Taylor Swift publicly slammed Netflix’s new showGinny & Georgia for being sexist because of a joke about her dating life,a subject for which the singer has been scrutinized and slut-shamed for over a decade. Ginny & Georgia has garnered a lot of attention mostly for good reasons, but the joke caused a serious black mark against the popular streaming hit as the pop star took to social media to hit back.
The show has picked up attention for being sex-positive, diverse and inclusive. It showcases interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships, as well as interracial and sexual identity and mental health issues in a mostly realistic way. In the show’s finale, Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her mom Georgia (Brianne Howey) get into a fight after Georgia inquires a bit too much into Ginny’s personal life and relationships. Ginny utters the now-infamous line in response to Georgia’s questioning: “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”
The line caused controversy and took over the internet very quickly, as the American singer took to Twitter to denounce what she called a lazy, sexist joke. In the tweet, she also criticized Netflix, calling back to their relationship and her documentary Miss Americana, which was produced by and released on the platform early last year. Initially described as a deep-dive into the singer’s personal life and struggles, Miss Americana left out a few important things from Taylor Swift’s life, including her dating life. While critics suggest that Swift may be being too sensitive, she is bringing attention to an important issue: Ginny & Georgia’s joke crowns a decade-long struggle for Swift to be taken seriously as an artist rather than being perceived as a sexually promiscuous young woman, a narrative over which she has little to no control.
The media has always kept a close eye on Swift’s romantic life throughout her career, often criticizing her for dating too much. The singer is also known for openly writing about her famous exes in her songs, which unfortunately seems to have fostered an entitlement over Swift’s personal life from onlookers. While digs and jokes about her dating life have become unfortunately mainstream, they ultimately are slut-shaming; as Swift said herself, that kind of criticism is not usually directed at her male colleagues. Jokes like the one in Ginny & Georgia rely on using a woman’s sexuality to invalidate her, whether for her opinions, actions, or feelings. It’s exactly what Ginny does in the moment; she is telling her mom that she has no business inquiring about her personal life or be worried about her because of her own sexual history.
Ginny & Georgia’s release’s timing coincides with some serious questioning of postfeminism through pop stars’ sexualization and portrayal by the media. The New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, which stems for the bigger movement #FreeBritney, highlights how pervasive the media can be to young pop stars, sexualizing them from a young age and controlling their narratives. Swift’s struggle with slut-shaming falls in the same category; her sexuality is not empowering as it is being used against her. By denouncing Ginny & Georgia’s joke, she is trying to gain back control; her sexuality should not invalidate how she feels and what she thinks.
However, Taylor Swift and her fans are now also facing some backlash after they rushed to their idol’s aid and began attacking both leads of Ginny & Georgia on social media, unfortunately including racial abuse directed towards Antonia Gentry. Swift herself has yet to acknowledge and condemn her fans’ racist and misdirected attacks, but Gentry did address the situation, without naming Swift directly, on Instagram. The actress said that she was proud of the show for helping people feel seen and represented on screen, and that she loved the way her character was flawed and made mistakes, reminding us that imperfection is part of being human.
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