Lack of Charisma Can Be Comforting

CARL JUNG WROTE that when you hate someone, they’re probably bringing up something you hate about yourself. Historically, few celebrities have boiled my blood quite like Taylor Swift. I was always embarrassed to be triggered by someone so obvious. I guess Jung would say I’m obvious, and I definitely am. But when I thought about the qualities I admired, I saw a person that was probably some combination of Lana Del Rey and Chloë Sevigny and Azealia Banks, and then I saw Taylor Swift—the polar opposite of this person, a pop star who couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance, and conjured the Jenny Holzerism that “lack of charisma can be fatal.”