Believe in the Strength of Women

On November 30^th, the Billboard’s Women in Music event honored pop star Katy Perry as the “Woman of the Year.”  Her speech started out on a very inspirational note about how she had to “fight for [herself] and [her] vision.”  Yet, right after she said that, she spewed out the words, “I am not a feminist, but I do believe in the strength of women.” 

Her statement poses the question – what exactly is feminism, and why is she so reluctant to call herself a feminist?  The goal of feminism is simply to give women equal rights and opportunities as there are for men. 

She said that her mantra is “If you believe in yourself, you can be anything.”  Many of her songs, including Firework and Part of Me, express the theme that you can achieve anything as long as you put your heart to it.  Perry is strong, independent, and confident – all of the qualities she has developed through her life experiences like being denied record labels multiple times and overcoming her failed marriage to Russell Brand.  Despite embracing all of the qualities of a feminist, she chooses to separate herself from the word.

Perry could have just as easily omitted that part from her speech to focus solely on the strength of women.  The fact that she went out of her way to mention it shows that feminism has a negative connotation attached to it.  Feminists don’t cover themselves with war paint and prance around a bonfire nude.  Feminists don’t smear lip gloss all over their face and go up to men screaming “Is this what you want?”  Feminists don’t exterminate the male population so they can rule the world. 

In my blog, I have written about many aspects of feminism – my view on Taylor Swift’s music, rape culture, wearing makeup, abortion, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.   The beautiful part about feminism is that it is not black or white, but rather a diverse spectrum of thoughts and ideas.  It is a shame that it is often viewed as a bra burning cult of psycho women.  

Because just like Katy Perry said, the goal of feminism is to exercise "the strength of women."

Katy Perry's entire speech can be viewed at: http://www.billboard.com/news/katy-perry-s-woman-of-the-year-acceptance-1008036452.story#/news/katy-perry-s-woman-of-the-year-acceptance-1008036452.story.

A Response to: The Victoria’s Secret “Fashion Show”: A Feminist Rant

The author of the blog peacehopetrees.tumblr.com strives to prove that Victoria’s Secret “teaches women that [they] are objects to be owned and experienced.”  She goes on to show that the male-dominated company is catered towards pleasing the needs of men.  As a result, women are the subordinate sex by blindly supporting Victoria’s Secret.

The author criticizes Victoria’s Secret for having their models play a “passive role” where they are “hyper-sexualized” and “anti-intellectual.”  The models play everything but a passive role in the annual fashion show.  Victoria’s Secret is one of the very few modeling industries that encourages their models to express their creativity and individuality both on and off the runway.  The women are not walking closet hangers with their mouths sewn shut, they are all unique individuals who show how down to earth they are in interviews and segments in between the runway in the fashion show.  For example, the 2012 fashion show had a segment on Candice Swanepoel’s life growing up in South Africa and discovering her passion for modeling.

 

Also, the author gives into the stereotype that models are brain-dead beauties.   All of the models are inspirations rather than train-wrecks – they show how women can live a balanced life between their career, family, and simply enjoying life.  Miranda Kerr, for example, manages being a mother to her almost two-year old son Flynn, wife to Orlando Bloom, CEO of her organic skincare line Kora Organics, author of the self-help book Treasure Yourself, and one of the top Victoria’s Secret models.

Considering both of the CEOs for Victoria’s Secret are women – Lori Greeley and Sharen Jester Turney – the author’s claim that the company gives into a “media culture created for men by men” is false.  Even if the company were run by men, this is a business, and they are simply catering to their audience of females.  As a matter of fact, the Examiner reveals that more women than men watch the fashion show, with “twice as many women as men in the 18-34 age group.” 

Victoria’s Secret is critiqued for focusing more on how women can “better please their men” as opposed to their comfort.  The company sells more than just lingerie; their fashion show also advertises their fragrances, beauty products, clothing, footwear, active wear, and swimwear.  Judging by the success of this company, without them having basic comfort, it is doubtful that they would get this far.

The author ends with the notion that women should boycott Victoria’s Secret for “favoring misogyny” and keeping women in the mindset that they can “purchase success” and look like their models.  It is natural that Victoria’s Secret will have high standards for their models, simply because they are a company and they are looking to maximize their profits.  Just like McDonald’s has a food stylist to make the burgers looks perfect on commercials, Victoria’s Secret casts models that will help sell their merchandise. 

