Taylor Swift has been in court this week facing her alleged assaulter, and being pretty badass about the whole thing. Yet for some reason, social media’s feminist echo chamber hasn’t been ringing out and deafening us like has with other instances of female celerities speaking out against assault. As HuffPost points out, the Guild of Feminist Intent had been unusually quiet throughout Taylor’s case… but why?
Rightly so, everyone and their granny were screaming from the rooftops when Kesha was in court with her alleged assaulter, to use a recent example. Adele declared her support for Kesha during her acceptance speech at the 2016 Brit Awards, while other celebrities took to Twitter to voice their support (Swift herself donated $250,000 to Kesha after the courts ruled against her, though she was widely slammed for not publicly speaking out about it). You couldn’t log onto any social media without coming across 501 opinions on the trial and people hashtagging in solidarity. But throughout Swift’s trial, this hearteningly loud support was eerily absent.
“We have reached a point in modern society where we have to assume that the victim and not the alleged abuser, is innocent until proven guilty.”
We have reached a point in modern society where we, as feminists, have to assume that the victim and not the alleged abuser, is innocent until proven guilty. We really do. We currently live in a world where Fox contracts require sexual harassment claims to be settled out of court, in order to protect the reputation of the network and the alleged abusers working within. The antics of one such alleged abuser Bill O’Reilly, cost the network and Billy boy $13 million dollars in settlements to five women over two decades.
More than 50 women claimed that they were sexually assaulted by comedian and actor Bill Cosby, between the years 1965 to 2008, then when a case was brought forward, the jury deliberated and were unable to reach a unanimous decision even after hearing account after account. A man accused of drugging and raping over 50 women walked away from court with people whispering that every single one of those women must have been lying.
To clarify:
- Companies are allowed to write contracts that prohibit staff from charging their attackers or harassers.
- 50 people testifying under oath that a man is a serial rapist isn’t enough to dent a career.
- A ham of a man who openly admitted to sexually assaulting women during a radio show is the current President of the United States of America.
This is the world we live in, where misogyny reigns supreme. Where teenage girls are told to cover up, lest the sight of their shoulders incite uncontrollable lust in an adult male teacher. Accusations of assault are far too often disregarded whenever the victim falls out with society’s acceptable parameters. Your skirt’s too short, you were drinking, you consented once before, you’re a sex worker, you’re promiscuous, you flirted with him, etc, etc.
“If you’re male, BAME, LGBTQ+ or any combination thereof, then you’re not just fighting an uphill battle, you’re also dealing with a landslide.”
And that’s just if you’re a cis white woman; if you’re male, BAME, LGBTQ+ or any combination thereof, then you’re not just fighting an uphill battle, you’re also dealing with a landslide. Victim-blaming is the norm, people are terrified to come forward, to face their attackers, to be forced to recount and relive the ordeal just to be vilifies as their attacker walks free.
This is where Taylor Swift’s comes in. Normally with a case of this magnitude even the most friendly neighbourhood feminist would be rage-tweeting about one of the world’s biggest pop stars being assaulted. There would be coverage everywhere with the Pankhursts of the future getting their tuppence-worth in. However, as we said earlier, there is a deafening silence. The only thing drowning it out are the inevitable jokes about Swift—most of which a ‘clever’ play on a song lyric or dissing her dating life.
“Being problematic doesn’t meant that someone has the right to assault you.”
There is no denying that Taylor Swift is problematic but here’s the thing, everyone is problematic; teachers, nuns, pop stars, you, me, all of us. Taylor went from being the internet’s bae to its banshee, considering she has a habit of not seeing the bigger picture and getting swept up in the wave of white-feminism. Swift has had a string of celebrity romances/flings/whatever in the public eye, and then of course there was the whole Kanye situation.
Swift has a knack for being vilified in the media for everything, from ‘shamefully’ donating $250,000 for Kesha’s financial needs during her court battle, to not attending her local Women’s March. Let me let you in on a little secret: being problematic doesn’t meant that someone has the right to assault you.
Courtroom sketch of Taylor Swift testifying
Taylor Swift’s groping trial is a very important step in defying the ‘acceptable’ violations in this male-stream society. Colorado DJ David Mueller lost his job after Swift and her team accused Mueller of groping Swift’s rear at a meet and greet. After conducting their own investigation, Mueller’s bosses at KYGO fired the DJ two days later.
Mueller contests the allegations and as a result sued Taylor Swift for $3 million in damages, while Swift chose to counter-sue the ex-DJ for $1 for the alleged violation against her person. Mueller is also suing the singer’s mother, Andrea Swift, and radio promotions’ director, Frank Bell, for defamation of character. The judge ruled out Swift as a defendant in the Mueller’s case against her, as there was insufficient evidence that she had acted improperly.
“In a world where ‘boys will be boys’, the musician stood up to show that no, boys will be held accountable for their actions.”
When cases of sexual assault come forward, there is a pessimistic consensus that batters round the notion that the ‘victim’ is suing for the payout, not the cause. This is one of the reasons Swift’s case is shaking up the concept of the ‘victim.’ There is a certain perception of what an assault victim should be and how they should act on the stand, they are not expected to cool, calm and collected like Swift was. Women especially are expected to either be snivelling weaklings, breaking down as they are cross-examined, or being completely volatile and lashing out defensively, no-one expects them to be confident.
Taylor Swift showed an unexpected strength on the stand, in a world where ‘boys will be boys’, the musician stood up to show that no, boys will be held accountable for their actions, that no-one has the right to lay their hands on you without your consent, regardless of the length of your skirt, or what kind of underwear you have on. Heck even if you decide to go commando, it is not a free pass to touch your body.
On Friday, the judge threw out Swift’s attacker’s counter-sue for defamation. This is an important, albeit small step in the right direction, a step away from victim-blaming and towards showing people that they can report their sexual assault with being treated like they are the criminal. That being said, it may only be a step forward for heterosexual white women…
Swift’s groping trial continues Monday 14th August.
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Images via CNN
