Tahliah Debrett Barnett (FKA Twigs)

[Moonbeaux Rainfox]

Just stumbled upon her the other day.

[Wikipedia] [Youtube] [Pictures] [Interview]
​​

Textures apply to everything I do. Even within my music, I like smooth things, and then hard and fluffy things, all giving them their place to shine.
Being beautiful isn't everything... Sometimes it's interesting to show how you feel on the inside on the outside, just through expressing yourself.
I'm appealing to people who want something different, but the world, on the whole, doesn't really embrace different things. Not on the whole.
I don't know if I'm a tortured soul, but I was born heartbroken. I remember feeling it when I was so young. I was like, 'Mum, it hurts.'
Vulnerability is the strongest state to be in. How boring would it be if we were constantly dominant or constantly submissive?
I was never the pretty girl at school. I'm tiny and mixed-race. I grew up in a white area. I was always the loner.
If you're an artist, you have to use everything to your advantage, even the pain.

[wacey]

Any ethical type really going solely off her personal philosophies.

[Radio]

CREEPY.

[silke]

she looks like a friend I had back in teens - I'd guess sp/sx 9w1, not sure of her socionics type

[phizzog]

ugh, i really like her. aesthetically and thematically (love loss sex pain emptiness fullfilment martyrdom and victimization (and the power and magic in all that, in being in tune with feelings and vulnerability)), for me, she sort of harkens back to prince and how he was when he arrived on the music scene. for that reason, i'm inclined to say 4/3 and some IxFx Se valuing type; IEI works for me in any case because i'm getting an Fe vibe.

[tru]

bump

[toska]

IEI-Ni: Tahliah Barnett

[soundofconfusion]

she looks very similar to Janelle Monáe in my opinion, who is also an IEI.

[Sol]

mb SEI

[toska]

she looks very similar to Janelle Monáe in my opinion, who is also an IEI.

Whoa, yes!

[Alonzo]

Both of those women are ESIs.

[toska]

She's pretty clear victim type. I can see why you would VI her ESI though.

"...being goofy and making light of things that are quite serious are a way of me processing trauma."

[Alonzo]

She's pretty clear victim type. I can see why you would VI her ESI though.

"...being goofy and making light of things that are quite serious are a way of me processing trauma."

Sorry dude, you're in my wheelhouse now--ESI-Se enneagram 4w3s are my lifeblood. Lol Not only have I dated them, almost exclusively, my entire life, but the industries I frequently work in are saturated with them. Suffice to say, I know one when I see one and moreover I happen to be a big fan of Twigs.

So, where is it "clear" that she is a victim type, exactly?

1.) On that accord, Gamma victims and aggressors don't manifest in precisely the same ways as Betas. Gamma NTs see ourselves as independent, willful, and single minded, forms of "strength" in and of themselves, and so we're not trying to be utterly conquered, led or play support in the rear; we want someone with the power to stand up to us/stand their ground, and potentially beat us, but who is more interested in being our equal/standing by our side. We prefer more indirect, "softer" power grabs like this >

"I know that sometimes you wish I'd go
Away, away
I know that sometimes you wish I'd go
Away, away
But I wish that you would know that I'm here
To stay, to stay
Just nod your head and get up
I'm not gon let you give up babe"

^Co-written by Twigs and called "Give Up," FFS. Lol And that was off the top of my head. In the song "Two Weeks," the main thesis is that it will only take her two weeks to fuck/seduce away the memory of her love interest's previous lover. Lol That's the type of Gamma aggressor tactics that appeal to Gamma NTs. I love that shit.

2.) It's not uncommon to confuse one's hidden agenda/mobilizing function for their lead function. And Twigs is an enneagram 4. IME, ESI 4s are dreamier and more "out there" than other types of ESI, which I think is probably related to accentuated (which speaks more to attention/focus than it does ability to differentiate) intuition. There are a subset of *SIs who are over indulgent/confident with their Ni, which is typical for the mobilizing function (used wrecklessly or not at all). In reference to the quote you highlighted, I believe that she's speaking to Ni related themes and metaphors undergirding her expression of "goofiness" in a Se physical, corporeal sense--Ni is "background music" sublimated to her usage of Se, which she uses powerfully to speak to Fi related traumas.





