Lindsey Graham- Staff Writer
Growing up, I was constantly made aware of Taylor Swift’s success: on TV, by my parents and younger sister, through the radio, and more. I remember listening to Fearless and attempting to memorize every word on the album (and I probably still can sing the songs word-for-word). I watched countless interviews on TV in the living room with my family during the time that she released her first of eight incredibly successful albums. To many, Taylor Swift was a role model and her influence continues to grow each year. I mean, not everyone can win a Grammy for Album of the Year at only twenty years old. Although I understood the depths of her influence, I did not appreciate it as a child. In fact, I still did not appreciate it by my sophomore year, but why? Did I truly find her music annoying and repetitive, or was the hatred for such a powerful woman rooted in misogyny?
Many people know that Swift commonly refers to the theme of breakups in her music. Take a listen to some of her most popular hits, including “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “You Belong With Me”, “Back To December”, and more recently, “Look What You Make Me Do”, and you’ll find that these songs are all about past relationships. I found this theme to be quite annoying, but as an elementary student, I couldn’t have come up with these hateful ideas myself. For years, Taylor was slandered in the media for being “boy-crazy”, to put things lightly, and this accusation is not fair to her or to women in general. It creates the idea that women should not have more than just one or two romantic partners, which is very damaging not only to celebrities. The constant criticism she receives makes little to no sense compared to her many successes. She is a strong activist for women, praising and uplifting them whenever possible. Her efforts toward women empowerment showed in many of her awards, including being named Woman of the Year twice and Artist of the Decade in 2019.
When Swift’s comeback album Reputation was released, I thought it was ridiculous. I did not appreciate the sassy lyrics or her new style, but my mind has completely changed. Recently, I watched a video showing all of her tour openings, and to say her Reputation opening was powerful is a complete understatement. The lights, her outfit, the booming music, and her facial expression created, in my opinion, her best opening performance ever. I now understand that her ruthless album was not only a diss toward her ex-boyfriends, but a strong “prove them wrong” point to her critics such as Kanye West, reporters who used her life as absurd gossip, and to everyone who had not yet taken her seriously. At first, I thought the previous country music star was attempting to be too edgy, but now I realize that she used the fuel against her and turned it into an amazing piece of untouchable art. It’s no surprise that this tour was the highest grossing in United States history, and she deserves all the praise possible for this achievement.
Looking back, I understand that a lot of my opinions came from external influences, and mostly anti-women influences. I thought that writing about exes commonly was a bad thing, but now I appreciate the meanings to the song and as a creative person myself, I respect the fact that she turned her emotional pain into art. I admire Taylor Swift as a person and an artist. It is not easy to be in the spotlight from such a young age and experience constant slander despite having one of the most successful musical careers of all time. I believe that eliminating any misogynistic influences is extremely important, and it is crucial to women empowerment to recognize internal misogyny and make positive mindset changes. After all, there is no clear reason to despise a talented woman with twenty-nine American Music Awards. So if you find yourself disliking Taylor Swift, ask yourself why, and then listen to one of her nearly two hundred songs with an open mind. Be sure to throw the misogyny away and enjoy the music!
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