Taylor Swift - Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do - My Opinion on "in Opinion" - New York Times - English Version

Angie Wang (excerto)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html 

I read this article and was a little torn. There is a part of Taylor Swift's fans called "Gaylors", who are people who see reasons in Taylor Swift's work, especially because of the lyrics, to say that Taylor Swift can be "Queer" - which can be part of LGBTIQ+ community. I must say that I love these people, they read the lyrics, dissect the songs, they are the greatest detectives, the Sherlock Holmes of Taylor Swift's music - of everything she does! I think they are huge Taylor Swift fans.

Being part of Taylor Swift's "Fandom", or any other artist we love, leads us unintentionally to become obsessed with these artists. I was a big fan of David Bowie and it resonated with me, precisely because, at the time, I felt intrigued by everything that was out of the ordinary and could be part of the LGBTIQ+ community. I love the fact that he was androgynous. It's true that his whole aura led me to imagine that he was not from this world, and I fantasized about the possibility of him being part of this community, not that it was important, but it was like that. With all the suspicions made about his sexuality, he assumed he was bisexual. All this simmering doubts created so many stories, but I loved it and wanted more, even if, in the end, nothing could be true. I loved and adore David Bowie.

Even so, this opinion article, in one of the biggest American newspapers, leaves me a little uncomfortable, perplexed - not because it explains that women can be referenced in some songs, but because it assumes that she is "Queer", and that they are, she and the women in question, in the closet. It's a statement based on her lyrics and from my point of view, there is indeed this ambiguity in some lyrics and songs, but transferring this aspect as a definition of Taylor Swift's hidden sexuality is going too far. This premise is painful for her and implicitly for her friends/women in question. She wrote it in the 1989 prologue (Taylor's Version):

- "You see—in the years preceding this, I had become the target of slut-shaming—the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today, the jokes about my amount of boyfriends. The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crazy psychopath, the media co-signing of this narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt.

It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so I swore off hanging out with guys, dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian Era.

Being a consummate optimist, I assumed I could fix this if I simply changed my behavior. I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships. If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that—right? I would learn later on that people could and people would."

Slut! 1989 (Taylor' s Version) (from The Vault)

The references include the friends she socialized with, and I realize that after a few years, these references can have a negative effect on these people's lives.

Taylor Swift is an artist and can write about made-up characters, characters from a book; can be inspired by other artists, share life from her point of view, from the point of view of a woman in love with a man, from the point of view of a woman in love with a woman, from the point of view of a man in love with a woman, from The point of view of a man in love with a man, or causes that important to her - artistic freedom is hers and hers alone. There is nothing new there, leaving her fans guessing is the best way to fuel interest, fuel her popularity and her success. What I didn't like was the rhetoric regarding her person, if she is "Queer" as is inherent in the article, it doesn't give us, who are, or not, the right to make her "Coming Out". She has always denied it and she is a great ally of the LGBTIQA+ community!

You Need To Calm Down

If she likes women, that's her concern. We fans can speculate - it's our right, but writing an article that makes clear the fact that society, us fans, those close to her prevent her from "coming out of the closet", cannot be a topic in an article that defines her. If she doesn't want to say it, if she prefers to hide it, if she wants to say it tomorrow or never, that's up to her. We are all humans and live experiences, some difficult to understand, like loving a person of the same gender, who never?! Confusion of feelings is a situation that can happen to everyone. I recommend reading this story: "Confusion" by Stefan Sweig:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusion_(novella)

Even so, I understand this fixation on great artists and our community. We need representation at the highest level! There is no one bigger than Taylor Swift right now. Speculation regarding artists is a constant in history, whether men or women, here are some names: David Bowie; Cary Grant; Marlene Dietrich; António Variações; George Michael (who came out of the closet because he was caught) or closer to us, Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes; Cate Blanchett and others. It is true that coming out of the closet today is easier, even if there are still countries where homosexuality is a crime. Not everyone can be a Kd Lang or a Dina, everyone has the right to make their "Coming Out" when appropriate. Imposing or exposing a person is very bad. If she gives some signs and we perceive these signs through her creations, it is a gift that we must receive and preserve - we are lucky enough to understand this language.

Maroon

As explained in the article, in "Hits Different" there is a reference to a woman. It's important whether Taylor Swift feels comfortable writing about the womens in her life or not. Let's let this happen more often and to the "Gaylors" that I love, continue with your content - speculating doesn't hurt anyone!