Because ultimately, that’s the goal of Victoria’s Secret: sell merchandise, not dehumanize women. 

Unpopular Opinion

I’ve found that throughout the United States, it is popular for women to hold up signs advertising the message “Teach men not to rape.”  They seek to show the folly in our society – that we teach women how to avoid getting raped instead of teaching men not to rape.

There is no doubt that rape is bad.  It has been implanted in our brains ever since we were born – from when our parents told us to keep our hands to ourselves in kindergarten, when we watched the first episode of Law & Order: Specials Victims Unit, when we saw that story on the news about the unfortunate incident that happened to a woman walking to her car alone past midnight.  Rape is consistently portrayed in a negative light; in no way has ‘society’ taught men that rape is “ok” or “good.” 

So what’s so bad about teaching women some preventative measures to avoid being raped?  The fact that college security teaches women to watch their drinks when they’re at a party, walk to their car to with their keys wedged between their knuckles, keep pepper spray with them in case of an emergency, practice the buddy system, or learn basic self-defense isn’t shameful to society – it’s helpful.                 

Just because we have established that rape is wrong – just like robbing banks, massacring innocent people at gunpoint, and stealing people’s credit card information – it doesn’t mean that it will stop.  Stealing thousands of dollars from a bank is wrong, but it still happens.  Killing people by gunpoint is wrong, yet the incident is Connecticut has left twenty-six victims dead.  Stealing people’s credit card information is wrong, but then again identity theft is a common occurrence.  The fact of the matter is rape will never stop. 

America is well past the stage of psychologically teaching people that rape is wrong.  It is in countries like Saudi Arabia, where the victims are blamed for putting themselves in this situation and are sentenced to prison and lashes in civil court, that must work to spread this message.  American citizens need to realize that rape is and always will be wrong, but learning ways to prevent it isn’t.   

A Response to: Seventeen Magazine's BMI Calculator

I had always scoffed at the teenagers who petitioned to magazines against them casting skinny and tall models for photo shoots.  I never believed that Seventeen, a magazine directed toward people from their pre-teens to young adults, was trying to tell readers that being slender and tall was beautiful.  Yet, after I stumbled upon a petition against Seventeen for their BMI calculator on change.org, a website where anyone can make, share, and rally others to fight for his or her cause, I found myself disgusted with what the magazine is teaching girls.

Although the website accurately calculates BMI, Seventeen’s ‘healthy ranges’ are far off the true healthy ranges adapted from the Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults: The Evidence Report, the ranges that are used by the government to determine who is considered within a healthy ranges, on the brink of becoming obese, or already obese.

Whereas anywhere from a 19-24 is considered within the healthy range, Seventeen declares that anywhere from a 14.8 to a 21.7 is the healthy BMI range for sixteen year olds.  After playing around with the numbers on their BMI calculator I realized that if I were to gain a mere five pounds, I would be considered obese by Seventeen’s standard of healthy.

A BMI of 17.5 is considered the standard for diagnosing anorexia and a BMI of 15 is considered severely overweight.  Yet, Seventeen believes that these numbers lie within the ‘healthy ranges’ for teenage girls.

Studies conducted by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders show that “95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.8,” the prime age that Seventeen targets.  As anorexia holds the “highest mortality rate of any mental disorder,” it is necessary that Seventeen realizes how skewed its numbers are so that teens can practice healthy habits without the pressures of being considered thin and beautiful. 

I invite you all to sign the petition created by Lauren Stalnaker on change.org.  The petition can be found here: http://www.change.org/petitions/seventeen-magazine-correct-their-bmi-calculator-s-definition-of-healthy-range. 

A Response to: Suzanne Venker's "The War on Men"

Suzanne Venker, in the article The War on Men published on Fox News, details how it is “so unfortunate” that the modern woman is entering the workforce and beginning to provide for herself by not relying on a man for her well-being.  She suggests that women must “surrender… their femininity” so that marriageable men will come about since statistics show that as time progresses more women and less men have a desire marry.  This article is sexist toward women by commanding that women submit to domestic roles so that men can provide for their families since it’s “in their DNA.”

