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Canceled: Positionality and Authenticity in Country Music's Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2021 #Canceled: Positionality and Authenticity in Country Music’s Cancel Culture Gabriella Saporito [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Part of the Ethnomusicology Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Musicology Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Social Media Commons Recommended Citation Saporito, Gabriella, "#Canceled: Positionality and Authenticity in Country Music’s Cancel Culture" (2021). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8074. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8074 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. #Canceled: Positionality and Authenticity in Country Music’s Cancel Culture Gabriella Saporito Thesis submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Musicology Travis D. Stimeling, Ph.D., Chair Jennifer Walker, Ph.D. Matthew Heap, Ph.D. School of Music Morgantown, West Virginia 2021 Keywords: Cancel Culture, Country Music, Authenticity, Taylor Swift, Lil Nas X, John Rich Copyright 2021 Gabriella Saporito Abstract #Canceled: Positionality and Authenticity in Country Music’s Cancel Culture Gabriella Saporito From its beginning in film and television and its early adoption by Black Twitter, cancel culture has become a phenomenon in the era of social media. Marked by the popular hashtags #cancel, #canceled, #[InsertNameHere]isOverParty, and #Surviving[InsertNameHere], cancel culture is a practice which involves publicly denouncing and/or shaming a person or company when they do something that is considered offensive or objectionable. It saw a resurgence in the era of #MeToo that has not slowed down in an age dominated by social media presidents and global pandemics. Cancel culture has also seen a recent re-adoption by the political right, which begs the question: who is getting “canceled” and why? This project answers this question by using country music as a lens through which to observe cancel culture and its victims and perpetrators. By looking into the careers of country- adjacent artists Taylor Swift and Lil Nas X, I examine the positional bias of cancel culture. Using John Rich as a counter-study, I remark on the lack of consequences that men of his race and privilege face, though I note the similarities between his and the political right’s agenda in cancel culture. By researching cancel culture vis-à-vis country music, I address the issues of race, gender, and authenticity that exist in both spaces. Using digital ethnography, I draw on the work of country music scholars and mainstream media reporters alike to craft a new study of cancel culture and its effects on people not only within the country music industry, but also the world more broadly. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 RACE AND COUNTRY MUSIC ............................................................................................................ 7 COUNTRY MUSIC’S “AUTHENTICITY PROBLEM” ...................................................................... 12 GENDER AND QUEERNESS IN COUNTRY MUSIC ........................................................................ 15 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 1 - Cancel Culture Needs to Calm Down ........................................................................ 23 THE EARLY YEARS: (IN)AUTHENTIC TAYLOR ............................................................................ 23 PUBLIC PERCEPTION: TAYLOR AS PERPETUAL VICTIM .......................................................... 26 TAYLOR’S TURNING POINT: “LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO” ........................................... 37 POST-REPUTATION: A NEW TAYLOR? ........................................................................................... 43 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2 - Old Town Discrimination ........................................................................................... 55 OLD TOWN ROAD & THE RACIST (COUNTRY) MUSIC INDUSTRY ......................................... 56 “WRANGLER ON MY BOOTY”: CULTURAL APPROPRIATION & CANCELLATION .............. 64 POST-OTR: LIL NAS X COMES OUT ................................................................................................ 66 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 3 - Shut Up About Cancel Culture ................................................................................... 75 RICH BEGINNINGS: MUZIKMAFIA .................................................................................................. 77 RICH POLITICAL OPINIONS .............................................................................................................. 81 RICH WITH FRIENDS: FOX NEWS AND DONALD TRUMP ......................................................... 85 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................... 94 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 96 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 103 Filmography ................................................................................................................................ 116 Discography ................................................................................................................................ 117 iv Acknowledgements I am indebted to those listed here for their endless support of my growth as both a musicologist and a person. Without them, I know this document would cease to exist. My parents & the Saplings — who have supported me since day one. Dr. Anna Stephan-Robinson — for introducing me to musicology in the first place. I have found my home here, and I am so grateful for your mentorship, your friendship, and for the influence you have had over my life. Dr. Evan MacCarthy — who made me a better paper-titler, a better researcher, and an all- around better musicologist. Dr. Dominique Hoche — whose English 101 class made me learn to love to write, and whose subsequent classes helped me find my voice through writing. Without you, I know I would not be here. My mental health professionals, Zenzi anD Ashley — for helping me to grow into the person I have become and the person I am becoming. The musicology cohort at WVU, past anD present — for your friendship, guidance, and patience as I have grown into the person I am now. Travis — for making me feel safe, loved and seen at all times. You started as my mentor and have become my family, and I have more things to thank you for than I have room to write. Your generosity and your guidance throughout my time here are unmatched, and I can never thank you enough for everything you have taught me about musicology, the world, life, and myself. GwenDolyn — my rock, my love, my everything. Thank you for endlessly supporting me and for being my #1 fan. I am truly the luckiest woman alive to be loved by you. v For Sophie, the cat who taught me unconditional love for twenty glorious years 1 Introduction Literature Review Cancel culture. Most people who are hip with today’s internet customs are familiar with the term, but how many have thought about its implications beyond the Twittersphere? What kind of influence does this culture have on individuals, on musicians? Cancel culture demands of its victims a perfectly constructed lifestyle that exhibits no mistakes and no missteps. It thrives on cliques banding together to achieve a common goal: perfection. Similarly, country music is grounded in communities and a “fabricated authenticity.”1 These two ideas, community and authenticity, will serve as the core of this work. In order to start a largely ethnographic project on the right foot, one must start with a solid understanding of the culture which they are studying. In this case, it is not a physical culture, but a digital one, and it is not limited to one area. Cancel culture is a global phenomenon seen on the internet today, but what
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