If you’ve listened to the radio recently, watched the Grammy’s, or tuned in to E News, you know that Lorde is a force to be reckoned with. This new kid on the block is turning heads with her song Royals, along with her eclectic style and voice to match. The 16 year old brought down the house with her Grammy performance, but it seems that what’s getting more attention recently is her mouth. Lorde has said numerous times before that she just kind of says what she wants, and the world has taken notice. From Miley, to Selena, Lorde has called out numerous pop stars– perhaps the most surprising is her comment on Taylor Swift:
“Taylor Swift is so flawless, and so unattainable, and I don’t think it’s breeding anything good in young girls [who might think] ‘I’m never going to be like Taylor Swift, why can’t I be as pretty as Lorde?’ That’s f–king bulls–t.”
To date, Lorde came out recanting her statement, arguing that what she meant was that “there’s a lot of importance placed on physical perfection in this industry and I wish my favourite stars didn’t look perfect because I think fans (me included) have these feelings of worthlessness, like they’ll never be as pretty/talented/whatever, as a result of this intense Photoshop culture and the endless strive for perfection.” Honestly, I really like Lorde for her brutal honestly, and for her not perfect-ness if that makes any sense. She is real, she is not photoshopped, not tall, not a twig, not your cookie cutter singer/model/actress. She is a real, talented 16 year old who may be wise way beyond her years.
The question remains this; is Taylor Swift really the epitome of the unattainable, too perfect role model? And if so, is that the kind of image we want young girls looking up to? Regardless of how you feel about Taylor (you know, the half of the population that thinks she is a goddess and has the voice of an angel vs. the other half that thinks she is a conceded “I need a man to be happy and if you don’t have a man write a song about how sad you are” type of girl) she does have a huge impact on the younger generations. Her songs are force-fed to us, her image is posted everywhere; is it still ok for girls to want to try to emulate her? Maybe Lorde was onto something. Maybe this culture of perfection is getting to be too much. Maybe there needs to be more emphasis on young girls accepting and loving themselves for who they are, not for what they think they need to be. If we support women who are confident in themselves and have a fan base that listens, like Lorde, or even Adele, then maybe we could change the way young girls think they should be. We don’t need to look like anyone else, because we are all different and should remain that way. We should build each other up, and in that, teach younger generations that yes, famous models and singers may be beautiful and seem perfect, but it is an illusion. What is really perfect is natural beauty, and being the truest, best version of yourself.
Photos From:
http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1470160.1380328551!/img/http…
https://global3.memecdn.com/taylor-swift-amp-039-s-logic_o_1796219.jpg
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/11/taylor-swift-lorde-lunch…
http://pmchollywoodlife.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/lorde-justin-taylor-…