Today’s modern woman – an independent, self-confident individual – is described as “unknowingly… angry” and “defensive” since she “think[s] of men as the enemy.”  When did a woman striving for personal success have anything to do with looking down upon men as competition?  A woman strives for personal success because of her personal motivation and desire to be successful – just like men.  Although it is no longer taboo for women to enter the workforce, their motives are still questioned because they supposedly “push men off their pedestal.”  The fact that Venker believes it is a woman’s fault that a man feels less ‘manly’ since they are becoming more equal in the workforce is degrading to the female sex. 

Venker urges that women change in order to “live the balanced life they seek.”  There is nothing balanced about a woman being confined to domestic duties while the man provides for the family simply for the sake of the man’s self-assurance that he is the one in power.  She is right about one thing though, “Women have changed drastically.”  Just because women have achieved suffrage, have gained a voice in politics, started to influence government policies, and secured the rights to their body, it does not mean that “Women aren’t women anymore.”  Women have changed for the better and women will continue to change until universal equality is reached.

That is what feminism is all about – creating and protecting equality for people of all sexes, of all races, of all countries – not pressing for backward ideas that reverse the progression of women.  Instead of viewing the feminist movement as a necessary step to the progression of humanity, she views it as an advantage to men since they can “have sex at hello and… live with their girlfriends with no responsibilities.”  It is twisted that Venker tries to empower women into gaining financial security by marrying or having sex with a man.

If a woman chooses to not work, that’s great.  But if a woman chooses to pursue a career and achieve her dreams, she should not be shunned as foolish for limiting a man’s opportunity and not taking advantage of staying at home to care for the house and children.    

Women Participation in No Shave November

November ushers in not only the start of the holiday season with Thanksgiving, but also No Shave November, a month-long event dedicated to raising awareness for prostate cancer by having people refrain from shaving.  However, women are shunned and labeled as “gross” and “unkempt” for participating.

Women participation is regarded as a joke among the majority of the population – from my fellow class mates to celebrities.  As October came to a close, I found myself reading more and more Facebook statuses poking fun at women participation in this event, including “No Shave November.  #proudofwhoiam” and “I’ll be participating in Noshember guiz don’t hate!”  What bothered me the most about these statuses is that females were the ones creating them.  Additionally, Will Ferrell, most famously known for his role in the movie Elf, commented on the event by saying “Girls who participate in No Shave November will also participate in No D December.” 

While I am in no way trying to turn No Shave November into a feminist cause about the rights of  women to do whatever they want with their body hair, it seems like the true meaning of No Shave November has dwindled down into nothing more than a competition between men to advertise how much facial hair they can grow.  If I were to participate in this event, it would be because I want to spread awareness about prostate and testicular cancer, not because I’m trying to prove a point about the expectations for women to maintain the status of “beautiful.”

It is important for participants to remember what the cause is all about – raising awareness for prostate cancer – so that both men and women feel free to participate without being constrained by social norms and judgment from their peers. 

Plastic Surgery: Why So Taboo?

In 2010, plastic surgery was nearly an eleven billion dollar industry.  Despite its prevalence in cultures all around the world, it has yet to be deemed socially acceptable.  Both women and men who choose to have a procedure, whether it be breast implants, a nose job, a face lift, or liposuction, are commonly looked down upon for not accepting their own body and embracing the qualities that make them different from others.

However, there is minimal difference between getting braces and having a surgical procedure.  Depending on a patient’s specific conditions and his/her exact procedure, both are rather costly, both take time and involve some sort of recovery, and both can drastically alter an appearance and change a person’s self-confidence.  Whereas braces have assimilated into being a norm in our society, someone who has just had lip injections would be judged and possibly even ostracized.    

People who choose to have surgical procedures don’t need to have their motives questioned.  Whether it is to have more confidence, look younger, or restore a part of the body that was injured a traumatic experience, both sexes are entitled to do as they please with their bodies.  It is unfair to pressure them out of their decision with the dry, unsympathetic words “But you are beautiful!”  It will not change the way he/she feels about his/her body.

Although people commonly argue that people should refrain from having plastic surgery since beauty differs from culture to culture and there is no real definition of beauty, does it really matter?  The cliché “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” holds truth.  In Africa, women are praised for being what America would deem as overweight.  In France, women commonly get breast reductions as opposed to in America where most women get breast implants.  In China, women are praised for their pale skin in contrast to America where many people have spray tans.  It is the fact that all people of all different cultures praise different aesthetics that makes this world so beautiful and diverse.   

