#sio mv

[crwelsummer]

taylor swift music videos: shake it off

[thefirstoldfashioned]

can’t stop, won’t stop grooving

[lovetheplayers]

I’m dancing on my own      I make the moves up as I go

[lovetheplayers]

I never miss a beat, I’m lightning on my feet.

[lovetheplayers]

[swiftfeminism]

Shake It Off: a not so short summary

Hello, hello fellow Swift feminists! You may have noticed I've been away kind of forever (the joys of a senior thesis!), but I'm making a brief return - a couple of weeks late, admittedly - for a quick post about this new video.

I want to say a couple of things first off. Neither Cecilia or I are even American, let alone African American women. In this post, most of my points will mainly be coming from a synthesis of various articles and the ONTD comments sections, and heavily influenced by the awesomeness that is womanist theory. I want to emphasise - because it has apparently already upset someone - we're both committed to intersectional feminism here. If you think that it's important for Taylor to be pro-woman, but you think we should brush off issues of race, class, or anything else, you're in for a bit of a shock. Can we have a discussion about different interpretations of the video? Sure. But as feminists who attempt to be allies, we're always going to be looking to and prioritising the voices of the marginalised groups that this portrayal actually impacts to direct our response. (Not that there is a homogeneous reaction to the video in the African American community, but there has definitely have been some dominant trends.) In this post I'm going to focus on the representation of women in this video. While there has been some discussion of the b-boy scene as cultural appropriation, it's been a less prevalent conversation and it's not a topic I can address well.

Whether the inclusion of twerking was inherently problematic is something that's been debated, as far as I've seen. Some have argued that it represents a recognition of twerking as a legitimate form of dance, as a form of dance that is worthy of respect and admiration. Unfortunately the way the idea was implemented is hugely problematic, and arguably, it's hard to envision a way - given the cultural narratives around twerking - that it could have been given a properly respectful portrayal. But that said, there were some major problems that made things a lot worse.

For a start, the costuming is reflective of racist and classist stereotypes about African American women, especially in relation to a black cultural form of dance. These stereotypes have characterised black women, and particularly low-income black women, as hypersexualised. Historically, the hypersexualisation and objectification of African American women has positioned them in contrast to 'pure, respectable' white women - resulting in the idea that black women's bodies, both sexually and otherwise, are not worthy of respect and dignity. This has a legacy going back to the sexual degradation and abuse of female slaves, and is still linked to higher rates of gender-based violence for African American women today. The Women of Colour Network states that:

"Stereotypes regarding African American women’s sexuality, including terms like “Black jezebel,” “promiscuous,” and “exotic,” perpetuate the notion that African American women are willing participants in their own victimization. However, these myths only serve to demean, obstruct appropriate legal remedies, and minimize the seriousness of sexual violence perpetrated against African American women." 

Now, the video director says that "It's very, very innocently and positively intentioned. And — let's remember — it's a satirical piece. It's playing with a whole range of music video tropes and cliches and stereotypes." There are two issues with this. The first is that intentions aren't the issue here, and they don't change much - when it comes down to it, stigmatising and discriminatory effects are felt whether they were intended or not. Second, while it would be nice to be able to say that a range of dance styles were used and all of them are being satirized, the fact of the matter is that each dance style comes with completely different stereotypes and cultural histories attached to them, so the implications of including them are going to be drastically different.

This is also made worse by the camera angles and shots that are used on the twerking dancers - by focusing predominantly on the lower half of their bodies, and rarely featuring their faces, the dancers are objectified. Some have said that this is hard to avoid with twerking as the form of dance, but other people have highlighted that dancers who twerk don't just twerk. The decision to only use one dance move is deliberate - and yes, while the reasoning is likely to be the recognisability of the dance move, that's hardly an excuse in a video that is supposed to celebrate the diversity of dancing styles and traditions.

