Discuss Beyoncé

Taylor Swift’s New Single Is a Teachable Moment About How Not to Be an Ally

The singer’s would-be Pride anthem is a cringeworthy attempt to write another “Born This Way.”

Taylor Swift released the second single from her just-announced forthcoming album Lover on Thursday, and the gist of it is classic Swift: “You Need to Calm Down” tells Swift’s haters that their mission to diminish her brilliance is doomed, that she’ll always prevail over petty insults, and that she and her friends are having much more fun than their detractors. This “haters don’t get to me” message is so central to Swift’s modern oeuvre, I’m starting to suspect she doth protest too much.

Still, even though Swift has advocated for the Equality Act and put her money where her lyrics are with a donation to GLAAD, gays have reason to take particular affront to this careless pat on the head. It is not a particularly radical stance for a celebrity to be anti-homophobe in 2019, yet Swift is promoting “You Need to Calm Down” like it’s going to be the straw that breaks homophobia’s back. Eight years after Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” which came from an artist who was out as a bisexual woman at a time when the gay rights movement had far less mainstream traction than it does now, “You Need to Calm Down” looks even more pathetic. Witnessing a relative newcomer to LGBTQ allyship have this daft single marketed on Apple Music as a “Pride-ready” anthem with a “protest message” doused in “synths, glitter, and sass” is like watching a straight bachelorette party go nuts at a drag show. Straight people will interpret it as supportive and affirming, but for many queer people celebrating Pride Month, it feels hopelessly, insultingly out of place.

https://slate.com/culture/2019/06/taylor-swift-new-song-you-need-to-calm-down-queer-baiting.html

PITCHFORK: https://twitter.com/pitchfork/status/1139567187474210817

LOL. I can't at how the world loves Gaga again rofl

6 replies (on page 1 of 1)

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The Swifties in the replies coffin

I didn’t even notice the gay pride stuff in the song. I guess I can see the BTW similarities as they both are pretty try-hard and pandering.

@PlasticPrada said:

The Swifties in the replies coffin

I didn’t even notice the gay pride stuff in the song. I guess I can see the BTW similarities as they both are pretty try-hard and pandering.

Born This Way was actually genuine. You know Taylor does not casually say things like "have several seats" or "shade" in conversations unless she's gal-palling with Todrick (which itself opens up a can of worms about her appropriation of black queer culture).

@Cherryboom said:

@PlasticPrada said:

The Swifties in the replies coffin

I didn’t even notice the gay pride stuff in the song. I guess I can see the BTW similarities as they both are pretty try-hard and pandering.

Born This Way was actually genuine. You know Taylor does not casually say things like "have several seats" or "shade" in conversations unless she's gal-palling with Todrick (which itself opens up a can of worms about her appropriation of black queer culture).

Idk I never liked BTW. I thought Hair was much more genuine and was always the better “be yourself” anthem between the two. Should’ve been a single. But yeah YNTCD is not genuine either.

@PlasticPrada said:

@Cherryboom said:

@PlasticPrada said:

The Swifties in the replies coffin

I didn’t even notice the gay pride stuff in the song. I guess I can see the BTW similarities as they both are pretty try-hard and pandering.

Born This Way was actually genuine. You know Taylor does not casually say things like "have several seats" or "shade" in conversations unless she's gal-palling with Todrick (which itself opens up a can of worms about her appropriation of black queer culture).

Idk I never liked BTW. I thought Hair was much more genuine and was always the better “be yourself” anthem between the two. Should’ve been a single. But yeah YNTCD is not genuine either.

Funny, we're completely opposite. I've always hated "Hair."

but Taylor's new song sounds nothing like Express Yourself.

@LadyFlopgaCocaineQueen said:

@mrjacs said:

Eight years after Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” which came from an artist who was out as a bisexual woman....

Sure she is! rofl

Except she never fvcks women and now says she doesn't consider herself part of the LGBT+ community. Fake b!tch. Jessie J tea 's

The thing is Gaga leeched on to the most downtrodden outcasts of the LGBT+ community for a hardcore fanbase as well as social misfits in general because they are loyal to her. It's why most hardcore Little Monsters are so fvcked up.

Taylor was getting sh!t when she wasn't being political and now she is getting sh!t for being political. She is damned if she does and damned if she doesn't so whatever. Taylor publicly picking a side was a detriment to her career and yet she did it anyway and also is putting her money where her mouth is and made a "very generous" donation to GLAAD. Taylor also got a sh!tload of people voting in the midterms and is getting her fans to donate to GLAAD too....Gaga gets her fans to donate to her personal fraudulent/scam charity so the money goes in her own pocket.

At least Taylor isn't a complete fake about all this like Gaga is.

You need to calm downnnnnn. You're being too loudddddd.

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