The cunning argument: it is misogyny not mediocrity
So, I was able to watch the Fantano review of her interview. Not fully, cause...man, but I watched some parts of it and there was something that he mentioned that stroke me immediately cause I have seen it repeated and nauseaum: "it's unfair to criticise her as someone who only talks about her exes".
Well... Listen. I have never criticised her or anyone for talking about her exes. My criticism stems from other aspects, which I will mention.
Now, let's acknowledge a couple of things: Yes, I am aware the media had its moments of misogyny against her (as with many other females), but even then, I don't think she was ever under the level of attack or scrutiny someone like Spears or even Rihanna were. Some of the comments after Rihanna's violence situation were vile. When has Taylor faced prolonged and constant bullying like that? Never. She was the darling of the business for months after the Kanye thing. But even if someone could argue that any female has received a certain level of sexist aggression, my argument is this:
Most of the critics I read here (with whom I agree) say the annoying part of her (or ghostwriterss' songwriting) is
- Cheesy, repetitive melodies without any type of significant accomplishment other than regurgitating a good chunk of someone else's work or even her older catalogue, reaching the point of sounding so generic that we all feel her last record could have been fully created by AI
- Mostly superficial lyrics in her older albums. Absolutely deranged, senseless, illogical songs with pretty idiotic storylines, characters and random non-cohesive words that she throws to sound smart post Folkmore
- Double morals. She is a "champion of feminism" but will bully a female teenager to suppress her success. She keeps her "side of the street clean" while secretly harassing exes, bringing private details like struggles with depression and addiction into the public sphere, while associating these very public details almost...accidentally. she was just in her feelings, of course.
- Every artist is confessional and every famous figure will invoque a level of attention that will unavoidably attract the craziest.wgo will analyze everything. Not everyone will feed these crazies and their manias to build an empire.
I could have gone and posted this in the Fantano thread about her interview, but I just think this deserves a moment of reflection for the next time someone dares say that everyone writes about their exes. I mean, sure, but not everyone bullies their exes as branding.