During the 66e Grammy awards ceremony last Sunday, while she received the prestigious album of the year award for the fourth time (a first for the ceremony), Taylor Swift, excited and surprised by the feat she had just to accomplish, forgot to greet Céline Dion, Quebec queen who presented the prize.
After this honest awkwardness justified by the eagerness of the American star, social networks were ablaze with contemptuous comments towards the magazine’s personality of the year Time. It is fair and reasonable to observe that the treatment reserved for the American singer was disproportionate and that we would not have made a big deal out of it if she had been a man.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time in her career that Taylor has been a victim of misogyny, like any other woman today.
Taylor also addressed the practice of double standards in the way of treating male and female artists. Among other things, she wrote the song The Mantaken from his seventh studio album Lover, on this subject. Indeed, the media will be the first to dissect the most insignificant and smallest gestures made by female artists, while men will be forgiven when they commit serious acts such as sexual misconduct, domestic violence, anti-Semitic acts and racists and even gun violence.
Of course, Taylor Swift isn’t the only woman this kind of thing happens to. However, since she occupies a huge space in the media and the public sphere, we must be aware that the negative attention directed towards her should be redirected towards the equally influential men who commit much more reprehensible acts. in order to stop normalizing the toxic and dangerous behavior of many men in the public sphere, but also of all those around us.
Now let’s return to last Sunday’s incident. Taylor was bombarded with derogatory comments online, while Jay-Z received only a few negative comments for his criticism of the academy which honored him for his entire career as well as his influence within the industry.
In a completely different, but equally evocative context, Travis Kelce, Taylor’s beau, receives universal acclaim when he sings while watching his sweet performer, and with good reason. Unfortunately, when the NFL shows, for a few seconds, Taylor with a smile on his face and his hands clapping, American football fans get carried away and even go so far as to adorn their fingers with a “FUCK SWIFT” manicure to destroy a vinyl record, carefully removed from a copy of 1989 (Taylor’s Version)at the entrance to a store.
In short, if you have one thing to learn from Taylor Swift’s awkwardness towards our national Céline, it’s that the media is quick to dissect the most insignificant of a woman’s actions and despise her for it. gesture, while a man can easily get out of a situation of sexual misconduct or racism, among other things. Let us then repress those who deserve it and let go of the slightly less glorious moments of certain women.