Hits Different

Speculating doesn't hurt anyone, and even if it's important to demonstrate and explain her writting, the result, this article, is too much. What counts and I hope is that she doesn't seem to care and continues with her life. She is a person, apparently, very strong, resilient and very focused on her work.

She is currently in a relationship that apparently brings her happiness and this situation must be respected. Her music may be ambiguous, but at this moment, in relational terms, there seems to be no ambiguity. 

Taylor Swift - Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do - My Opinion on "in Opinion" - New York Times

Angie Wang (excerto)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/04/opinion/taylor-swift-queer.html 

Li este artigo e fiquei um pouco dividida. Existe nos fãs de Taylor Swift uma parte que se chama os "Gaylors", que são pessoas que vêem no trabalho da Taylor Swift motivos, sobretudo por causa das letras, para dizer que Taylor Swift pode ser "Queer" - que pode fazer parte da comunidade LGBTIQ+. Devo dizer que adoro estas pessoas, lêem as letras, dissecam as canções, são os maiores detectives, os Sherlock Holmes da música de Taylor Swift, enfim, de tudo o que a ela faz! Eu penso que são uns enormes fãs de Taylor Swift. 

Fazer parte do "Fandom" de Taylor Swift, ou de qualquer outro artista que adoramos, leva -nos sem querer, a tornar-nos obcecados por estes artistas. Eu fui uma grande fã de David Bowie e ecoava em mim, justamente porque eu, na altura, sentia- me intrigada por tudo o que era fora do normal e podia fazer parte da comunidade LGBTIQ+, o facto de ele ser andrógino. Verdade que toda a sua aura, levava-me a imaginar que ele não era deste mundo, e fantasiava com a possibilidade de ele poder fazer parte desta comunidade, não que fosse importante, mas era assim. Com todas as suspeitas feitas sobre a sua sexualidade ele assumiu que era bissexual. Toda este fervilhar estas dúvidas criaram tantas histórias, mas, eu adorava e queria mais, mesmo se, no final nada podia ser verdade. Eu adorava e adoro David Bowie.

Mesmo assim, o artigo que é de opinião, num dos maiores jornais americanos, deixa-me um pouco desconfortada, perplexa - não porque, explica que nalgumas canções podem ser referenciadas mulheres, mas porque supõe que ela é "Queer", e que estão, ela e as mulheres em questão, no armário. É uma afirmação baseada nas suas letras e do meu ponto de vista, existe de facto esta ambiguidade em algumas letras e canções, mas, transferir este aspecto como definição da sexualidade escondida de Taylor Swift é ir longe demais. Esta premissa é penosa para ela e implicitamente para as suas amigas/mulheres em questão. Ele escreveu-o no prologue de 1989 (Taylor' Version):

- "You see—in the years preceding this, I had become the target of slut-shaming—the intensity and relentlessness of which would be criticized and called out if it happened today, the jokes about my amount of boyfriends. The trivialization of my songwriting as if it were a predatory act of a boy crazy psychopath, the media co-signing of this narrative. I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt.

It became clear to me that for me there was no such thing as casual dating, or even having a male friend who you platonically hang out with. If I was seen with him, it was assumed I was sleeping with him. And so I swore off hanging out with guys, dating, flirting, or anything that could be weaponized against me by a culture that claimed to believe in liberating women but consistently treated me with the harsh moral codes of the Victorian Era.

Being a consummate optimist, I assumed I could fix this if I simply changed my behavior. I swore off dating and decided to focus only on myself, my music, my growth, and my female friendships. If I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn’t sensationalize or sexualize that—right? I would learn later on that people could and people would."

Slut! 1989 (Taylor' s Version) (from The Vault)

As referências incluem as amigas com a qual ela confraternizou, e percebo, que depois de alguns anos, estas referências podem surtir um efeito negativo na vida dessas pessoas.

Taylor Swift é uma artista e pode escrever sobre personagens inventadas, personagens de um livro; pode ser inspirada por outros artistas, partilhar a vida do seu ponto de vista, do ponto de vista de uma mulher apaixonada por um homem, do ponto de vista de uma mulher apaixonada por uma mulher, do ponto de vista de um homem apaixonado por uma mulher, do ponto de vista de um homem apaixonado por um homem ou abraçar causas que são importantes para ela - a liberdade artística é dela e só dela. Não há nada de novo ali, deixar os seus fãs na dúvida é o melhor para alimentar o interesse, a sua popularidade e o seu sucesso. O que não gostei foi a retórica em relação à sua pessoa, se ela é "Queer" como está inerente na peça, não nos dá a nós, que o somos, ou não, o direito de fazer o seu "Coming Out". Ela sempre negou e é uma grande aliada da comunidade LGBTIQ+!  

