she cares about women of color and their struggles. She exhibited the crux of White Feminism: completely ignoring serious race-related issues while strutting a feminism that is defined as "women sticking together." As Nosheen Iqbal wrote for The Guardian, Nicki was "archetyped as the angry black woman," while Taylor was "bizarrely cast as the feminist hero." She also called out the fact that winning videos always feature " women with very slim bodies." Instead of recognizing the heart of her comments, Swift jumped in and accused Minaj of pitting women against each other. Nicki was simply noting how black women are hardly ever recognized in the music industry, even though they are significant influences on pop culture. It was indicative of how blind most white women in Hollywood are to the race-based injustices that women of color face every day. But as much as it was painted as just another "cat fight" by some media outlets, there was a much deeper meaning. I wouldn't be surprised if you're bored to death of hearing about the Twitter squabble between Swift and Minaj that took place last year.
#TAYLOR SWIFT YOUR MOM GAY MEME FULL#
Her Music Videos Are Full Of Cultural Appropriation Here are five reasons I no longer call myself a Swifty. Taylor Swift is old enough now to understand the ramifications of her public actions, and we need to hold her accountable. I might get a lot of hate mail for this one, but I'm prepared.
Yet instead of teaching girls and women valuable lessons, I feel she is merely perpetuating several archaic values. People everywhere listen to her every word. That wouldn't normally be so upsetting if it were any other famous singer/songwriter, but Taylor holds a lot of power. She is so caught up in her white privilege that she can't even consider that there are any other perspectives out there. As a feminist of color, I feel disheartened when I hear Taylor Swift speak about feminism, which she does pretty often. However, those are all small examples of the bigger issues at hand. And her recent flaunting of her girl "squad" was the real icing on the cake. Her public spat with Katy Perry made me roll my eyes, but her response to Nicki Minaj on Twitter was what got me riled up. The whiny breakup songs were getting old, and I got pretty irritated when she complained about her dating life becoming "a national pastime." Come on, Taylor. Due to irreconcilable differences, I've officially broken it it off with her. But as much as I adored her in our teenage years, particularly during the "Love Story" days, we've gone our separate ways recently. We're only a few months apart in age, so I feel like we sort of grew up together. She was the one who cheered me up when my grandma died. She was the one I ran to when my first serious boyfriend dumped me days before my 18th birthday.