I DON'T HATE TAYLOR SWIFT

I DON'T HATE TAYLOR SWIFT

I don't hate Taylor Swift, I just didn't really like her (or get her).

That said, she's managed to insert herself into my consciousness as of late, and not because of her music, but rather because of her life choices and off-record commentaries & actions. She's proven to me to be a smart, capable and kind person willing to be real and even admit her mistakes (here)...not to mention, of course, being talented, beautiful, wildly successful and then some.

From her numerous guest appearances on Ellen (here - the last interview in full on 18 May 2019) to her Vogue video with bestie Karlie Kloss (here) to her most recent single "YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN" (see below) from her forthcoming seventh album (7 albums by the age of 29 - not bad), it's accumulatively had a positive impact.

About a year ago I started noticing Ms Swift's sudden calculated involvement in gay people's lives to an extreme. Suddenly she was showing up as a surprise guest at everything & anything gay - from an engagement party to a lesbian fan's reality tv coming out episodes -- coupled with her other sudden gay activities (including this, this, and this, to name just a few).

And, initially at least, it all felt a little too contrived. Like someone arbitrarily deciding that they wanted to be my friend and so they were going to forcibly make that happen. And, I for one, already being predisposed to disliking her, had my back up and defences on full strength. (Check out this VICE piece on the same subject here. and the NEW YORKER piece on her Netflix documentary here.) Well, it would seem that, unconsciously at least, the last few iterations of that Swiftean program have made an impact on me because having just watched said new single, I was touched. I felt something for her. I felt a comradeship that hadn't been there before. I felt kind of good knowing that TS was a buddy - an ally - someone that was there for me....almost like I was one of her squad. (lol)

I did a little investigating for this spontaneous blog post I'm currently writing and I noticed that I was not the only one. It seems that, despite Taylor's millions of fans, she'd managed to turn-off or piss-off a lot of other people on the planet who were now also going through a Swiftean transformation of attitude (here).

So, in the end, while this knowledge has tweaked part of my defence system back into play (saying "see...I told you...she's a phony out to get something"), I am in the majority decided that I now like Ms Swift as a human being (some of her music is okay too) and that I am willing to let bygones be bygones (not that I actually had any with her per se).

It's a strange feeling in so far as it feels both organic and manufactured, but as long as my serotonin levels are up and flowing, I'm going to go with it. So, congratulations Taylor Swift on your cute, new, pro-gay/pro-GLAAD single "YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN" and THANK YOU!

   

PS: This single, the second to be released from the upcoming seventh album, comes hard on the heels of her first release "ME" (here) for which I had an initial slight fascination, but ultimately dismissed as being too self-indulgent - nay, narcissistic. Now, having discovered all the above coupled with the following insight from THE WASHINGTON POST, I am experiencing an "evolution" about Ms Swift and her intentions.