As a high D Ni user, I'm keenly in tune with the abstracted meaning behind images, themes or signs I creatively employ; I can't imagine being an artist and having a stage name that wasn't inherently imbued with Ni meaning. OTOH, Twigs was given that name during her stint as a background dancer because of how her bones cracked while dancing and according to her, the FKA "doesn’t stand for anything. It's just capital letters." I had wrongly assumed it meant "formerly known as," which might serve as an acknowledgement of her humble beginnings while signaling that she was now something else, something "more," perhaps. But she didn't care to make such a connection. Lol

3.) Lastly, I think people don't fully grasp the limitations of 1D Se, whether valued or not. Twigs started out as a dancer, a back up dancer at that--any professional dancer worth their salt has 3-4D Se, and usually but not always, valued Se. Excellent coordination, kinesthetic awareness, control over weight and balance in motion, awareness of space, a developed sense of rhythm, a strong ability to learn, mimic and retain movements when being taught, all of which point to high D Se and Si. Is it possible to be a good, professional level dancer with 1D Se? Sure, but I deal in likelihoods, not wild possibilities, and it simply isn't likely.

I know my duals. Lol

[soundofconfusion]

3.) Lastly, I think people don't fully grasp the limitations of 1D Se, whether valued or not. Twigs started out as a dancer, a back up dancer at that--any professional dancer worth their salt has 3-4D Se, and usually but not always, valued Se. Excellent coordination, kinesthetic awareness, control over weight and balance in motion, awareness of space, a developed sense of rhythm, a strong ability to learn, mimic and retain movements when being taught, all of which point to high D Se and Si. Is it possible to be a good, professional level dancer with 1D Se? Sure, but I deal in likelihoods, not wild possibilities, and it simply isn't likely.

I know my duals. Lol

Beta types have an exceptional control over their body, like every Se valuing type. in Gulenko's description, IEI makes graceful, aesthetic movements that are pleasing to the eye. here's a video of grimes dancing (starts @0:40). she is also an IEI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9SGYBHY0qs

she also has similar facial features.

maxresdefault.jpg

I also disagree with your typing of Janelle Monáe. I have been listening to her music for a long time now. Her album The ArchAndroid shows a clear preference for Intuition, and a lot of her songs have beta themes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1xaya28by4

[Alonzo]

@toska I think you may be right, afterall, and I am SHOOK. Lol I found a recent interview of hers (where she was being interviewed by another IEI and was vibing seamlessly) and she talked in-depth about her process and it all became clear > she begins with an overarching vision of what she wants to do, does a fuck ton of Ni perfectionist preparation and by the time she performs, the audience is receiving years of hard work applied well VS. someone learning something within 3 weeks time and flawlessly executing it, which is more typical of high D Se and Si. And, theoretically, 1D functions grow by way of experience and if she's been practicing ballet since 8 years old, then she could arrive at a certain level of competence even she isn't more naturally "gifted"/predisposed.

I also asked a SEE ballerina friend of mine what she thinks of her and the SEE was overall impressed but could spot Se related flaws (wonky gait, etc...) in her execution; but she said that her body/limb proportions grant her decent facility, which means that she can pull off certain movements and look elegant, even if they aren't flawlessly executed, which I agreed with upon closer inspection--this is why I'm somewhat critical towards low D Se assessments concerning Se (including my own). Lol Mine may often be more accurate than someone who is Se PoLR but I damn sure don't come close to a Se lead--I can still miss things.And though some IEIs look remarkably similar to ESIs, when I fine tooth combed Twigs with my IEI VI templates, IEI was a slightly better match.

Aside from a fidelity to informational accuracy, I also point this out to distinguish myself from Sol. Lol When Te receives new information, especially data that is empirical in nature and secondarily fits within an adequate enough Ti framework, it adjusts its assessments accordingly.
@soundofconfusion I also think that you are correct in this instance. But you typed Bernie Sanders as IEI--that's an unforgivable mistype. Lol I can't see past that. Rethink that typing. We're all allowed to make mistakes but the type and degree of mistake matters, imo--typing someone so inaccurately can make your other typings highly suspect.

