Butch 4 Brat

If you know me, I've been a big fan of Charli XCX's release of brat last summer, it became my favorite album of the year and quite possibly the decade--I still listen to it at least once a week. I even crochet my locally famous and often used "brat bag," an electric green tote which looks like the original album cover. I felt a connection to brat that helped me navigate my mid-20s and the sudden death of my own mentor at too young an age.

That said, my disdain for taylor swift's new album is only just tipping the boat. Of course I can't stand the misunderstanding of Sympathy is knife within swift's shoddy diss track. She clearly listened to it once then wrote a diss track without the self reflection or even a grasping of Charli's lyrics. Besides that the richest and most famous woman in pop personally makes beef with women of color in her music between Charli and taylor's fiance's ex, Kayla Nicole, who truly have nothing to do with the woman. It's rude, it's racist, and, during the rise of goddamn fascism in this country, it isn't fucking pretty. I've never been a fan of hers but why do the swifties purport her supposed feminism when it's always very clearly been a version of feminism. White woman feminism. She only cared about us queers when it was fashionable and now she's great pals with maga bitch brittany mahomes. And with all her money and influence she's never publicly voiced her support or donated to palestinians trying to survive a genocide. Riiiight right right.

So this is all to say, I'm a big hater of that type of shit, but I'm a big lover of art and artists that are sensitive to the cultural moment--an important thing to be--and activists who speak up against injustices.

As always, free Congo, free Palestine, free Sudan, free Luigi, and free the people.