You Need To Calm Down

Se ela gosta de mulheres é apenas a ela que diz respeito. Nós fãs, podemos especular - é o nosso direito, mas, escrever um artigo que deixa patente o facto de a sociedade, nós os fãs, os seus próximos a impedem de sair do armário, não pode ser um tema de um artigo que a define. Se ela não quer dizer, se prefere esconder, se quer dizer amanhã ou nunca é apenas a ela que diz respeito. Todos somos humanos e vivemos experiências, algumas difíceis de perceber, como o facto de amar uma pessoa do mesmo sexo, quem nunca?! A confusão de sentimentos é uma situação que pode acontecer a toda a gente. Recomendo a leitura desta história: "A Confusão de Sentimentos" de Stefan Sweig: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusion_(novella)

Mesmo assim, percebo esta fixação pelos grandes artistas e a nossa comunidade. Precisamos de representação ao mais alto nível! Não existe ninguém de maior que Taylor Swift neste momento. Especulações em relação a artistas é uma constante na história, quer sejam homens ou mulheres, deixo aqui alguns nomes: David Bowie; Cary Grant; Marlene Dietrich; António Variações; George Michael (que saiu do armário porque foi apanhado) ou mais perto de nós, Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes; Cate Blanchett e outros. É verdade que sair do armário, hoje, é mais fácil, mesmo se, ainda há países onde a homossexualidade é crime. Nem toda a gente pode ser uma Kd Lang ou uma Dina, cada um/a tem o direito de fazer o seu "Coming Out" quando for oportuno. Impor ou expor uma pessoa é muito mau. Se ela dá uns sinais e nós percebemos estes sinais através das suas criações, é uma dádiva que devemos receber e preservar - temos a sorte de perceber esta linguagem. 

Maroon

Como está explicito no artigo "Hits Different" tem um passagem que refere uma mulher. É importante que Taylor Swift se sinta confortável para escrever sobre as mulheres da sua vida ou não. Deixemos que isto aconteça mais vezes e aos "Gaylors" que adoro, continuem com os vossos conteúdos. Especular não faz mal a ninguém!

Hits Different

Especular não faz mal a ninguém, e mesmo se é importante demonstrar e explicitar o seu trabalho, o resultado, este artigo é demais. O que vale e espero é que ela parece não se importar e continua com a sua vida. Ela é uma pessoa, aparentemente, muito forte, resiliente e muito focada no seu trabalho.

Ela está actualmente numa relação que pelos vistos traz-lhe felicidade e esta situação deve ser respeitada. A sua música pode ser ambígua, mas, neste momento, em termos relacionais, não parece existir ambiguidade, que se goste ao não do seu namorado.

Taylor Swift - Time's Magazine Person Of The Year 2023 - English Version

 

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

Taylor Swift was named “Person of the Year” by Time Magazine and gave a very interesting interview — I'll leave the link so you can access the magazine.

When it became known about the possibility of being Taylor Swift, an artist, let's say, the first person to come from the world of entertainment, I was ecstatic. I know there are some people who didn't have the same reaction and I understand, but Taylor Swift is the best thing 2023 has had!

The world is in chaos, we live in horrible times with wars happening. We can't do anything about this. It's heartbreaking! It is for this reason that Taylor Swift as person of the year is an ode to life, to celebration, to fraternity, to happiness. The year 2023 is hers!

But, do you really understand what Taylor Swift offered to her fans, detractors who became fans, people who did well without her and then became fans, or simply to her continuous defamers throughout the year 2023?

Me Yes! And I'm here to do a little review.

66 shows of “The Eras Tour”, each concert travels through her 10 albums, contains 46 songs and lasts 3h30; the re-recording of Speak Now (Taylor's version); the 1989 re-recording (Taylor's Version); the concert film “The Eras Tour”; she had 3 songs at number 1 on the Billboard charts for weeks; She was the most listened to artist on Spotify, Apple Music and other platforms and won VMS for best direction and song of the year with “Anti-Hero”. She grew the economy in all the cities she visited thanks to her fans, her “The Eras tour” is the most profitable concert of the year and possibly ever, surpassing a billion dollars, and she herself entered the billionaire lists.

