ChimilDetin
Virgin
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2024
- Posts
- 15
Hi again,
Thanks, all, for your surprisingly large amount of quick feedback. I wasn't expecting all that in just a few hours (!).
As I'm reading this, I have a feeling what I've written thus far will never see the light of day. Valid points all around, not to mention that yeah, Swift is kind of a touchy subject.
To answer a few points in the thread:
Hey, sometimes the ideas that swim in our heads are best meant to stay there, right?
Thanks, all, for your surprisingly large amount of quick feedback. I wasn't expecting all that in just a few hours (!).
As I'm reading this, I have a feeling what I've written thus far will never see the light of day. Valid points all around, not to mention that yeah, Swift is kind of a touchy subject.
To answer a few points in the thread:
- Part of the reason Swift makes a compelling topic for a site like this is because she's very careful to be sexy without being sexual. Let's be frank: The lips, the eyes, the hair ... she is, objectively, a spectacularly attractive woman. Yet, unlike other many of the sexy popstars of the past 40 years — Madonna, Britney, Christina, Ariana Grande — she hasn't had her "I'm letting you know I love sex" turn yet, like Madonna's book, Britney going all in on no longer being innocent, Christina's "dirrrty" phase and so on. Swift's thing has more been to emphasize her confidence and assertiveness, but without implying sex has anything to do with it. It's made her highly marketable, but has also given her an air of unattainability. I think that's also part of her appeal, though: "I'm so confident and hot and beloved by my fans that I'm too good for anyone but me and the man I pick, which I've had to work on but seem to have found one." To explore how sex would play into her personality, were it introduced, is part of the fascination.
- A running theme for Swift through what I had written was how the money is largely trivial to her. In agreeing to take the bet, I had her talking with a fictionalized version of her publicist and Travis. The publicist laughs off the idea, but Travis kinda likes it: He notes his contract only guarantees him so many millions for so long, then his earning potential is done. Plus, he tells how he had once been to such a club and enjoyed himself. His injury early in the story, if anything, only serves as a reminder to Swift that you have to do such things while you can.
- Where the money does come into play is comparing Swift with other dancers. Her mentor, Jessica, mostly loves sex and her job, but has learned to tolerate doing some things she sees as less than ideal to stay in the business, like getting big implants that she eventually wants removed and learning to orgasm with little to no assistance. She does this to make the money needed to take care of herself and her daughter.
- The contrast between Taylor and Jessica drives much of the story's content. Jessica serves to remind Taylor that it's not so easy for a lot of women who didn't, and don't, have her circumstances, like a wealthy upbringing and great genes.
- Furthermore, the dancer who turns on Taylor, Rebecca, has a number of unfortunate things happen in the story. Taylor unwittingly steals her dancer name and a couple of her customers. Then, in a moment when it seems Swift's dancer turn will be exposed publicly, mistaken identity almost leads to Rebecca's being a dancer being made public, which puts her in a perilous situation, as she, too, is trying to dance in secret. The result is "dancer drama" as Rebecca, who is largely on her last chance to overcome big issues and support her family, confronts Taylor.
- While prostitution plays into the story, for Swift's character, it's more about getting her into an environment where she can explore her sexuality with multiple partners, and compare her life situation with that of a number of other people, quickly.
- The money is there, and is discussed, but often more to show the difference between how people with it are empowered by it, but people without it need to find ways to get it. Swift's character doesn't need it, and she makes that clear — she discovers just how enjoyable sex can be and finds herself searching for contentment, happiness and pleasure. But some of the other characters do need that money. The dynamic of Swift being able to largely get away with being a tease and make billions, while others have to work in such clubs and barely scrape by, is a big driver of the story and Swift's transformation in the story.
Hey, sometimes the ideas that swim in our heads are best meant to stay there, right?