so basically y’all will drag taylor swift for not speaking out about kesha (she doesn’t have to its not her job), but don’t give a shit that 1d, zayn malik, justin bieber, 5sos, drake, the weeknd, etc haven’t said a word. noted.
None of the men you listed have ever announced they’re feminists. You could have used better examples of men TBH. People are specifically mad because Taylor Swift talks about feminism way more than other artists and does way less for feminism than anyone else. People are allowed to point out the hypocrisy of a woman claiming she cares about women and speaking up for artists who are put down for singing about their feelings but is silent when a woman who was raped is continuously being mentally tortured by her own label. THIS is the perfect time for celebrity feminists to actually have a voice for something that’s relevant in their world and people are allowed to be upset with any fucking artist, ESPECIALLY Taylor feminist-for-myself-only Swift.
Okay but like Taylor has donated $250,000 to help out Kesha financially during the legal battle… that’s a pretty big statement that she stands behind her. Not to mention she may well be in contact personally with Kesha herself offering support.
You do not know what is happening behind the scenes of this, you do not know what Taylor or any other female celebrity is doing right now. Not every person takes to twitter to do their part or to show support.
I really do think it’s gross that a situation like this, which is a prime example of how utterly disgustingly shitty the music industry is to young women, all some people seem interested in doing is using female artists perceived silence to drag them down. Be it Taylor or Beyonce or Adele or Nicki and on and on.
Also quite frankly I don’t understand why those men who can’t even SAY that they are feminists are being let off here. So like, because they haven’t aligned with feminism before they shouldn’t take this clear opportunity to do so now? A woman in an industry that they are big in is being destroyed by said industry and they still can’t so much as stand up and say ‘Women are being treated poorly and that isn’t okay?’
What we can’t call bullshit on women being dragged for not doing ENOUGH when nobody is even mentioning the men who are doing exactly NOTHING?
Preach.
free kesha
We live in a world where:
- Chris Brown got away with the most minimal sentence after horrifically beating Rihanna.
- Roman Polanski raped a 13 year old girl but still won an oscar to a standing ovation.
- R Kelly raped several under-age girls but was acquitted on all charges.
- Woody Allen had an affair with his 17 year old daughter only to end up getting away with it and marrying her shortly after.
- John Lennon is one of the most worshipped artists to have ever drawn breath but has admitted to battering the shit out of women.
And in that world it’s no surprise that Kesha’s freedom was denied. That her psychological and sexual safety were reduced to nothing. That she’s been forced to produce six more albums with her abuser. That she’s been forced to remain the creative property of the man who drugged and raped her. Because in this world our courts and culture still have a hard enough time believing women’s accusations of sexual assault even in the most clear-cut of circumstances. And when a woman as powerful and high status as Kesha can’t win, the rest of us stand even less of a chance.
As of this moment, Kesha is unable to perform features on anyone else’s records, create any live recordings (even of other people’s songs), sing the national anthem on TV or put up an acoustic cover on YouTube without Dr. Luke’s explicit permission. Because Kesha is signed to Gottwald’s publishing company, she is also unable to make a living writing songs for other people (something she’s done in the past — “Til The World Ends,” among others).
If Kesha and I wrote a song together right now, I would own 50% of that song and the other half would belong to Dr. Luke.No matter what she does with her career at this point, everything she does will directly benefit her abuser, regardless of whether she’s in the same room with him or not. The systematic sexual harassment and abuse of women in the music industry is nothing new, but Kesha’s situation is a very particular nightmare.
the thing that really pisses me off about kesha’s case is let’s say just for the hell of it dr. luke’s telling the truth and kesha is lying about him assaulting her.
who the fuck would be like “this person accused me of rape, they’re lying and trying to extort me just to get out of their contract” and then be like “i’ll work on an album with them” if kesha was as messy and dramatic as he claims shouldn’t he want nothing to do with her? personally i’d be like, no sony let her record with another producer last time i did she spread a bunch of lies about me
but of course this didn’t happen because kesha’s not lying and he’s an abusive piece of shit.
alright i alluded to this on twitter but i want to say it again, i’m rly uncomfy with this whole ‘why hasn’t x woman said something about the kesha case’ that i keep seeing going on, whether about other female celebrities or women you know or whatever. the support for kesha from those who have given it is amazing and wonderful and necessary, but i think it’s incredibly important to be sensitive about what we demand from others when it comes to potentially traumatic issues like rape and abuse. given that women are statistically VERY LIKELY to be victims of rape and abuse, i’m not okay with demanding they all throw their voices into the mix or else be deemed PART OF THE PROBLEM. it’s entirely plausible that it’s not bc they don’t stand with kesha, and aren’t sickened by what’s happened to her, but because there’s a DAMN GOOD CHANCE THEY ARE VICTIMS THEMSELVES. and if you are a victim of trauma, sometimes the only way you can protect yourself is through distance. not because it isn’t awful but because sometimes it’s just impossible to even say the words, to let yourself think about the thing that has hurt you long enough to get it out. and that’s okay. those who can stand up for victims should and i’m rly grateful for those who have, but no one is obligated to put themselves at risk by doing so. if you want to demand a response, ask it from those who are in positions of power, not those who are very likely victims themselves.
#let’s not turn a situation that is about kesha being abused by men#into an opportunity to hold WOMEN responsible#for the male-dominated misogynist industry they operate within#when will we demand that MEN in the industry refuse to be complicit?(x)