It is unfair to judge someone who has had plastic surgery on their operation.  When I asked someone what they thought about Lana Del Rey’s music, they responded with “Can you believe her lips?”  When I asked someone what they thought about Ashley Tisdale as an actress, they responded with “Did you see her nose?”  When I asked someone what they thought about Heidi Montag as a person, they responded with “Did you see what happened to her face?”  It seems as though the same people who preach that beauty is much more than what is on the surface are the same people who use only aesthetics to judge people’s worth.  Anyone who has plastic surgery should not be viewed as morally and physically “ugly” just because they’ve had an operation.

Although society has become more open-minded in recent decades, plastic surgery has remained a taboo topic.  Although we should embrace the diversity of our world, we should not shun those who are dissatisfied with their appearance. 

A Response to “Interview with Greta Friedman”: Rape Culture

Anyone who has studied World War II has seen the famous image of the mysterious sailor kissing the women after the end of the war in Time’s Square in 1945.  We have all idealized this image as an icon symbolizing the utmost joy for the end of war.  What many people don’t realize is that today, such an incident is considered sexual assault.

In an interview with Greta Friedman, the woman in the picture identified years after the image was published, she states “It wasn’t my choice to be kissed. The guy just came over and grabbed [me]!” and “That man was very strong.  I wasn’t kissing him.  He was kissing me.”  Despite that this is clearly an incident of sexual assault by today’s definition, articles continue to publish the photo as a celebratory and romantic symbol of the war’s conclusion without any regards to Friedman’s point of view, leading veterans to revere it as an act of relief and enthusiasm. 

Although George Mendosa, the man who kissed the woman, had every right to express his excitement for the war’s end, he had no right to infringe on a woman’s body.  The media’s lack of expressing Friedman’s opinion illustrates that many of us have fallen victim to rape culture – a world where we normalize sexual assault and brush it off with the saying “Boys will be boys.”  A world where we are taught to submit to the desires of men.  A world we are expected to accept unwelcomed sexual advancements.

While some may argue that referring to this image as an incident of sexual assault is taking it to the extreme because Friedman is seemingly unharmed by the event, it is important to note the social pressures to conform and let such an instance be considered trivial.  After all, it really is “just a kiss.”  However, Friedman gave no consent and was completely unaware that it was going to happen.  Just because she is not traumatized by the event does not mean that Mendoza’s actions should be deemed acceptable. 

This image is an illusion to the glorious end of the war that should not be valued within our society, but rather judged as an act of sexual assault that we can all learn from.

A Response to Paul Ryan’s Reasoning on Abortion at the Vice Presidential Debate

“The policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.”

The single sentence that surges anger through my body. 

All of these Republican middle-aged white men who seem to think they know what a woman should do with her body fail to address the issue that gets her there in the first place.  Ryan failed to talk about the government taking measures to prevent abortions from happening in the first place.  Ryan failed to talk about promoting national condom distribution or making birth control more accessible.  Ryan failed to talk about advocating programs that educate teenagers about safe sex.

But even then, it is still a woman’s right to do whatever she wishes with her body. 

It is easy to undermine the changes that will happen in regards to abortion rights under the Romney administration.  If Romney is elected, the court case from Roe v. Wade in 1973, which secured a woman's right to choice, will be overturned and abortion will become a state's issue to decide.  A woman's body is not a political battleground, nor should it be up for debate.  

Ryan claims to respect other peoples’ opinions, yet he still tries to sway them with emotional propaganda.  “We saw that heartbeat.  Our little baby was in the shape of a bean.”  This appeal to emotions is a huge injustice to women; the decision is hard enough without making a woman feel like a baby butcher.  Ryan also states, "My faith informs me about how to take care of the vulnerable... how to make sure that people have a chance in life."  This is the same man who has no plan to protect these children after their birth, who expects women to provide for their baby with a seven dollar an hour job at McDonalds,  who is unwilling to create government programs to pay for the healthcare of these children.

Ryan also argues that the Obama administration has violated the first amendment by “infringing on Catholic charities… churches… hospitals ”  A report released by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy reveals that 20% of adolescents have sex before they are fifteen.  What’s better – governmental programs informing teens about their options to have safe sex, or a church preaching abstinence until marriage?

Declaring abortions illegal will not stop women from getting them.  It will lead to back-alley surgeries or self-abortions that jeopardize women’s health and life.

The logic is quite simple: If you are against abortion, don’t get one.  

The debate can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3roG09O6T4.

