by Amya Diggs
She has officially taken over the internet, and maybe even the world? Between her ongoing Eras tour, rerecording her first four studio albums, and her ridiculously high carbon footprint, Taylor Swift has been in the news more than ever.
Some people refer to her as one of the greatest lyricists of our generation, but others can’t get past the 2009 MTV Music Awards where Kanye West interrupted Swift’s speech after winning Best Video by a Female Artist. Regardless of your opinion on Swift, she has arguably become one of the most beloved artists of our generation and yet, the criticism surrounding her is equally prominent.
I grew up in the early 2010s when Taylor Swift was all the rage for pre-teens and teens around the world. Her music filled our bedrooms, often those with each wall painted a different color, and her songs were downloaded on our iPods. As we grew older, Taylor grew with us. Her sound and lyrics matured with my generation. Or maybe we began to relate to her lyrics just a little bit more than we did when we were 8 years old.
My time as a Taylor Swift fan was a phase. After my pre-teens, I became disinterested in Swift. I had nothing against her but I stopped paying attention, and generally, I was no longer able to connect with her music. Swift is not an artist I think much about, but with her constant presence in the media, she is completely inescapable.
It’s not unusual for people to consider themselves fans of musicians. “Swifties,” however, aren’t your average fans. They are predominantly white millennials who are completely dedicated to the life and music of Taylor Swift. Swifties have been around since the start of Taylor’s music career and their presence has grown over the years.
Business Insider reported in November of last year that around three-quarters of self-identified Swifties are white. This may not be shocking to you, but topics such as white privilege and misogynoir in the music industry are not topics many people want to discuss, especially Swifties.
To returning to the 2009 VMAs West/Swift encounter, I’ll refresh you on what exactly Kanye said that night:
“I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!”
I was six years old in 2009, so I didn’t understand this interaction when it happened. Now that I’m older, I understand what Kanye was talking about, and I got to re-experience it recently during the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Taylor earned four Grammys this year, including Album of the Year for the fourth time. For context, there have only even been three Black women to win this award: Natalie Cole in 1992, Whitney Houston in 1994, and Lauryn Hill in 1999.
It’s become common to see people on social media draw upon the “music is subjective” argument to justify the reason why Black women haven’t won more Album of The Year awards.
At this year’s Grammys, Jay-Z won the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, and during his speech, he said:
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”
Jay-Z was referring to Beyoncé, who currently holds a total of 32 Grammys and is the most awarded artist in history. Still, with all of the awards Beyoncé has, she has never been awarded Album of the Year.
Following the Grammy Awards show, many people turned to social media to express their thoughts. @kierabreaugh on TikTok, posted a video critiquing the lack of consistency for standards of award shows.
“Black women would not be allowed in front of y’all’s face if they weren’t impeccable in every single category, where white people, who are very much the beauty standard, get to be mediocre in some of these categories and still win everything,” she says.
Breaugh centers her argument in critiquing standards within the music industry. She argues that there is a lack of consistency as a result of white privilege which is reflected in awards shows like the Grammys.
Taylor Swift rarely acknowledges the privilege she holds as a white woman in music. The standards for the industry place artists like Taylor Swift in positions of social power that are not afforded to Black women. And because Black women are disadvantaged by the music industry’s contradictions, Black women are not equally celebrated or awarded. Given Taylor Swift’s influence, she has the power to confront these standards that continue to shut out women of color, and she should use it.
If there is ever going to be change in the systems we have in place, specifically for the standards of music awards, then artists like Swift need to be doing more to acknowledge the issues at hand. It’s time to hold Taylor Swift accountable.