I am a huge Taylor Swift fan.
There, I said it. For some reason, this statement might cause a lot of people to pass judgement because many people don’t like her. This dislike has baffled me since I started listening to her music.
Taylor Swift has been someone I have loved and looked up to for a long time. I can remember 9-year-old me listening to her “Fearless” album on repeat. The disk never left my CD player and I knew the lyrics to all of the songs. “Fearless” was an important part of my childhood and I have grown up listening to every album she released.
Each album means something different to me and represents a different time in my life. Swift’s music has accompanied me throughout all the phases of adolescence. She has songs that can make me cry, dance, scream or feel strong and confident.
She is incredibly talented and deserving of all the good fortune that has come her way. She was signed to a record label when she was only 15 years old and has come out with seven studio albums to date. She has also written or co-written every single one of her songs, a practice that is uncommon these days.
Not only does she write and sing beautiful songs, but she is also an excellent performer. I have been to two of her shows and they were some of the best concerts I have ever been to.
Swift has also become more politically involved in the last few years and encouraged fans to register to vote. She wrote in an Instagram caption that, “I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG.”
After this statement, there was a significant surge in voter registration, specifically in her hometown of Tennessee. She also encouraged the passing of the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from discrimination.
If she writes great music, performs great shows and has promoted social goods, why do so many people hate her?
There are a lot of music snobs out there who dislike pop music and that is fine. Disliking her music is different from disliking her as a person, though. There are more people who hate Swift as a person.
Most of the anti-Swift rhetoric I hear has to do with the fact that she dates around and writes music about her relationships. But is that not what every musician does? Most songs you listen to will be about failed love or rising romance.
This suggests that the hatred Swift receives stems from sexism and misogyny. Successful women are critiqued more than successful men. If it were a man singing her songs, it’s unlikely that someone would take issue with them in the same way. Apparently, she has the audacity to write about relationships and date people — many find this a good reason to hate her.
But much of the hatred I see comes from women as well. They have internalized misogyny that tells them they have to hate her for doing what she wants, which is to entertain. These women need to do better — slut-shaming her for dating multiple people is just wrong.
Swift has grown up in the public eye and dating is a part of a normal life. In shaming her for this, her critics have stripped her of personhood.
Many people have also hated her for not being enough of an activist. But, when she came out in support of the Democratic party and LGBTQ community, she got hate for that as well. While many celebrities use their platform to promote activism, it is not a part of their job description. No matter what she does, Swift would get hate for it anyways.
If you are someone who hates Swift for writing love songs and dating people, take a long, hard look at where this hatred is coming from. Ask yourself if these are valid reasons to hate someone. Then, take a second to actually listen to her music instead of being angry that she is an unapologetic, successful woman doing what she wants.