An Open Letter to the Members of One Direction

Dear Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, and Louis Tomlinson,

We need to talk.

No, I don’t want your autograph, I don’t want to run my fingers through your hair, and I most definitely don’t want you to sing to me.  I do, however, need to share some of my thoughts about your hit song What Makes You Beautiful. 

When I first heard the song on the radio, I was impressed by the catchy tune and up beat music.  After listening to it a couple more times, I found myself singing to the lyrics.  It was at this moment that I realized exactly what you were saying, and to put it lightly, I was a little less than ok with it.

You romanticize low self-esteem, idolize girls with poor body images, and imply that girls who do not wear makeup are more pure and wholesome than those who do.  It has been well established in today’s media that lacking self-confidence is bad thing.  Yet, you are all attracted to the fact that she is “insecure” and does not know “What makes her beautiful.”  You state this directly in the line "Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe / You don't know, you don't know you're beautiful / That's what makes you beautiful."

A woman is entitled to have confidence in whatever she chooses to – be it physical characteristics, a personality trait, an accomplishment, or a talent.  There is nothing trendy about a woman that is yet to find herself in today’s day and age.  Yet your lyrics “You’re insecure / Don’t know what for” and “If only you saw what I can see / You’ll understand why I want you so desperately” showcase how highly you view her because of how poorly she views herself.  You all seem to be drawn into the challenge of making this girl confident.  Quite honestly, I already foresee the ending to this love episode – if the girl does gain confidence, suddenly she won’t be nearly as attractive as she was before. 

Additionally, the lyrics “Don’t need makeup, to cover up / Being the way that you are is enough” imply that girls who do wear makeup are putting up a fake image and lying to the world about who they truly are.  It is really none of your business what a girl decides to do with her face.  If she has more confidence with makeup on, who are you to jeopardize how she feels about herself?  You calling her beautiful will never make her feel beautiful, so quit playing the “natural beauty” card. 

 

But I get it.  It’s ‘just a song’ after all.  I target What Makes You Beauty because unlike other songs such as Justin Bieber’s One Less Lonely Girl, you capitalize on this girl’s low self-esteem for a romantic/sexual relationship and attempt to ‘rescue’ her from a lifetime of insecurity.   

Men need to take note of a woman’s low self-esteem instead of using it against her to create a relationship.  Men need to realize and value the independence of a woman.  Men need to stop admiring insecurity and start admiring confidence.  Your song is currently infecting the minds of millions of teenage girls across the globe.  Instead of being concerned with making a new hit song and scoring the big bucks, use some common sense and realize the effect your song will have on the females around the world who are listening to it.

A Response to: “Should Girls Wear Makeup?”

Link: http://thequietvoice18.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/should-girls-wear-makeup-and-why-not-to-call-girls-pretty/

What’s with all this hype about if girls should wear makeup?

It is implanted in some minds that girls who wear makeup somehow lack intellect and brains.  They are looked down upon for wasting more time on their appearance instead of learning how to perform brain surgery, becoming president of the United States, or finding the solution to the water crisis in lesser developed countries.  Thomas Le, the author of the article linked above, states “there comes a time when excess leads to error.”  He goes on to prove that today’s younger generation spends too much time worrying about their appearance as opposed to worrying about the world around them and the problems that must be solved.

All of these articles that try and point teenagers away from makeup seem to miss a major point – why girls wear makeup.  Although I recognize it is not exactly fair for me to be the voice of all of teenage girls, I can say why I personally wear makeup.  I wear makeup because I feel a million times better about myself when I have it on.  There is no way I will ever be capable of changing the world or “enhancing my mental abilities” if I do not even have an ounce of self-confidence.

But for some people, it is wrong of me not to have confidence without makeup.  They expect me to take refuge in their dry, unsympathetic words “Everyone is beautiful!”  Here’s the thing about confidence and beauty – a million people could tell a girl she is beautiful, but it will never change the way she feels about herself.  There are multiple ways I gain confidence; I should not be shunned since makeup happens to be one of those ways.  

