Taylor Swift positioned as Time Person of the Year?

OP you’re saying that people on this thread are missing the point that she was only featured on the cover because of who she is, but I feel you’re missing that that’s the point being shown here.

Maybe you’re right and she was featured because she is Taylor Swift, but then maybe the slimeball only tried to sue her because of who she is and how wealthy she is. If she wasn’t so famous and popular then the world probably wouldn’t have ever heard about her assault so it wouldn’t have been brought to everyone’s attention and a discussion started about how even an arse grab is sexual assault and women/girls shouldn’t feel they just have to accept it.

Taylor Swift is not the movement, she is PART of the movement that has shown recently that it doesn’t matter what skin colour, class, wealth, job position a woman has, she can (and according to statistics) probably will experience some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in her lifetime, and that is just not acceptable.

Wealth is a type of power - but in this case, clearly not one that stops men thinking it's ok to abuse you. The whole point of this is that men will still abuse woman even if they have wealth, influence, and all the normal trapping of power. She didn't have the power to stop him.

You seem to take the position that it doesn't matter if she was abused in the same way as a poor woman because being rich and famous will make that less upsetting. It's the "cost of success" argument. What Taylor Swift and some of the others did was say "no, this isn't an acceptable normal cost of doing well in this industry".

She's rich and privileged and that wasn't enough to protect her. Speaking out and changing what woman are expected to just put up with is the only way to protect other woman.

Your beef op with Ts is she’s young pretty successful.not your notion of deserving feminist
You’ve constructed a convoluted notion of whom deserves plaudits,and it’s your prejudice
Many have responded here about Taylor and her qualities,you seem purposefully to overlooked this

So are you saying she's too successful and powerful to be a victim of misogynistic patriarchy? Because it actually seems she's not too successful or powerful for that as she still gets sexually assaulted. So unless women of all backgrounds who feel able to speak up do speak up, no woman will ever be immune to it. Which is the point of all this and the reason why she is on the cover of Time magazine.

I'm now wondering if Stella Creasey is reading this thread. Stella for PM!

I honestly don't know what your problem is, OP. Taylor Swift is part of it - women who spoke out.

You’re also contradicting yourself. Her success as a woman means she should accept sexually assault because she hasn’t got much to risk if she reports it.

How is that empowering for women.

Successful woman can be sexually assaulted because powerful. Odd argument

It doesn't matter how successful you are, you'll still just be a woman?

Where violence against women is concerned, yes.

It doesn’t matter how much power you have. If a man grabs your arse when you don’t want them to its sexual assault.

And its the same kind of sexual assault if a man grabbed a homeless woman on the arse.

It’s nothing to do with self fullness prophecy.

I think it’s shameful you’re suggesting she hasn’t been assaulted just because she’s powerful. Thats a dangerous way to look at things.

What the hell are you angry about? I cant make head nor tail of your posts?
And yes you could have been plainer - as I really don't understand your actual point.
Is it because it was 'only' an arse feel?
Is it because she has still become successful in her career and not let this (and probably many more) affect that drive?
Is it because she is successful and didn't hide it?
Is it because she is successful and spoke up about it?
Is it because she didn't want to release a shit bomb on her family- (possibly this has been a shitbomb on her esteem for a long time)

I have no doubt that she used her fame and influence and brought this action to represent and highlight ALL casually carried out but life changing sexual assaults. This is why she is on the cover.
She should be applauded.

Have you been at the vino op?!

Despite her high profile success and money TS was still sexually harassed. Says it all.

Oh and that wealth she has - she earned it. Writes her own stuff and sings it well. Save your ire for Trustafarians - through work I see numerous young people from families so rich they never need to work..

They'll always just be beaten-down victims of a misogynistic patriarchy?

No, I'll teach her that it's wrong but it happens. So she needs to recognize and fight. Individually and as part of the class of women.

OP you make very little sense - do you not understand that women are oppressed as a class? And for all TS's wealth she was abused because she belonged to the oppressed group called women? The fact she stood up to her abuser and won is symbolic for all women because women do not have equal status to men as a class, notwithstanding individual wealth.

Squirrler

Perhaps you are thinking that why should Taylor Swift be celebrated, when there are tens of thousands of ‘normal’ Women who have suffered the same.

Do you get that, actually.

I just think you are missing what Taylor Swift has gained for women because of her wealth, not despite it.

OP you have not explained your objection to this young woman being recognised for speaking out against sexual harassment. What do you you have against her? Her success? Can you really not bring yourself to celebrate a successful woman? Have you internalised misogyny to that extent?

Agree that TS deserves a place. As PPs said, she stood up and was counted, she fought back. She might have wealth, but in some ways that just makes her a bigger target for people that like to shoot women down. I don't believe her 'power' is anywhere near as secure as a that of a celebrity male - just look at how Kanye West behaves and what he gets away with.

She was a role model for younger girls when she didn't have to put her head any further above the parapet. Plenty of wealthy or famous people do nothing brave or controversial with their wealth or power. And I don't think wealth insulates you at all from feeling like shit and certainly not from what would have happened had she lost.

Yes. She's on the cover because she's Taylor Swift. To make the point that even arguably the most famous woman in the world gets sexually assaulted and its time to speak up about it. Yes, it makes a big impact because it's her. That's the point isn't it? Not whether she has loads to lose by speaking out. I have no idea why you think it's only relevant if it's a risk for someone to challenge sexual assault. ALL sexual assault should be challenged.

But this wasn't the woman who were the ones who had the most to lose. This wasn't supposed to be highlighting the woman who had the biggest fight, or who had suffered the most.

It was listed as "The Silence Breakers" who lead the change in attitudes this year to sexual abuse, and she certainly was - her court case came first.

She could have easily made this go away. She would have been told to just settle. She took a stand she didn't need to do, and by doing so and winning, she helped others speak out.

It takes strength and moral courage for any sexual assault victim, even one who has relative privilege, to subject herself to the legal process. Testifying in court, undergoing cross-examination, and being the subject of opposition research put any victim at risk, especially for her emotional well-being.

I could not agree more. I'm not sure I would have the strength to go through that, and I'm really pleased for the girls I teach there is someone perceived (by them) to be on their wavelength speaking out.

Squirrler

But one woman going to their employer, or calling the police is alerting, at best, a handful of people.

Taylor Swift alerted millions.

And I’m sure it did rock her world. I’m sure it was incredibly stressful.

She is rich and has the cushion of money. But with that wealth came responsibility, which she acknowledged quite effectively by not shoving the whole thing under the carpet and paying him off.

She could have made it go away, very quickly. And although it may have left her seething, she wouldn’t have been splashed across the papers and put herself in a position where she could be potentially ripped apart in court. And vilified on social media.

In fact she was vilified. Plenty of people minimising what happened to her.

She chose to go public and to expose herself.

I’m not sure exactly what it is you disagree with.

It takes strength and moral courage for any sexual assault victim, even one who has relative privilege, to subject herself to the legal process. Testifying in court, undergoing cross-examination, and being the subject of opposition research put any victim at risk, especially for her emotional well-being.

The recent events ARE about sexual harassment suddenly being something people are acknowledging and talking about and, I hope, doing something about. If it was JUST Marge from Fresno talking about it that wouldn't have happened; fucking awful as that is. It had to be high profile women as well; TS and Alyssa Milano and the rest.

The 'silence' (i.e. people ignoring it) was broken because of high-profile women.

And again, she is only one of the people on the cover. At the back, lower down (even though she's nine feet tall) not first or biggest or front or anything that would suggest prominence. Which I think was a conscious decision.

So much easier to be silent.

As it would have been for Taylor Swift.