Taylor Swift's Latest Video: Feminism that ain't so swift!

by Stephen B.Chadwick, MA Counselling Psychology.

www.cowichancounselling.ca

So Dear Friends,

Taylor Swift

Many more updates to come, but I just thought I would put this out. I happened to chance upon Taylor Swift's latest video. As I have stated in my other post about cutting yourself some slack , and why it is sometimes useful to switch out the character in the story -- namely your own story. One can see why, perhaps this latest video is a tad on the disturbing side.




Just imagine in this instance if the lead female character in Swift's video were "switched" out for a male character. Of course in Hollywood this happens all the time: female characters are changed to male characters, black characters are changed to white characters, etc.,etc.

However, viewing this video from "another lens", i.e. if one was a man, then the storyline would be quite offensive and understandably people would be quite up in arms.

Pablo Picasso

This is not to say that "political correctness" or gender equality should rule the day with regards to self-expression or art. On the contrary, some of the greatest artists of the last twentieth century were incredibly offensive for their times.

Egon Schiele

Picasso, for example, in his time, was considered so avant-garde in his time that patrons to exhibits would sometimes actually spit on his paintings in disgust. And now Picasso is hardly considered avant-garde, but run of the mill cliché. Egon Schiele, another early 20th century German artist from the Weimar Republic was even more risqué, however I won't go into the details.

Jonathan Swift

Suffice it to say, that when viewing any kind of art or media, even this blog, for example, one has to consider the content and the form. Indeed, if it was Taylor Swift's intention to stimulate and provoke thought and discussion, then it is worth it. Another famous Swift -- Jonathan Swift this time, was an Anglo-Irish satirist of the 18th century who used just that provocativeness, especially in his work:A Modest Proposal to satirize and vilify the abominable treatment of the poor in Ireland and especially their children, whom he proposed could be used as food for the rich: boiled, baked or roasted!!!


If this is the position of our young Ms. Swift, then it provokes thought and discussion. If not.....

Here then is Taylor's Swifts' latest video (after the sign-off):


Take Care,

Steve.

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