As A Blak Woman, I’m Conflicted About Taylor Swift

This annoyed me so much that I took a break from listening to Swift’s music for a few years. I joke to friends that we have a fraught friendship, referencing the way I love her music but not some of her actions. To be honest, even her inclusion on the cover of TIME’s Person of the Year Issue in 2017 had me feeling uneasy (and I wasn’t the only one). The issue was dedicated to “The Silence Breakers” — a collective of mostly women who had spoken out against men who had assaulted them. By this definition, Swift (who successfully sued a man for assault in 2017) did belong on the cover, however, the Me Too movement was started by a Black woman named Tarana Burke, and I felt that there were other women who had dedicated their lives to this work who belonged in her place. Women who fought loudly and proudly, every day — not just when it impacted them personally.