Trigger warning: rape and sexual assault

Kesha has been in headlines for much of the past week after a judge denied her petition to breach her contract with Sony. Part of the contract mandates that she is required to work with Dr. Luke, a man she has accused of sexually assaulting her for much of her career. Pictures of Kesha in tears after the verdict was announced circulated the internet like wildfire and a plethora of celebrities spoke out against the presence of rape culture in the American justice system.

In addition to pledging her support of Kesha, Demi Lovato went on a long rant about self-proclaimed feminists’ silence on women’s issues.

Many believe that this rant is directed at Taylor Swift, who has taken heat for her silence on Kesha’s circumstance. And Lovato is right, self-proclaimed feminists in a position of privilege do need to speak out on women’s issues. 

But few are challenging Lovato to look in the mirror.

When has Lovato ever publicly stated her support for Black Lives Matter? Are black women not women or is this too controversial a movement for her to affiliate herself with?

Did Lovato ever #StandWithStoya or is sexual assault in the porn industry too dirty a topic to touch?

Listen, I’m not here for Taylor Swift’s level-1 white feminism nor am I here for how white fems demonize hip-hop music for misogyny while ignoring other genres producing sexist music.

But how can Lovato throw stones at other self-proclaimed feminists from a glass house?

The perfect intersectional feminist is a myth. We are socialized in a sexist, transphobic, racist, capitalist society that privileges cis hetero white men. It takes more than a lifetime to unlearn what we have been taught. But it is very inappropriate to chastise feminists for their silence when you have yet to utter words such as “black lives matter.”

It’s inappropriate to chastise feminists for their silence on this mainstream issue when you have said nothing in defense of the women and men of Flint who were poisoned with lead by their elected officials.

It’s inappropriate to criticize women for their silence when you have yet to speak out against the horrific violence trans women of color face.

It’s inappropriate to indict other feminists’ silence when you hang out with women who appropriate black culture and care very little about the systemic injustice that informs it. 

What is happening with Kesha is an abomination and everyone (feminists and non-feminists alike) should be outraged.

But calling out other feminists for their silence on mainstream issues when you can’t even say the name of Sandra Bland or address systemic injustice is trash.

A discussion surrounding the responsibilities of visible feminists advocation for issues about women is necessary. But it should not be spearheaded by feel-good feminists whose concerns mostly surround the surface level problems cis middle-class able-bodied white women face.

UPDATE 1: Taylor Swift has donated $250,000 to Kesha Rose as a show of support.

UPDATE 2: Demi Lovato tweeted this and made these comments on Instagram after Swift’s donation was announced, fueling speculations of the alleged shade.

What do you think of Lovato’s critique on Swift? Does she have room to talk? Let us know in the comments below!

READ NEXT: 5 Things you need to know about my black feminism

 

 

Demi-LovatoFeminismintersectional feminismKeshaTaylor Swift