How Modern Media is Distracting Us from Real Feminist Issues

In modern society, it is sometimes hard to comprehend all of the ways that women are being pitted against each other. Feminism has finally caught on as something that is "trendy", but while this surge in feminist popularity has to a certain extent taken hold of news and media, there are still double standards to be found on a daily basis that both celebrities and every day women face.

Take for instance the latest drama between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. Swift and Minaj engaged in a minor twitter spat that ultimately resulted in this apology from Swift "I thought I was being called out. I missed the point, I misunderstood, then misspoke. I'm sorry, Nicki. @NICKIMINAJ". All in all, it was slightly heated, but was definitely not "Bad Blood" material. Argument solved right? Not according to modern media. Before even reading any of the tweets, my impression was that something big had happened between the two in their "cat fight" exchange. Everything that was coming up in my newsfeed was telling me things like, "Twitter defends Nicki Minaj after Taylor Swift Feud", "Taylor Swift Nicki Minaj Feud: Guide to All the Drama", "Here's the Tweet that Launched a War Between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift". What all of these articles failed to mention, was that this was actually an incredibly civil argument that ended up being resolved with an apology from Swift that was appropriate and didn't dodge responsibility for her comments, but that would be boring though right? It's much more entertaining to scream "girl fight" and immediately conjure up images of hair pulling and ice cold mean girl stares. The point I'm trying to make is that an argument that was relatively minor, got blown into this crazy debate between two superstar women. The coverage wasn't about whether or not black women really were underrepresented as Minaj had claimed, it was about a fight which didn't really even happen. It isn't Minaj or Swift that is pitting women against women--it's the modern media.

To keep with the Swift theme, I've been seeing a lot of articles lately about whether or not Taylor Swift is "good for feminism?", or "is she really a feminist?", or "is she a fake feminist?". The most recent article that I read painted Swift as an almost sociopathic be-friender who surrounds herself with models like trophies and uses them to climb the social ladder. It went as far as to criticize Swift's relationship with Calvin Harris as another one of her strategic ploys and described how Swift was a careerist who was using feminist issues to inflate her own stardom. While that article did make me question why Taylor Swift's friends are all models (like seriously where did she find some of these people) and some of the choices that she has made, what I ultimately felt was, who cares? Taylor Swift is doing more for feminism than a lot of other people with the platform that she has, and criticizing her for the people she chooses to surround herself with isn't productive. My second thought was, why do we have to give these people so much power? Do I really have to be a "Swift" feminist, or a "Dunham" feminist, or a "Perry" feminist? Why can't we all just be feminists and call it a day? I like Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, the song Bad Blood, I've never watched Girls but Lena Dunham seems pretty cool, and I have the ability to be a feminist and like all of these things. The focus shouldn't be on comparing modern feminists. I think the discussion should be about the issues, and not about who is a lipstick feminist and who is a radical feminist.

By forcing us to talk about Swift v. Minaj v. Perry v. Dunham v. Beyonce v. [insert celebrity here], we are not talking about what really matters, and that's that women are still are not making as much money as men, that women are still being denied basic access to things like healthcare and education around the world, that women still have to fear for their lives for defying outdated cultural or religious norms, and that congress still thinks it is okay to have discussions about reproductive rights without women present. There are so many issues affecting women around the world that actually matter. CNN wrote on July 23, 2015 that "We can all breathe easier now that the great battle that was Taylor Swift vs. Nicki Minaj is over". However, you know what would make me breathe a little easier CNN, knowing that in a year when I enter the job market a guy with the same grades as me isn't going to make more money than me in the same job simply because he has a penis. I do not care whether or not Bad Blood is about Katy Perry. I don't care that it's hypocritical of Taylor Swift to not pit women against women when she did in Bad Blood. I don't care about squabbles between celebrities that only have the power to reach people because they can dance or sing or act or released a sex tape. While those are admirable qualities and it would be great if they did use the enormous voice they are given for positive change (I especially love the "this is what a feminism looks like" campaign sparked by Emma Watson, you go girl), I don't think that we should be relying on them to be the sole arbiters of the feminist voice in this country, or the world for that matter. Regardless of whether or not you are Taylor Swift, your voice can be heard and your views matter, and it is especially powerful when we rise up together, instead of focusing on things that tear us apart.

So what does it mean to be a feminist in modern society? I don't have the answer. What I do know is that it is important for everyone, celebrities and every day people alike, to make themselves aware of feminist issues and speak out about problems they face or they see other women facing. We all have to work together if we are truly going to achieve equality, and we can't get weighed down by trivial arguments, regardless of whether or not they are played out on a national stage or in a music video. And, when these arguments get blown out of proportion or an inordinate amount of coverage, it's our job as consumers to not buy into the faux drama that can be created through modern media. Ultimately, we are all in this fight together, and we need to use our girl power for good, not to tear each other down and especially not to support others who tear us down, "and I mean, that's just like, the rules of feminism".

See the original of this article on The Odyssey here.

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