Taylor Swift FINALLY Comes Out Of The (Political) Closet

WRITTEN BY LAUREN STREBLO

 

Every Thursday a bunch of my pals and I go to trivia at a nearby bar. Every Thursday I make the same, not-actually-funny, joke about how I need to be the writer of the group because I’m bad at trivia and wouldn’t actually have anything to contribute to the success of our team, Quizteama Aguilera©. I always say that I don’t know anything about anything unless it’s related to the Chicago Cubs (my OG team), psychiatric illnesses (my job), or Taylor Swift (my lifeblood). Although I mostly use this as an excuse to be the writer because I have control issues and don’t want anyone else to be in charge of the pen—another issue for a later post/my therapist—BUT it’s actually true. So you can imagine that I am THRIVING with all of the Taylor Swift media and drama that has been a true blessing to my news feed in the last couple weeks.  

 

I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person who is ~indifferent~ about Taylor Swift. You either fucking love her or absolutely hate her. I think the reason why I love her so much is because, at the end of the day, she has great legs and probably just doesn’t give a shit about all the people who hate her because SHE IS SO RICH, Y’ALL. She is probably wiping her perfectly sculpted ass with her millions of dollars. Ah, the dream. It’s also pretty dope that she’s been out here giving and donating to various causes for pretty much ever. Like that one time she gave $50k to her backup dancer’s nephew with cancer. Or that time she donated 25k books to NYC schools in need. Not to mention, her massive Kesha donation in 2016.  

 

What I am totally here for though is her recent decision to use her powers for good. I, a straight, white, middle-class female, am certainly not an expert on how to be an ally/advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, or other marginalized groups—as much as I want to be (trying! It’s a process. =]). However, I once heard a saying from the unfortunately-now-cancelled podcast, Another Round, along the lines of this: The best way for people with privilege to be a good ally is to give others the microphone.The fucked-up reality is that the opinions, space, and overall existence of privileged folks—whether it’s people with money, social status, white skin, penises, etc.—are more valued in this world. So, when you are lucky enough to be born with one, some, or all of these privileges, the best way to advocate for others is to share and give space on the platform that naturally comes with it. So with that being said, I was kind of irritated for many years that T. Swift wasn’t using her fame and platform to speak up and participate more, especially during the dumpster-fire that was 2016. Sigh. Regardless, she eventually figured her shit out and publicly announced her support for a couple of Democratic candidates in Tennessee during the 2018 midterm elections, and encouraged her followers to get out and vote in her viral Instagram post. Which brings me to my point—that shit worked! Well, in some ways it worked. Despite the shade (is it considered shade if it’s just blatant shit-talking?) that Taylor threw at Tennessee Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in her IG post, she still won. But BUT, Taylor’s post resulted in a HUGE increase in voter registration (which I consider a victory?!) According to this NY Times article, more than 166,000 people between the ages of 18 to 24 registered to vote between the post on Sunday night and noon that Tuesday. Coincidence? Probably not. So even though it sucks that Taylor was kinda late to the political game, at least she showed up, and she showed up with her homework done. 

 

Taylor (I’ve decided that we’re on a first-name basis now) has clearly been busy since coming out of the political closet during the midterms. Most recently she dropped her second single “You Need To Calm Down” from her upcoming album, Lover. I wasn’t thrilled with her first single from Lover, so I was skeptical. However, this song is a fucking BOPPPPPP and if you disagree, then you might be a sociopath. Anyways, in Taylor-fashion, she dropped an insane music video for “You Need To Calm Down” which is a serious LGBTQ+ anthem just in time for Pride month. The best part is, Taylor asked a bunch of v prominent celebs in the LGBTQ+ community to be in the video and, at the end, encourages her listeners to sign her petition for Senate support of the Equality Act. We got Ellen DeGeneres, Todrick Hall, Billy Porter, RuPaul, Hayley Kiyoko, and even the full fucking FAB FIVE up in here (here’s a full list of the iconic lineup). I could write about this video for hours, but essentially Taylor and her pals are galavanting around, fabulously telling homophobes to calm the fuck down and calling out toxic internet culture and people who anonymously and cowardly post hateful shit online. She even subtly gives a shoutout to GLAAD in one of her lyrics! Anyways, I was so happy to see Taylor using her platform for good and sharing her microphone. 

 

 ^me when I heard:
"You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace and control your urges to scream about all the people you hate…cause shade never made anybody less gay"

 

Welp that’s enough Taylor Swift talk for now. Your homework: watch her video, sign her petition, and try one last time to convince your Taylor-hating roommate to give her another shot (if you can’t do it, maybe the Fab Five will be able to?) Lastly, and most importantly, happy mother fucking pride month! Chicago celebrations are in full-swing, which reminds me that I need to get on planning my parade outfit.

 

Love ya and don’t forget,

 

 

P.S. We’re always looking to rep more LGBTQ+ brands here at the lunary, so if you know some great ones that use their platform to support causes or vocalize issues relevant to the community, or that are LGBTQ+ founded, seriously send them our way (shoot us an email:  hello@thelunary.com). We currently carry genderless brands like RiLEY STUDiOAlder New York, and NOTO Botanics on the webshop already. NOTO also donates a portion of sales from certain products to support LGBTQ+ causes and is founded by a member of the community too. Support LGBTQ+ run businesses and genderless brands by shopping our collection below.