[soundofconfusion]

Aside from a fidelity to informational accuracy, I also point this out to distinguish myself from Sol. Lol When Te receives new information, especially data that is empirical in nature and secondarily fits within an adequate enough Ti framework, it adjusts its assessments accordingly.
@soundofconfusion I also think that you are correct in this instance. But you typed Bernie Sanders as IEI--that's an unforgivable mistype. Lol I can't see past that. Rethink that typing. We're all allowed to make mistakes but the type and degree of mistake matters, imo--typing someone so inaccurately can make your other typings highly suspect.

I will look into Bernie Sanders again, but probably next year, since I will be very busy for the rest of this year. I've typed him a long time ago, so I don't remember him that well, maybe I will read more about him during the presidential election, or remove him from my gallery if he doesn't play an important role. in a theory like socionics, you can't always get an exact impression of a type through their behaviour depending on what you see or read about them, so of course I occasionally rely on my intuition to fill in the blanks if I feel confident enough, and there will always be mistakes, it happens. I appreciate your opinion Alonzo, and I wish there would be more postings like yours on this site.

[toska]

@toska I think you may be right, afterall, and I am SHOOK. Lol I found a recent interview of hers (where she was being interviewed by another IEI and was vibing seamlessly) and she talked in-depth about her process and it all became clear > she begins with an overarching vision of what she wants to do, does a fuck ton of Ni perfectionist preparation and by the time she performs, the audience is receiving years of hard work applied well VS. someone learning something within 3 weeks time and flawlessly executing it, which is more typical of high D Se and Si. And, theoretically, 1D functions grow by way of experience and if she's been practicing ballet since 8 years old, then she could arrive at a certain level of competence even she isn't more naturally "gifted"/predisposed.

I also asked a SEE ballerina friend of mine what she thinks of her and the SEE was overall impressed but could spot Se related flaws (wonky gait, etc...) in her execution; but she said that her body/limb proportions grant her decent facility, which means that she can pull off certain movements and look elegant, even if they aren't flawlessly executed, which I agreed with upon closer inspection--this is why I'm somewhat critical towards low D Se assessments concerning Se (including my own). Lol Mine may often be more accurate than someone who is Se PoLR but I damn sure don't come close to a Se lead--I can still miss things.And though some IEIs look remarkably similar to ESIs, when I fine tooth combed Twigs with my IEI VI templates, IEI was a slightly better match.

Aside from a fidelity to informational accuracy, I also point this out to distinguish myself from Sol. Lol When Te receives new information, especially data that is empirical in nature and secondarily fits within an adequate enough Ti framework, it adjusts its assessments accordingly.

Sorry, I meant to respond to your reasoning earlier but I got distracted. Really appreciate your diligence. You made some good points before. My mom as IEI, she was a dancer growing up till she got into an injury but she wanted to do it professionally. I always tend to see at least two types that VI similar and ESI actually had me questioning. Overall, I had a really strong impression of Ni watching just a couple of her interviews and I noticed (similar to what you're seeing now) with Twigs, certain peculiarities which I found more common in others I've typed IEI.

That's really interesting that you're SEE friend was able to notice those details with her dancing. I hadn't thought to read into it or pay it any mind till you brought it up. LOL, PoLR Se, I'd never be able to dance for the life of me.

I'm also not sure about Grimes as IEI but I haven't typed her. Glad to have consensus though.

[Quez]

My gut opinion formed long ago was EIE, but I haven't listened to interviews. I can get accept IEI if we give her a D(DCNH) stamp. If she is EIE she would definitely not be D, but 80%/20% certain H/C.

As for the likeness to Monae, note the "look" of the eye's is entirely different in the above side-by-side. Gulenko has an article saying "the look" of eyes is linked to either the Demonstrative or Creative (can't remember). To me, Twigs has Ne/Ni eyes without a doubt, but Monae's feel warm - Fi/Fe.

Also, the overall vibe of Filatova's EIE photos fits, but Twigs doesn't fit the vibe of the IEI group.

I don't care to argue, just throwing out some food for thought for open minds.