Opinion / Was Taylor Swift fair to call out Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia? That sexist joke was out of line, but now her fans are going after star Antonia Gentry

In case you’re out of the loop: on February 24, Netflix dropped Ginny & Georgia, an American dramedy about 15-year-old Virginia “Ginny” Miller (played by Antonia Gentry), her 30-year-old mum Georgia, and their lives together. In episode 10, Ginny drops a bomb while fighting with her mum, saying, “What do you care? You go through men faster than Taylor Swift.”

Here’s what Swift had to say in response:

So what’s the big deal exactly? The line was a joke made at the expense of a pop culture icon who everyone recognises. Swift rotating through boyfriends – and writing lyrics in her hit songs about them – is old hat; I’ve personally heard about it ever since I was in high school. Admittedly, when I first heard the line, I didn’t even blink. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that Swift was right to call out Netflix on Twitter over it.

The View’s Meghan McCain put it well: she called the line a “microaggression”, explaining that it “sets the precedent that we as women should just lighten up and take it. That it’s so funny. That it’s OK, you’re just not in on the joke, when really it’s very hurtful. It’s very degrading and it’s not something you hear about male entertainers.”

Indeed, Swift’s male counterparts like John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé and Justin Timberlake – just to name a few – are known as players who write about their former flames in their songs, but are hardly dragged for it the way Swift has been. This is a double standard that any woman will be familiar with.

The joke is even more ironic when Ginny & Georgia seems to position itself as a narrative that attempts to discuss the US’ views and expectations on women, especially young girls.

And how did netizens respond? Reactions online have been mostly supportive of Swift, though some users also praised the show.