Who Needs to Calm Down?

Month long remembrances are a way to honor different groups of people and this month, June, is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Pride month began by honoring the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in which a gay bar was raided by police and protest ensued. The purpose of the month is to honor the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community to find acceptance and respect. The latest craze sweeping the music industry is related to Pride month with the release of Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down.” There has been a lot of controversy around this video which questions Swift’s intentions and right to speak for a community of which she, a straight cisgender women, is not a part. As an ally myself, also a straight cisgender women, I wondered if my own allyship would warrant criticism as well. 

I set out to evaluate the “You Need to Calm Down” and make my own criticisms. If you haven't seen the music video yet for the song, note that there will be spoilers ahead. Overall, while I was a big fan of Taylor Swift initially, this music video only increases my respect for her.

Commitment to the Equality Act

A lot of criticism I have seen for Swift’s activism is that it is too little too late. The singer has stayed out of political matters until 2018 when Swift donated $113,000 to the Tennessee Equality Act which aims to eliminate discrimination based on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, therefore supporting LGBTQ+ legislation. In fact, the “You Need to Calm Down” video included a call to action for viewers to sign a petition in support of the Equality Act. To this criticism, I will point out that Swift is a singer, not a political analyst, not a traditional blue or white collar, tax-paying citizen, and not even a college graduate. My point is not to say that Swift’s vote counts for less or more than anyone else, but simply that people should not take advice on politics from someone who is not in the political sphere. Her fame is being used now to help raise awareness of LGBTQ+ issues which is a human rights issue. Please, do not demand that singers and actors use their influence on political matters when universal, human matters are where they have more authority. 

References and Support

There were a ton of references made in the music video, some of which were whimsical, and some more serious. I had never heard of the “Mom, I am a rich man” quote originated by Cher in a 1996 interview, now I want that phrase tattooed on my arm. But the most important reference given in the video for me was GLAAD, an organization that has worked on multiple issues including LGBTQ+ representation in media and legal rights. Unfortunately, I had never heard of GLAAD before the video so learning about all the work that this organization has done has been encouraging. I wish PFLAG had been put in there somehow too! If there is one thing I know from my own issues, it’s that having support and resources is everything. I can honestly say that Taylor Swift is the reason I learned about GLAAD.

Joining the Party

At its core, “You Need to Calm Down” suggests that love is simply more fun than hate. Swift’s video shows her and her friends living their lives and having a great time doing so; there are parties and fun colors and the imagery seems to ask ‘What’s not to like?’ The people protesting the community—the casted ‘homophobes’—are certainly not having a good time, so we must ask ourselves “Why are you mad?/ When you could be GLAAD?”While Swift has received criticism for how the protestors were portrayed as uneducated hillbillies, I think they were merely intended to be caricatures that were taken too literally. Swift probably did not set out to insult the entirety of rural American! Additionally, some critics ponder whether Swift has the right to advocate for a community of which she is not a part. I would cite the logic of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this one: “No one is free until we are all free.” While Dr. King spoke in a very different context, I think the sentiment is the same; someone does not need to be a part of a community themselves to be accepting and supporting of it. Additionally, Swift did not make this video about herself as she included plenty of cameos featuring members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Fab Five from Queer Eye have a tea party, Ellen DeGeneres gets a tattoo, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson gets married to his real-life partner Justin Mikita, and even Swift herself was portrayed by a competitor of RuPaul's Drag Race, Jade Jolie. I would like to think that with all these people representing the LGBTQ+ community, someone would have said something if they felt appropriated, but all I’ve read is what a great time everyone had making the video.

When all is said and done, this video is about everyone having a good time. It poses an important questions to its viewers: how could someone be against others living their lives to the fullest and not want to metaphorically (or literally in this case) join the part? To me, that is the message Taylor Swift was trying to say about herself and ask the same of others.