Cynicality Couldn't Comfort Me Again
Pop Star Props up Profitability
Taylor Swift is the biggest name in music right now. She has, reportedly, added $122 million in brand value to the NFL. She has also helped lower the average age of the NFL audience (along with a partnership with Nickelodeon) AND brought in the 18-49 female viewing demographic. My spider senses are tingling.
I’m also probably a little rusty after a month of end of year lists and vacation posts, but if I don’t get back into the swing of it, I never will.
Swift fans are rabid supporters, but there is fear about speaking out against her in a public setting. Why? You’ll invoke the wrath of Swifties, her devoted fanbase who verge on worship. This level of global hero worship of an American music icon is nothing new, see Elvis or Michael Jackson.
But where those were two poor kids exploited by adults who knew better, Swift came out as a 16 year old kid with well off parents and thankfully no accusations of pedophilia. If you want criticism of Taylor Swift, it’s everywhere. I have my own, that I feel are valid.
She is self-serving when she could use her platform in solidarity, to help artists who aren’t as privileged. She dated a public racist, at least until the public backlash started to mount. It’s hard to see her relationship with Travis Kelce as anything other than a marketing opportunity. My opinions on Swift and her as a capitalist tool aren’t going to move the needle. The only thing I will say of note on that subject is either we say there’s no such thing as a good billionaire (a reckoning I faced with Lebron James) or we start making exceptions for exploitation.
The thing that I really want to dig into is how valid class criticism is weaponized by regressive people to further class warfare. And who better to exemplify that than Taylor Swift? What prompted this train of thought to leave the station was a Facebook post that, on its surface, I agreed with.
There is a meme floating around that shines a light on Swift’s childhood home, a home that she has referenced in song. The implication is that she is from a modest upbringing, despite being raised in a home valued at nearly 1 million dollars. That opens the door for a very valid class criticism, or at least bears some evaluation of the scope of wealth.
I click on the link and, lo and behold, the page was for an incel/Men’s Right Activist page. There’s a lot of misogyny on the internet. You might have heard of red pilling, a reference to the red pill from the Matrix. There are a group of people called incels, involuntarily celibate men. They are typically straight and white. Men’s Right Activists are an attempt to provide a modern counter to feminism through figureheads like Jordan Peterson, Joe Rogan and Andrew Tate.
Red pilling is effective because of Facebook memes with valid criticism. That valid criticism is then coupled with more dubious criticism that still seems to make sense when you don’t view it under a critical lens.
These people exploit vulnerable young men who are supremely disaffected. Take a valid criticism of Taylor Swift, who has emerged as a figurehead of a brand of feminism, and help people see the “realities of the world.” Red Pilling works because Peterson gives platitudes about accountability that slowly shift the rational bottom out. Joe Rogan is just giving everyone space to share their opinions.
What that disgusting surface has given way to is the black pill, a more racist and sexist version of incels that mines the worst parts of human pathos. Refinery29 had an article three years ago linking some shootings with the black pill community. Black pilling encourages a dangerous version nihilism, reinforcing that nothing matters and our actions are inconsequential and couples it with a violent brand of misogyny.
If you haven’t heard of any of this, you might consider yourself lucky. Ignorance is bliss, right? On a personal note, I would say that I was dangerously close to this rhetoric for a good chunk of my early young adult life. I got there from a different avenue than poking fun at Taylor Swift, but I certainly wasn’t immune to misogynist rhetoric around her early career.
Sports culture was my gateway to toxic masculinity and misogyny. The NFL, and football in general, played no small part in this. And, to maybe bring this whole thing together, it’s a part of the problem with Taylor Swift’s successful NFL marketing. Take Von Miller:
Or Tyreek Hill, a former teammate of Travis Kelce and a member of the Miami Dolphins who were my team of choice when I was an active participant.
On March 15, The Kansas City Star reported Hill was under police investigation for battery involving he and Espinal's 3-year-old son, who had suffered a broken arm.
That same article linked a pair of tweets:
Espinal: "He's terrified of you." Hill: "You need to be terrified of me too, b****."
Let’s give Kelce the benefit of the doubt, I’m sure he condemns Hill for his behavior. This is what he had to say about the Dolphin’s leading receiver before their matchup in the playoffs.
According to Kelce, Hill should prepare for a warm welcome back to Kansas City this weekend.
Harsh words indeed, Travis.
Lest we think these are isolated events, here are some stats from a 2021 article on the Charger Bulletin:
Since 2000, 134 players have been arrested for domestic violence and 15 for crimes relating to sexual assault, battery or solicitation
Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crimes in the United States. For NFL players, domestic violence is the highest criminal charge at 55% of total arrests made.
A study conducted by Boston University found CTE affected the brains of 99% of the 202 NFL players studied. Aggression is a symptom seen in 34% of individuals with CTE.
Again, I think there are valid criticism of Taylor Swift and how she chooses to use her platform. I think there is something problematic about her being a marketing tool for the NFL. I also think a lot of criticism of her is rooted in misogyny and furthers a dark agenda.
Thought provoking message. There are few pop star role models out there that delivers a good message to so many young girls. The open honesty she puts out there (and I’m far from following the swifties closely enough to offer any insightful opinion)speaks to her desire to have a relationship with Kelce in spite of the overwhelming attention it gets from the sports world. Don’t know that she asked for it and is trying to handle the repercussions in a cynical world. My 2 cents.
The notoriety in both worlds and how it affects profitability will be short lived in the pop star world as well as the sports world, if history prevails. I have no knowledge of red or black pilling so appreciate the education (I think)🤔