Taylor Swift’s Tweet About Ginny & Georgia is Problematic
There are not “Ginny & Georgia” spoilers in this article. This is an un-spoiler warning, and you may proceed with as much or as little caution as you’d like.
I’m a big fan of Taylor Swift and her music. She’s a powerful force in the music industry and beyond, and I have a lot of respect for her. That said, I do not agree with several actions she’s taken in her career. One action in particular is in the spotlight this week, and I want to write about it with the nuance it deserves.
A new Netflix series, “Ginny & Georgia”, is at the heart of the controversy surrounding Taylor Swift and her fans this week. My husband and I started watching it last week and watch an episode a day on average. I was surprised to learn it was in the news for anything other than its poignance.
We haven’t gotten to the episode in question yet (no spoilers please!), but there’s dialogue that includes a distasteful joke about Taylor Swift:
“What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”
It is sexist and rude, as are other jokes weaved throughout the show. Taylor Swift’s fans noticed this particular quip, became outraged, and got “Respect Taylor Swift” trending on Twitter. To everyone’s surprise, Taylor had something to say about it herself:
I don’t think she was wrong to acknowledge it. This joke is a representation of the misogyny and sexism throughout our culture that we don’t even recognize. I’m glad Taylor Swift said something because it’s important we become aware of our biases.
But I have a problem with something she said in her tweet.
I’m also disappointed in how she’s handling the aftermath, but more on that later. There’s a microaggression in Taylor Swift’s tweet I want to point out.
In part of Taylor Swift’s tweet, she said:
“How about we stop degrading hard working women…”
Now, it’s reasonable to assume she wrote her tweet from the lens of her life and her privileges, so I doubt it occurred to her or anyone around her that there was anything wrong with that part. I don’t want people to read this as a criticism of Taylor Swift — I don’t have a reason to believe she knows better.
But that’s exactly why I feel obligated to mention it. As the brief dialogue about Taylor Swift in “Ginny & Georgia” exemplifies, there are messages throughout our culture we don’t stop to question.
Along those lines, there are ableist messages we shouldn’t find acceptable.
The fact that she clarified we need to stop demeaning hard working women, instead of just women in general, well…it’s ableist. It also implies that people are only valuable if they work hard, which is untrue and discriminatory to many, whether or not they’re disabled.
On a personal note, I was publicly shamed by my hometown last year and lost my job as a result. I haven’t sought another job because I can’t physically or mentally handle moderate to high amounts of stress at this point in time. But I deserve respect, regardless of whether or not I have a job and “work hard.”
Look, I know Taylor Swift didn’t mean to make me or anyone feel inferior by specifying that. But we need to stop implying that people’s worthiness depends on their career success or how hard they work.
Taylor Swift’s tweet, the aftermath, and what it represents
Taylor Swift only tweeted about “Ginny & Georgia” after her fans made a stink about it, and honestly, I find that problematic. The thing is, her fans engaged in a form of cancel culture, continue to engage in it, and she’s not telling them to stop. That’s not okay.
Many Taylor Swift fans are attacking actors from the show on their social media profiles, including Antonia Gentry, the actress who plays Ginny. They’re also driving ratings down for “Ginny & Georgia.” (Never mind the surrounding content in the show, which I’ll touch on at the end of this article).
Her fans’ behavior is the epitome of cancel culture, something Taylor Swift experienced herself and says she despises. In her Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana,” she talked about how public shaming affected her. I know from my own life that it’s traumatic.
Taylor Swift cannot control her fans, but she can use her platform to tell them this is wrong. She’s not doing that.
Accountability and cancel culture are two different things. This moved from accountability to cancel culture really fast, and I’m disappointed Taylor’s not speaking up.
Does Taylor Swift only have an issue with cancel culture when it affects her?
“Ginny & Georgia” is an important show, but you wouldn’t know it.
Ever since Taylor Swift criticized a line of dialogue in “Ginny & Georgia,” that’s all people are talking about in regards to the Netflix series. As someone who started watching the show prior to her tweet, this saddens me.
“Ginny & Georgia” tackles many important subjects throughout the plot, and I’m only on the sixth episode. These topics aren’t directly addressed, and that’s part of why it’s so powerful. It hits you where it hurts. My husband and I have several compelling discussions about the show because of its relevancy.
Yet, when I do a Google search on the Netflix series, publications mostly care about Taylor Swift’s tweet. Apparently.
A lot of that is due to our obsession with celebrities, and it’s not her fault. However, it seems she didn’t watch the show, considering she didn’t comment on anything else. That’s irresponsible. And if she did watch “Ginny & Georgia” and only used her voice to criticize a line about her, that’s worse.
I finished “Ginny & Georgia” on Netflix a few days after I published this article and want to expand on my initial reaction to the dialogue, as well as Taylor Swift’s criticism.
I feel strongly that the dialogue was taken out of context.
The scene where the dialogue occurs is tense; the line about Taylor Swift is not supposed to be funny. In Taylor Swift’s tweet, she implies that the line was used for humor, but the tone of the scene doesn’t invite laughter.
The dialogue actually read to me as a character projecting her internal misogyny onto another woman. The character who spoke the line was in a lot of pain…a complex type of hurt that gives more context to her insults. It’s one of many moments where “Ginny & Georgia” highlights a social issue without directly acknowledging it.
I’m even more disappointed in Taylor Swift’s approach now that I’ve watched all ten episodes in the first season of “Ginny & Georgia”.
The dialogue wasn’t a joke, nor was it funny. Based on Taylor Swift’s tweet, I don’t think she watched the show at all. Criticism ought to come from an educated place, but her criticism was misinformed and unjustifiably harsh.
I suppose our culture doesn’t like nuance in criticism though. I’ve noticed an increasing inability to acknowledge complexity in subjects such as this. You’re either right or wrong, good or bad, problematic or not; there’s no grey area.
Except, life itself is a grey area.
I’m a normal, everyday person, but even I have experienced cancel culture. I know how much it hurts. In fact, it’s been over a year since everything went down, and I’m not sure I believe healing is possible. It affects me still and probably always will. I wrote this article as carefully and thoughtfully as I could because I never want to contribute to cancel culture.
My intention isn’t to shame Taylor Swift. All I want is for her to tell her fans they’re perpetuating the very culture that canceled her.