The reactions Taylor has to participating in the dance are also sensationalised, 'othering' both black women's bodies and twerking as a form of dance. While she has playful responses to every dance style, her response in the twerking scenes is unique. In most of the scenes, she's the goofy and uncoordinated girl who can't do the dance but is there to have fun. She is similarly hopeless in the twerking scenes, but her expression and behaviour is jokingly scandalised for the most part. The contrast to the other scenes means that twerking is treated as if it is particularly embarrassing to perform due to its associations with sexuality. This may seem natural on first glance, but due to the cultural and historical associations of twerking with African American women, that response has implications. Especially considering how this all corresponds with the persona that Taylor has developed in  past music videos as well as more broadly (we've discussed this quite a bit). A lot of Taylor's brand is built upon her innocence, particularly in contrast to the majority of pop stars, and that's not intrinsically a bad thing. But her ability to do so is significantly reliant on white privilege, as she's able to play into the cultural narratives around idealised femininity that are fundamentally founded on whiteness and exclude women of colour, low income women, and other groups of marginalised women. So her responses to twerking in the video (no matter how positive the comments she makes elsewhere) serve to reinforce this branding, and the cultural distance between Taylor and 'unrespectable' forms of sexual expression.

There has been some discussion of the effect of having white women twerk and black women included in other dance segments on racial implications of the video. For a start, while it's great to see women of colour participating in a range of dance styles celebrated, it doesn't change the racialised cultural associations that each form of dance has. Second, you kind of have to acknowledge that this is fairly limited diversity - there is a token woman of colour (maybe two with the gymnasts) in every dance segment, but that's very little compared to the 50+% of the twerking dancers. And of course, this is with the exception of the ballerinas. Ballet has historically been associated with ideas around idealised femininity, which like I said earlier is connected to whiteness, and as a result it has and continues to be dominated by white dancers, particularly at the highest levels of the profession.

In all honesty - and as a woman of colour who is also a long time Taylor fan, it pains me a bit to say this - I can't be convinced this wasn't purposefully designed to stir up some controversy. Of all the parts of the video to have as the thumbnail, it had to be the part where she's going through the legs of twerking dancers - one of the most blatantly objectifying, and probably most disturbing, parts of the video? Given the backlash that Miley Cyrus and Lily Allen rightfully received over the past year for their own forrays into cultural appropriation and the objectification of black women's bodies, as well as Taylor's history of being incredibly media conscious and savvy about her image, it seems highly unlikely this wasn't deliberate. (If not by Taylor directly, then definitely by her team more broadly.) And as a feminist woman of colour who is thoroughly exhausted with how mainstream feminism messes up, it is disappointing that when we finally have Taylor on board with feminism (I was literally waiting for this), her first move to is put out a video which perpetuates the stigmatisation of black women.

Here are some of the articles and posts we'd recommend on this subject. (We've prioritised the ones written by or featuring black women.) We don't necessarily agree with every word of them, but we think they all make really important contributions to the discussion. If you have any more to recommend, send us a message!

Huffington Post: Black Women Call Taylor Swift's New Video 'Really Troubling'

Ms. Magazine: Bodies on the Line: The Streets vs. Pop Culture

Water Cooler Convos: Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” is Most Certainly Racist

Gradient Lair: Black Women and Twerking: Why Its Creators Face Bigotry That Miley Cyrus Never Will

Owning My Truth: Taylor Swift's Racism and "Shake It Off" Video

Salon: Taylor Swift's music video is uncomfortable, but is it really racist?

Yahoo! Celebrity Canada: Is Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' video offensive?

The Daily Beast: Can't Shake Off Taylor Swift's Cultural Appropriation? Haters Gonna Hate!

- Christina

Okay so I'll admit, when I first watched the music video, I thought while white people twerking is always inherently problematic, the way it was executed wasn't necessarily so. However, after reading Ms. Magazine's article and watching HuffPost Live's discussion of the issue, I have since changed my mind. While Christina and I both had some issues with Owning My Truth's article (mine was mainly that I felt putting Taylor in the same boat as Miley Cyrus and Lily Allen was a false equivalence), the analysis is too important to leave out. One particular point I thought was worth noting: how Taylor, as white woman, can easily dress up as a b-boy as a fun "costume" for a few seconds in her video while the b-boy tradition comes from black and Latin@ youth who get demonized and criminalized daily and who are not able to breakdance without facing harassment from the police. In light of the events at Ferguson, this sets a troubling tone. While Taylor probably thought she was just having fun with different dance styles, it was her job (along with the music video director) to thoroughly research the cultural contexts. And then there's the costuming of the twerkers, as Christina has mentioned. Every segment had costumes that reflected the dance being performed - thus the way twerkers were dressed showed a clear reflection of how people viewed the women who did it: a style that is identifiable as the stereotypical image of women of colour as lower-class and hypersexualised.

