Please, it has to stop.

Please, it has to stop.

There’s a feud happening between Swift and Kardashian. Seems he said/she said rules are being enacted, snap chat has been utilised. In reality, this sort of feud is helping no one. The core issues of the feud are being ignored, and now Swift is suffering at the hands of the media. Kardashian’s influence only incites hatred towards Swift and it needs to stop. While I don’t have one Swift album in my possession and she is not someone I particularly like, it doesn’t stop the fact that she has worked hard for what she has. It was aptly described in this article from the Guardian that:

“Justin Bieber caused thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to his neighbour’s property by egging it, and allegedly spat on his fans. He repeatedly storms off stage in the middle of concerts and talks openly about his relationships – yet he still can be redeemed.

Swift writes catchy songs about some ex-boyfriends, appears surprised when she wins awards, complains about how she has been represented in a Kanye West song, and is never photographed with a hair out of place. Those are her crimes. And they are apparently unforgivable.”[i]

Consider this for a moment, this is a problem that arises when you are a strong woman. Hard work is how you accomplish your goals. Rare are the moments where success is born out of pure luck, most people work hard and have earned their achievements. If you are a man, this ‘grind’ is seen as a good quality, however, women still suffer in having this quality, and it has to stop. From all angles, from other women, from men. Honestly, it’s too much. Equality is only equality when successful stops being threatening when it’s from a woman.

Yes, it was probably easier for Swift in certain regards considering her demographics and background, I am not disputing that. However, Swift did still work hard to get where she is. Attacking her or her success is the wrong way to tackle these issues. It’s sending the wrong message to young girls, whom I honestly want growing up believe they have zero restrictions on who they can be and what they can do regardless of their background.

Whatever tags you assign to yourself, woman, man, black, white, gay, straight, jazz composer, finger painting artist, they’re all just tags when you lay yourself down to rest. What becomes problematic is the propensity of harm towards others based on these tags. Quandeel Baloch was strangled to death by her brother in what he described as an “Honor Killing.”[ii] Baloch was a successful media persona, and this success caused incitement and rage strong enough to see her death at the hands of her own brother. We need to keep feminism alive, and this should be in all parts of our lives, covering even our reactions to a feud on social media.

Before you start your cries of, “feminism is outdated we should all just be humanists,” think of Baloch. The death she suffered shows how much we still need feminism, among both women and men. Yes, I’m also a humanist. No, I don’t think anyone should be ever be terrorised, hurt or killed for how they define themselves. Unfortunately, we’re just not evolved enough yet to let feminism go. Aggression towards woman spans from the general hatred of Swift to the killing of Baloch and many things before, between and after. I’m just reiterating what millions have said before me. Please, it has to stop.

Copyright © 2016 Thinkingmoon.com – All rights reserved

Did you like this post? Why not check out my last one?

https://thinkingaheadblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/turn-off-the-light/

P.S If you are in any doubt regarding sexism, just visit this Twitter page. You’ll be frightened, saddened but hopefully inspired to enact change:

https://twitter.com/EverydaySexism

P.P.S For ladies that want to spread girl love check out this Twitter page while I thank the universe for ladies like Superwomen:

https://twitter.com/SpreadGirlLove

Endnotes:

[i] https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/18/taylor-swift-kanye-west-kim-kardashian-west-famous-reaction

[ii] http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/18/asia/pakistan-qandeel-baloch-brother-confession/index.html?sr=twcnni071816pakistan-qandeel-baloch-brother-confession0813AMVODtopLink&linkId=26658315