inspired by a swiftie
So, recently a friend of mine came out as a Swiftie. My sum total knowledge of Taylor Swift is that she is a country singer who had a song featured on the episode of Supernatural where Dean gets turned into a teenage version of himself, the punchline being that this famously gruff and manly classic rock listening bro is now listening to girly teenybopper music. I also know that ONTD kinda hates her for being a mediocre performer compared to their K-pop idols, and that makes any post about her hilarious to read. But i would not recognize her, or any of her music, if i came across it on the street. I mean, why would i? Her whole schtick is aimed at kids, right?
Maybe that was true once upon a time, but now - as my 50+ year old friend has informed me - she is some kind of girl boss white feminist fuck the patriarchy phenomenon. I've gotten a whole string of text messages explaining me why she is so great, and they have helped me better understand the appeal in theory. And yet, even going in with all the lore, i still find her music and image utterly forgettable so... shrug emoji? But i am really happy for my friend that she has found something she is so excited about. What's more it seems it's been instrumental in helping her get over a toxic "friendship" with a man who constantly treated her like shit, which is awesome.
Anywho. My friend has been pretty upset by the recent wave of weirdly spiteful men being sore winners, and that got compounded with the guilt of being at the age where many of us have money in the stock market, which apparently got a bump. So she decided to cash out the ill-gotten gains and spend it on tickets to see Taylor Swift. And i am like YOU GO, GIRL. It's a delightful girl boss maneuver that symbolically sticks it to finance bros, male chauvinists and apologists for sexual abuse. Treat yourself and a less well-to-do girlfriend to an evening celebrating a lady superstar who speaks to the hearts of women all over the world and who will forever be more adored than the two-bit infomercial huckster who scraped his way to a win in the US election. Why not?
And that made me think, what the hell am i doing anyway? I have spent the last two weeks also feeling pretty miserable, although in my case it's only tangentially because of politics, and more because it's fucking freezing.
I read a very fluff article in The Grauniad the other day, one of those "i want to write about climate change but there's nothing to report" reaches. "Winter hasn't officially started in China!" it screamed, or words to similar effect. The hook was that in China - apparently - they don't declare it formally winter until Guangzhou sees 5 days in a row under 20 degrees, or something. Having lived in Guangdong for 3 years myself, i don't remember hearing about this definition of winter, but it did make me think about the sad months after 中秋節 (Mid-Autumn Festival) when the weather started to get a bit nippier. Those months are even worse in Taiwan because we are further east so the sun sets before 5pm, and Taipei in particular is extremely depressing because it rains here all the time and rain plus cold equals worst weather of all possible weathers.
Friends, it has been worst weather of all possible weathers for two weeks straight. Under 20 degrees and rain. Winter has come. I haven't gone out cycling, because it keeps fucking raining, and it's fucking cold. I am going crazy here.
But then i remembered that there is a shining city on a hill, the Taylor Swift of Taiwan, and it is called Kaohsiung. Well, it's more like a polluted city on a plain, and it's on nobody's list of must-see destinations, but it's also invariably sunnier and warmer than Taipei. And it is my spiritual home in Taiwan, the city i feel happiest in.
And, what's more, it's fucking Pride down there this weekend. Pride has never really been my thing, but thanks to the moral panic that American conservatives have whipped up over the past few years, now Taiwanese conservatives are getting in on the anti-trans action, so i suppose it's the right time to show solidarity. Also, it's an excuse to just go.
So i booked two nights at a hotel and requested work from home tomorrow. If i can find a ticket tomorrow morning, i'll pootle down there on the slow train and work from train. Otherwise i'll work from home and take the bullet train, although that would definitely not be as fun. Friday night maybe i'll swing by that tiny techno club, Saturday spend an afternoon walking around the city with the gays, Sunday who knows? Maybe a bike ride? All i know is it's 27 degrees down there and sunny, and i need some of that happiness in my life.
Somehow, i think i have Taylor Swift to thank for it.
Maybe that was true once upon a time, but now - as my 50+ year old friend has informed me - she is some kind of girl boss white feminist fuck the patriarchy phenomenon. I've gotten a whole string of text messages explaining me why she is so great, and they have helped me better understand the appeal in theory. And yet, even going in with all the lore, i still find her music and image utterly forgettable so... shrug emoji? But i am really happy for my friend that she has found something she is so excited about. What's more it seems it's been instrumental in helping her get over a toxic "friendship" with a man who constantly treated her like shit, which is awesome.
Anywho. My friend has been pretty upset by the recent wave of weirdly spiteful men being sore winners, and that got compounded with the guilt of being at the age where many of us have money in the stock market, which apparently got a bump. So she decided to cash out the ill-gotten gains and spend it on tickets to see Taylor Swift. And i am like YOU GO, GIRL. It's a delightful girl boss maneuver that symbolically sticks it to finance bros, male chauvinists and apologists for sexual abuse. Treat yourself and a less well-to-do girlfriend to an evening celebrating a lady superstar who speaks to the hearts of women all over the world and who will forever be more adored than the two-bit infomercial huckster who scraped his way to a win in the US election. Why not?
And that made me think, what the hell am i doing anyway? I have spent the last two weeks also feeling pretty miserable, although in my case it's only tangentially because of politics, and more because it's fucking freezing.
I read a very fluff article in The Grauniad the other day, one of those "i want to write about climate change but there's nothing to report" reaches. "Winter hasn't officially started in China!" it screamed, or words to similar effect. The hook was that in China - apparently - they don't declare it formally winter until Guangzhou sees 5 days in a row under 20 degrees, or something. Having lived in Guangdong for 3 years myself, i don't remember hearing about this definition of winter, but it did make me think about the sad months after 中秋節 (Mid-Autumn Festival) when the weather started to get a bit nippier. Those months are even worse in Taiwan because we are further east so the sun sets before 5pm, and Taipei in particular is extremely depressing because it rains here all the time and rain plus cold equals worst weather of all possible weathers.
Friends, it has been worst weather of all possible weathers for two weeks straight. Under 20 degrees and rain. Winter has come. I haven't gone out cycling, because it keeps fucking raining, and it's fucking cold. I am going crazy here.
But then i remembered that there is a shining city on a hill, the Taylor Swift of Taiwan, and it is called Kaohsiung. Well, it's more like a polluted city on a plain, and it's on nobody's list of must-see destinations, but it's also invariably sunnier and warmer than Taipei. And it is my spiritual home in Taiwan, the city i feel happiest in.
And, what's more, it's fucking Pride down there this weekend. Pride has never really been my thing, but thanks to the moral panic that American conservatives have whipped up over the past few years, now Taiwanese conservatives are getting in on the anti-trans action, so i suppose it's the right time to show solidarity. Also, it's an excuse to just go.
So i booked two nights at a hotel and requested work from home tomorrow. If i can find a ticket tomorrow morning, i'll pootle down there on the slow train and work from train. Otherwise i'll work from home and take the bullet train, although that would definitely not be as fun. Friday night maybe i'll swing by that tiny techno club, Saturday spend an afternoon walking around the city with the gays, Sunday who knows? Maybe a bike ride? All i know is it's 27 degrees down there and sunny, and i need some of that happiness in my life.
Somehow, i think i have Taylor Swift to thank for it.