People Are Furious About Taylor Swift On The Cover Of TIME But They're Missing The Point

7 December 2017, 15:43 | Updated: 7 December 2017, 15:54

Taylor Swift Time Magazine
Picture: TIME Magazine/Kevin Winter/Getty Image

By Katie Louise Smith

Here's why Taylor Swift is on the cover of TIME's Person of the Year issue.

TIME unveiled their 'Person of the Year' issue yesterday (Dec 6) and thankfully, it wasn't Donald Trump. When they told him they were going in a different direction, they were NOT lying. They chose to honour the 'Silence Breakers', a diverse group of people who have spoken up and made an impactful change against sexual assault over the past year.

However, some people are really taking issue with the personalities featured on the cover. Well, mainly just one in particular... Taylor Swift.

People are confused with her placement on the cover, saying that other people deserved to be featured instead of her and that her inclusion in the line up "wasn't needed." But ummm, it kind of was... and yes, there were MANY people in that article that deserved a spot on the cover but that doesn't mean it should have been instead of Taylor. No one's experience of sexual assault is more important than another's.

As we all been knew, Taylor isn't exactly a "silence breaker." In fact, she's been one of the MOST silent people on social media over the past few years, particularly when it comes to social issues that don't directly concern her personal brand. But Taylor's platform goes BEYOND Twitter and Instagram and in case you forgot, she fought a groundbreaking court-case earlier this year that had a HUGE impact on young women - and men - around the world.

When Taylor accused DJ David Mueller of groping her at a meet and greet, he lost job. He then sued her for up to $3m in damages (job loss/defamation). He assaulted her and then had the nerve to sue HER. FOR MONEY.

Taylor then countersued him for $1. She chose not to countersue him for money. She did it on principle. She gained nothing out of the trial. She did it to show countless other women that justice was attainable. She did it so that he would not have the chance to do it again to someone else.

After her groundbreaking win, RAINN, the rape crisis hotline, saw a 35% increase in calls over one single weekend from young women coming forward to speak about their own assaults. Taylor also started giving money to charities for assault victims after the trial. In 2016, she donated $250,000 to help Kesha who was fighting in court against Dr Luke.

She may not have used for social platforms to do that and there certainly is a LOT more Taylor can do to further the movement and speak louder for those that can't be heard but she's hardly been silent about it. And there's a lot of people who have been pointing that out.

While she hasn’t been as vocal as some would have liked, insinuating that Taylor's experience isn't worthy enough for her to be on the cover of Time is not only offensive to her, but to other victims who have been through the same thing.

If you wanna get angry, get angry at TIME. There was plenty of space to include other faces on that cover that represented the full scope of the movement, both online and offline. Terry Crews should be on there. Tarana Burke, the original founder of the #MeToo movement should be on there too... but that doesn't mean Taylor shouldn't be.

She's one of the most high profile celebrities to have actively spoken up about sexual assault. She certainly HASN'T been at the forefront of the conversation like many of the other women (and men) in the article but if a ton of people end up picking up that issue and reading through the stories from survivors and activists and take even the TINIEST bit of inspiration and guidance away from it, because Taylor is on the cover, then is it really an issue?

via GIPHY