Taylor Swift: Domestic Violence Is Serious, Don't Shake It Off!

Petition here. Text:

'Country singer Taylor Swift has become one of the hottest recording artists in the world because of the positive, upbeat messages in her music. However, the music video for her new single “Blank Space,” available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg, is a sharp departure from those positive messages and centers around depictions of domestic violence.

Swift is depicted pushing her boyfriend and throwing a heavy object at him, as well as damaging his property extensively. In one scene, her boyfriend is lying on the ground unconscious while she violently shakes his head back and forth and kisses him erotically. While it is left to the viewer’s imagination what happens next, it is hard to believe that it is consensual.

Domestic and sexual violence is a serious problem, something that no one should ever have to endure. While numerous studies from academic and government sources have found that men and women are victims of domestic violence at comparable rates, male victims are generally denied access to most domestic violence shelters and services, and they often have difficulty being taken seriously by law enforcement.

This video only reinforces the attitudes that make it so hard for male victims to get the help they need. Swift has defended her video by saying that it is satire intended to poke fun at the way that she has been portrayed by the tabloids. Yet it is hard to imagine that anyone would be laughing if the genders were reversed.

Please join us in calling on Taylor Swift to remove the “Blank Space” music video from YouTube and donate the profits she has made from it to an organization supporting evidence-based, gender-inclusive approaches to preventing and responding to domestic violence.