Another interesting point I've seen made is that when women of colour are twerking, they are seen as overtly sexual whereas Taylor is seen as cute and quirky. Many Taylor Swift fans could argue that this is because she wasn't "seriously" trying to twerk as at no point does she turn her back on the camera; all her half-hearted attempts are captured from a sideways angle. But I think therein may lie the problem. As Christina has pointed out, the camera focuses on the behind of the twerking women but at no point does it ever focus on Taylor's, thus enforcing a white woman's innocence.

I will say that these issues of race apply only to the music video and not the song itself, since FemPop has recently released a review of the VMAs with this:

Here’s the deal Taylor, I generally love your innocuous brand of pop as much as the next gal–especially when I pretend Hayden Panettiere’s* story in Nashville is based entirely on your real life, but lady, while “shake it off” is great personal advice it is pretty terrible advice to drop on the VMAs when a big portion of the country is marching in the streets and demanding accountability and change from their institutions of power. You know?

Taylor probably wrote the song (at least) months in advance and the song is directed towards her haters so linking it back to Ferguson is unfounded, while the interpretation that the performance of Shake It Off was about guys chasing after her/her being surrounded by boys and then she ditches the boys and goes over to her girls in the band to dance and have a fun time, especially when Taylor herself has basically confirmed that is what her 1989 album is about, is a lot more founded. But considering the rest of the review is about Beyonce and Nicki Minaj, I suppose I understand where it's coming from. While I am excited to usher in this new era of independence and feminism from Taylor, this blog is about feminism for all women, not just white women. As Christina says in Why We Do This:

This blog is about critically evaluating Taylor, her work and her cultural position, positively and negatively. This isn’t about defending any woman by ‘working in a feminist slant’.This is about developing a complex and critical understanding in a fandom that, as far as we have seen, is incredibly under-resourced in that area.

And considering the Shake It Off music video as well as the fact that the full quote cites Lena Dunham (and probably Lorde too - I can't find a source but I've heard she has problems with race in the past) as her influences, I'm afraid we might be ushering in a new era of white feminism from Taylor. Only two things will tell: how she responds when/if called out on the music video and whether or not she'll repeat similar acts in the future.

- Cecilia

[swiftfeminism]

When are you going to comment on the video? Would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Well, I am not African-American so I think Christina (the creator and co-runner of this blog) is preparing a post that is like a summary of the points bought up by the African-American community with some notes from us. We hope to centre this around the reactions of the people who matter the most to this conversation rather than our own (which is in support of the the marginalised groups anyway). In the meantime, feel free to submit posts/thoughts!

[swiftfeminism]

why is it that every time taylor does something genuinely worthy of criticism, the crit gets mixed up with various sexist, ableist (usually something about 'mental age') comments? i'm all for people acknowledging and discussing the problematic, oppressive aspects of media, but i've seen so many people criticise her for the video with a mix of sexist and ableist slurs (and many of these people defended miley and katy and iggy for their appropriation) ugh

I know right? I’m not qualified to talk about the music video (Christina might be) but I CAN talk about the reactions towards it as well as even the SUGGESTION it could be problematic “STOP THE SOCIAL JUSTICE MADNESS” “shut up ya’ll only started complaining about cultural appropriation recently” (nah uh my friend, tumblr didn’t invent these issues, tumblr only gave people a platform to speak up about it), “maybe only white ballerinas auditioned” (while it’s true there were women of colour in other parts of the video, here’s why black ballerinas are important), “why does everything have to be about race?” etc

I love how the mainstream discussion surrounding the music video is whether or not Taylor is being ~mean~ towards other pop stars, and not, you know, whether or not it was cultural appropriation. I will say this though: it is not nearly on the same level as Miley Cyrus and people should stop equating it so.