The moment Donald Trump presented his candidacy for the US presidency proved that, beneath the surface of democratic and inclusive discourse –portrayed as the country’s foundations–, there was a racist undertone that was still alive and well. Perhaps this is the main reason behind his recent victory.
Radical groups tend to have a set model that is both a goal and a perspective. In reality, each culture has ideologies that divide and unify. The simplest way of being aware of what lies beneath is by comparing different elements to notice the ideology within each aspect of society, such as wellbeing, evil, and beauty.
Let’s focus on ideals of beauty.
Blue eyes, white skin, successful, perfectionist, and, of course, gorgeous: these traits fit perfectly with the ideals of right wing extremists of “Aryan” heritage who, since Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist movement, have looked for the “perfect” population.
How does Taylor Swift fit into this? It began with a controversial photograph of the singer posing next to a young man wearing a t-shirt with a swastika painted on it.
The image went viral. Photomontages and memes started circling the web, to the point where a Facebook page was named “Taylor Swift for Fascist Europe.” The contents of this fan page were far from funny or amusing.
One of the people behind’s Swift’s crowning as an Aryan idol and reincarnation of Athena is Andre Anglin, active member of the Alt-Right movement. This group, closely related to Donald Trump, defends American ultra-nationalism, anti-Semitism, and homophobic narrative.
In an interview with Broadly, Anglin mentioned “(…) Taylor Swift is secretly a Nazi and is simply waiting for the time when Donald Trump makes it safe for her to come out and announce her Aryan agenda to the world. Probably, she will be betrothed to Trump’s son, and they will be crowned American royalty.”
The singer has publicly disassociated with these organizations and statements. However, because she is a public figure, her image continues to be used by groups like Anglin’s, who believes songs like “Bad Blood” are about white supremacy.
Beauty icons are easy platforms used to translate ideologies because they make narratives tangible. But it’s not easy to see this because the aesthetics are inherently related to human perfection. This reminds us that we live in a world where tragedies come back as farces which then pave the way, whether secretly or openly, towards tragic ends.
White supremacists look forward to the return of racially divisive and destructive rhetoric and policy. They deny brutal historical facts, such as the Holocaust despite all the evidence in front of them. There are countless stories of death and horror. Among them there is the story of the concentration camp made for Jewish artists as well as the use of music as torture for the prisoners.
Source:
El País
Translated by María Suárez
