A Feminist Analysis of Taylor Swift with Lierre Keith & Sheila Jeff... | |
by Women's Liberation Radio News | |
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This is the second in a two-part LIVE WLRN discussion | |
series about the Taylor Swift phenomenon and its impact | |
on girls and women. | |
Join Thistle Pettersen as she hosts two of feminism's top | |
authors and theorists to analyze and understand women's | |
draw to Ms. Swift's life and her work. | |
Lierre Keith is the author of seven books, including The | |
Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, a | |
work called the most important ecological book of this | |
generation. She is coauthor, with Derrick Jensen and Max | |
Wilbert, of Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental | |
Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It. She is | |
the founder of WoLF (Women s Liberation Front), a | |
nonprofit that is suing the state of California on behalf | |
of women forced to share prison cells with men. She lives | |
in | |
the redwoods with an enormous pack of enormous dogs. | |
Sheila Jeffreys writes in the areas of sexual politics, | |
international gender politics, and lesbian & gay | |
politics. She has written ten books on the history and | |
politics of sexuality. Originally from the UK, Sheila | |
moved to Melbourne in 1991 to take up a position at the | |
University of Melbourne. She retired back to the UK in | |
2015. She has been actively involved in feminist and | |
lesbian feminist politics, particularly around the issue | |
of sexual violence, since 1973. Ms. Jeffreys is a founder | |
of the Women's Declaration International and an author of | |
the Declaration on Women's Sex-Based Rights. | |
The two theorists were given the following questions to | |
research and explore before our discussion. You too can | |
look them over and join in the chat on Sunday! | |
1. Please read this article | |
https://unherd.com/2023/12/the-dark-truth-about-taylor- | |
swift/?fbclid=IwAR3- | |
U82fuKp_Z9eZNa6ugpqOwA_gMqpxB9BV_Us6ThnUkYrAm-evv3233Lg | |
recommended by WLRN's aurora linnea to understand the TS | |
cultural phenom and then watch NPR's Tiny Desk | |
performance of Taylor Swift's. | |
Question: How does Taylor Swift's romantic philosophy of | |
heterosexual love and romantic relationships help or | |
hinder women who view her as a role model? In the famous | |
Taylor Swift Tiny Desk Concert, her appearance engenders | |
in the mind of the viewer a Barbie Doll like figure, yet | |
she is smart and talented, thereby subverting her | |
submissive role, correct? Does her wit and charm in her | |
break-up songs provide a critique of men or just | |
reinforce romantic, wistful notions of hetero-patriarchy | |
in the love experiences of women? (Five minutes) | |
Part Two: Our own beloved Posie Parker embodies a Marilyn | |
Monroe societal female archetype, yet she also subverts | |
the dominant paradigm by opening her mouth and speaking | |
intelligently and effectively to organize girls and women | |
to stand up for our rights. How does a public figure's | |
looks, in this case Taylor Swift's Barbie image | |
juxtaposed with Posie Parker's Marylyn Monroe look, | |
impact the women and girls absorbing their media? Is what | |
a lady says more important than how a lady looks? If so, | |
can we, as feminists, give Taylor a break? (Five minutes) | |
2. When you first heard of the TS phenomenon, did you | |
dismiss it, read about it further or what was your first | |
response to exposure to Ms. Swift's influence on women | |
and girls? Read Time Magazine's Person of the Year: | |
Taylor Swift and this article | |
https://womensagenda.com.au/latest/soapbox/is-there-such- | |
a-thing-as-a-feminist-billionaire/ about her billionaire | |
status and any other articles you wish to illustrate your | |
first thoughts upon exposure to the Taylor Swift pheonom. | |
(Five minutes) | |
3. Please listen to the song "Mad Woman", and comment on | |
Ms. Swift's lyrics-writing capabilities. (Five minutes) | |
4. Are there any other lyrics you'd like to highlight and | |
analyze? Meghan Murphy, founder of Feminist Current, | |
wrote this piece https://www.meghanmurphy.ca/p/why-i-wont- | |
shut-up-about-taylor-swift Murphy highlights some of | |
Swift's lyrics in the piece to prove how "untalented and | |
boring" Swift is. (Five minutes) | |
5. Radical Lesbian Feminist critics have gone after Swift | |
for supporting LGBTQ+ organizations and promoting | |
political voting among her followers that supports the | |
Equality Act and the replacement of "sex" with "gender | |
identity." This criticism came to a head last year when | |
Swift produced a video for her song Lavender Haze | |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8DLofLM7No that featured | |
a "trans man" with her breasts surgically removed. This | |
act was glorified in the lyrics and cinematography of the | |
video. Please watch the video in its entirety linked | |
above and then these two videos, before commenting. (Five | |
minutes) | |
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/taylor-swift-laith-ashley- | |
casts-trans-model-lavender-haze-music-video-love-interest/ | |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCH19_8E4Hw | |
6. As a final short question, is there anything | |
redeemable in the Taylor Swift phenomenon? (Five minutes) | |
Date Published: 2025-01-23 14:28:10 | |
Identifier: youtube-sN0pl8cQnLk | |
Item Size: 1200276617 | |
Media Type: movies | |
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