Let’s Talk Sexism This Women’s History Month

This week, Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia caught criticism for their derogatory comments about Taylor Swift. Quotes like; “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift” and “Taylor Swift made an entire career off her exes” got the show into trouble with Swift’s adoring fan base. Swift tweeted on Monday morning, “Hey Ginny & Georgia, 2010 called and it wants its lazy, deeply sexist joke back. How about we stop degrading hard working women by defining this horse sh*t as FuNnY. Also, @netflix after Miss Americana [her January 2020 documentary] this outfit doesn’t look cute on you. Happy Women’s History Month I guess.” 

Taylor Swift, in her own words, is the “national lightning rod for slut shaming.” She has used her songs to fight against the sexism she has faced in the music industry.  In 1989’s “Shake It Off,” she sings “I go on too many dates/But I can’t make ‘em stay”; in Lover’s “The Man,” she sings that if she was a man, Swift could date whomever and as many “b*tches and models,” and this would be fine because she’s a man. 

It’s not just slut-shaming that female celebrities get the heat for. When Chris Evans’ nudes were leaked (by himself and on accident), the reaction was relatively positive, with his co-stars and brothers taking funny jabs at him. However, if any of his female Marvel co-stars had their nudes leaked, it is hard to imagine the world giving Scarlett Johannsson the same reaction. I mean, when Chris Pratt lost a “Who’s the Best Chris” competition, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr. and other cast members called him “A Real #Christian man who lives by #principle,” but when Zendaya and Tessa Thompson were facing backlash for playing typically white characters? Silence. The MCU cast really said: I pretend I do not see when it came down to two years of Brie Larson receiving misogynist attacks and threats. 

Slut-shaming and the double standards for women are not reserved for celebrities, and it does not exist in one place. On our own campus, it’s okay for frat boys and other males to have a high body count, but women and sorority members should not, as they would make ‘better wives’ without a high body count (a loose quote from a former hookup). Boys get another notch in the bedpost, and we get shacker shirts– a dead giveaway of the previous night’s events. 

As we begin Women’s History Month, we should look into our own biases and misogynistic tendencies. It is on us, as women, to call out these habits in order to move forward to a more accepting society. 

• sexism
• slut-shaming
• Taylor Swift