Adventures in cultural appropriation
Yet another white pop star has wandered into the thorny world of racial drag. Taylor Swift, in case you missed her, is an American musician who began her career in a calculated blend of country crossover, the manic articulation of teenage romance and the sheen of bubblegum pop. Lately, the sugary anthems have been winning out. Her upcoming album 1989 is increasingly marketed as a “rebirth,” as Swift’s reach for global commercial domination pulls her further away from the country genre’s obsession with authenticity. And the video for her lead single “Shake It Off” is a thinly disguised paean to the Taylor Swift project: the singer exaggerates her clumsiness alongside troupes of professionally polished dancers in a kaleidoscope of traditions, from ballet through to twerking, before she shakes off the haters by blithely dancing away.