You should aim to be successful, but not too successful.
The quote that forms the subject of this write-up was delivered by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her very popular TEDxEuston presentation, We Should All Be Feminist, and unironically fitting for this write-up, more popularized by Flawless, a track on Beyoncé’s 5th and self titled Studio Album.
Unironic, because I want to talk about Beyonce and Taylor Swift today; and perhaps not in the way that you are used to hearing them being spoken about together.
The 66th Grammy awards just wrapped up and it reminds me again of one of my hypothesis of the way I think the world collectively views women. It is how the sky is large but only enough to hold many men and one woman. Most people can not phantom a world where there’s more than one woman that are indisputable forces in their field in complementary, different or even the same way. Now, bringing up the discourse of how this is the same for men; to you is irrelevant to my point and not what I want to address or discuss. I do not care for it and I have no will to point out how this shows very differently.
The people that constantly put down Taylor Swift or Beyonce are exactly the same kind of people. They simply are uncomfortable with the idea of a woman being too successful, they need to invent a rival that they want to always pit against her. I always say that prejudice makes people unintelligent in some form and it’s so evident when you ask these people vigorously arguing to bring down these women what their reason is and they spew, “she doesn’t deserve the accolade she gets”, “her fans are annoying”, “her fans are delusional”, “she benefits from a privileged system” etc. None of these has to do with the artist themselves, but the type of success they have.
Walk with me.
Beyonce
Beyonce, has been an entertainer since she was very little and has a career that has almost been as long as she has lived on earth. In all of this, she has managed to stay culturally relevant, evolving through her years. She’s not just any other entertainer, she’s the type that’s very hardworking and deeply entrenched in her craft. The skill, versatility and talent is very visible to any objective half wit, yet there are people who would criticize her vocals with things like lacking soul. Ludicrous, because what they really mean is that she has such a wide octave range and has mastered her vocals in such a way that it is very fluid and dexter. Imagine being criticized for mastering your skill! There are only a few popular musicians, that have as wide or a wider range as she does and the ridiculousness of it all is that, it’s never any of the ones she’s constantly pitted against. What’s more ridiculous? criticisms to her acting. When The Lion King Film trailer dropped, there were people who hated that she was involved because her voice wasn’t; and wait for it, suitable for the voice of a lioness! It is truly just a mess. They hate her, hate the hype for her, hate when people acknowledge her talent, poke holes at her work preemptively, invent names to ridicule her, invent deficiencies for her, all round being mean for the simple and mere fact that she’s a very successful woman with a dedicated large fan base. I don’t want to speak much about the systemic ways in which she’s undermined as that is also interlinked with things I don’t have a full grasp and understanding of, like systemic racism.
Taylor Swift
If you are going to be mediocre, put in the work to be the kind of mediocre that makes you arguably the biggest artist of your era; but I guess that’s too much work for mediocrity. I don’t think people who call Taylor mediocre understand how bitter and absurd the statement is. You can’t get to being half of what Taylor Swift is by being mediocre and purely from privilege. There are so many privileged people that have been platformed and they all fell through the cracks. It takes talent, brilliance and plain old hard work to be a Taylor Swift. It is that simple. Taylor understands her audience and has the artistic depth to cater to them adequately and in the exact way they like to be catered to. Her pen game is mighty for the exact kind of music she makes and she is an incredibly good producer. Denying all of these is futile. It has been almost 10 years since I first heard Blank Space and yet every time I get interested in a new person or escalate a relationship, I would play this song on repeat for weeks — That’s just how much it resonates and is relevant. That is not a result of systematic privilege, it is simply just great art. In the words of the very talented Mohbad, Music no need permission to enter your spirit. It’s just that simple. Taylor Swift makes really good music that resonates with a large population of the world and that makes her very successful. Body shaming, underplaying her talent and work and trying to ridicule her success at best, makes a person look silly.
Music is subjective and you are permitted to not resonate with an artist or enjoy any genre of music. However, the inclination to pit women against each other or to find reasons to belittle their successes reflects a broader societal discomfort with women occupying spaces of power and influence. This phenomenon isn’t just about personal preferences in music but speaks to a systemic inclination to constrain female success to a zero-sum game, where the rise of one woman is uncomfortable or seemingly must come at the expense of another.
In conclusion, before you impulsively ridicule Taylor Swift upon her next accolade, or unnecessarily compare Beyoncé to a football player in sports discussions, take a moment to reflect on your motives. If you still feel compelled to proceed, perhaps consider checking Amazon for a clown outfit that suits your style first.