Then, there is the phrase “brainwashed by society” and “society’s expectations” which are referenced multiple times in the article.  I am sick and tired of seeing that phrase to the point where I cringe in disgust.  It is a plague of the mind; it infects me with anger and makes me unbelievably irked.  What does that even mean?  Who and what is ‘society’ and why is it made up of such bad people?  The answer is we are society, and we are not bad people for deriving our view of beauty from the media.  Why is it so wrong of me to praise aesthetics in certain people and brains in others?  There is nothing wrong with liking a celebrity like Selena Gomez just because she is pretty, just like there is nothing wrong with liking the winner of the Google Science Fair for teens, Brittany Wenger, just because she is smart.  Although Gomez gets much more media attention than Wenger, it does not mean I value one over the other.  I look up to them both for different reasons.  Although we do not have absolute control over the media, after all we cannot control advertisements on billboards or what magazines we come across at the checkout of a grocery market, isn't it ultimately our choice whether we watch E! News Style Watch or Jeopardy at night?  

In response to the question that sparked Le to write his article, "Should girls wear makeup," that question should not even have been proposed in the first place.  It should be universally known and accepted that girls can do absolutely whatever they want to do with their face and their body without being shunned by "society" and degraded into a status of intellectual inferiority.

The Feminist Speaks

I am a feminist.  Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Oh boy, here’s a crazy girl who dresses in baggy clothing and goes in front of crowds of people smearing lipstick all over her face and screaming “Is this what you men want?” at the top of her lungs.  I am not a feminist because I believe the media is creating unhealthy images for girls by picturing thin women wearing makeup.  I am a feminist because as long as misogyny exists, so will I.  I am a feminist because I refuse to tolerate women being degraded into words such as “slut” and “bitch.”  I am a feminist because I believe in creating equal opportunity for women.  The true meaning of feminism has been corrupted throughout the years, giving it a negative connotation that causes people to roll their eyes at the mere sight of the word. 

Perhaps my introduction into this broad topic of feminism will start with this simple sentence: I hate Taylor Swift.

I’ve listed and read all of Taylor Swift’s songs and lyrics once and only once.  Whenever her songs come up on the radio, my blood starts to involuntary boil with anger.  Swift lyrics repeatedly feed into patriarchy by looking down upon girls who are not virgins as having poor morals while paying no attention to the behaviors of men.  She plays herself up to be an innocent, pure girl which somehow makes her special and superior to others.  Perhaps the most profound example of this is in the song “Better than Revenge” where she sings “She’s not a saint, and she’s not what you think / She’s an actress, whoa, She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa.”  The song is about the end of her relationship with teen heart-throb Joe Jonas when he started to date Camille Belle.  Taylor Swift childishly attacks Belle and implies that she is obviously the better one out of the two because of her pureness.

Swift gives into this sexual double standard, implying that women should follow strict abstinence while showing that there is no social judgment for men’s sexual behavior or promiscuity.  Another example of the degradation of girls is in one of her most famous songs, “You Belong With Me” where she deliberately implies that girls who dress “provocatively” in “short skirts” are some sort of sinful witches who try to entice boys whereas her conservative ways wearing “t-shirts” are clearly higher and more wholesome.

In no way am I implying that girls should go wild and crazy and have a bunch of sex.  I am trying to stress that there is a choice involved with choosing to have sex or remain abstinent, and no girl should be looked down upon for her decision as not being ethnically or religiously moral - particularly when women are consistently called “sluts” for their behavior whereas it is seen as natural, human behavior for men to frequently have sex.  Swift gives into the idea of the "virgin/whore dichotomy," suggesting that women can only be viewed in two ways based on their decision to have premarital sex.  She devalues girls who choose otherwise and makes them feel worthless by generalizing them into the "whore" category.

Another reason Taylor Swift is a bad influence on not just girls, but all people in general, is because of her homophobic lyrics where she implies that being gay is wrong.  In the album version of the song “Picture to Burn,” she states “So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy / That’s fine I’ll tell mine that you’re gay!”  Her childish and immature lyrics suggest that being gay would be a terrible thing.  What’s even more surprising is that she participated in the No H8 campaign, an organization that pictures celebrities with duct tape on their mouth in an effort to increase acceptance of gay members among the community. 

Instead of teaching girls to get back up and move on after a failed relationship, she teaches them to dwell on their emotions and become vengeful against any new girlfriends.  Swift sends the wrong message to girls – they should care about more than just boys after all.

Finally, Swift lives in the past.  When Kanye West interrupted her at the 2009 VMAs, her career exploded.  She kept bringing it up to fuel her fame and score pity points.  Although it was clearly not a nice thing to do, it does not mean that she can’t move on from it like everyone else has.

So news flash Taylor – We will never, ever, ever, find your music clever.