In the interview, which was carried out over several weeks, I will highlight some passages.

https://time.com/6342806/person-of-the-year-2023-taylor-swift/x: 0; --tw-translate-y: 0; align-items: center; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; max-width: 100%;">

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

"Swift’s accomplishments as an artist—culturally, critically, and commercially—are so legion that to recount them seems almost beside the point. As a pop star, she sits in rarefied company, alongside Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and Madonna; as a songwriter, she has been compared to Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, and Joni Mitchell. 

...To discuss her movements felt like discussing politics or the weather—a language spoken so widely it needed no context. She became the main character of the world.

If you’re skeptical, consider it: How many conversations did you have about Taylor Swift this year? How many times did you see a photo of her while scrolling on your phone? Were you one of the people who made a pilgrimage to a city where she played? Did you buy a ticket to her concert film? Did you double-tap an Instagram post, or laugh at a tweet, or click on a headline about her? Did you find yourself humming “Cruel Summer” while waiting in line at the grocery store? Did a friend confess that they watched clips of the Eras Tour night after night on TikTok? Or did you?

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

... There are at least 10 college classes devoted to her, including one at Harvard; the professor, Stephanie Burt, tells TIME she plans to compare Swift’s work to that of the poet William Wordsworth.

... Swift is that story’s architect and hero, protagonist and narrator.

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME 

...This was the year she perfected her craft—not just with her music, but in her position as the master storyteller of the modern era. The world, in turn, watched, clicked, cried, danced, sang along, swooned, caravanned to stadiums and movie theaters, let her work soundtrack their lives.(...) Here, she adopts a booming voice. “Are you not entertained?

Subscribe now and get the Person of the Year issue

Standing in the arena, it’s not hard to understand why this is the biggest thing in the world. “Beatlemania and Thriller have nothing on these shows,” says Swift’s friend and collaborator Phoebe Bridgers.

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

I knew this tour was harder than anything I’d ever done before by a long shot,” Swift says. Each show spans over 180 minutes, including 40-plus songs from at least nine albums; there are 16 costume changes, pyrotechnics, an optical illusion in which she appears to dive into the stage and swim, and not one but two cottagecore worlds, which feature an abundance of moss."

Read More: Taylor Swift Shares Her Eras Tour Workout and Self-Care Regimen

Billboard wrote about the situation described in the interview given to Time magazine, related to Kanye West, his wife Kim Kardashian and the release of the album “Reputation”. Obviously the re-recording of "Reputation" (Taylor Version) was highlighted...

https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-time-person-of-the-year-biggest-takeaways/

“Make no mistake — my career was taken away from me.”

Swift got straight to the point when talking about her age-old feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, which reached its climax in 2016 after Kim released snippets purported to be a phone conversation between her then-husband and the “Karma” singer regarding the lyric, “I made that b—h famous.” “You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” Swift described the situation to TIME.

“That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before,” she continued. “I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard.”

She went on to release 2017’s Reputation partially in response to the scandal, an album she remembers as being met with uproar and skepticism. “I thought that moment of backlash was going to define me negatively for the rest of my life,” she told the magazine. 

Speaking of Reputation, Swift did take a moment to tease that she’s already thinking about her next “Taylor’s Version” release. “It’s a goth-punk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure,” she said of her 2017 album. “I think a lot of people see it and they’re just like, ‘Sick snakes and strobe lights.’”

As for the From the Vault tracks coming on the still unannounced Reputation (Taylor’s Version)? Swift teases they’re “fire.

Personally, what Kanye West did was horrible and I really like him. I love his discography, but this situation, after she wrote the song "Innocent", and presented him at the VMAs in 2015 - he left, he allowed his wife to put up a fake video about Taylor Swift. He didn't say anything and accepted that she was cancelled, there are no excuses! What Kim Kardashian did was very, very ugly. What I think, and it's just me saying this, but I realize I'm not the only one who thinks this, is that they should apologize publicly. Apologies sincere this time!

It could served to close the subject, even if it wouldn't change anything. It would change for many people!

She was cancelled at the highest point of her career, she was cancelled after the album “1989”!?
 
She came back with one of my favourite albums “Reputation”. It's interesting that she talks about “Goth-punk” because, musically, is not “Goth-punk”, but, I understand the internal concept, the revolt, the intensity of the music and the anger in the construction of the album. Only in this way I understand the connection to the “Goth-punk moment of a female Rage...”

2023 for me was the discovery of a huge artist, a journey, an excavation into her discography, a strange belonging to a group of millions of people, who do everything for Taylor Swift, her “Swifties”. I can say today that I am one of them and i am very proud to be.

Thank you, Taylor Swift!!!

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for TIME