Women unified: the true power of Taylor Swift

Whether you love or hate her, Taylor Swift is everywhere. From her upcoming concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” to the Kansas City Chiefs football games, you’ve probably seen her face on social media during the past few weeks.

The singer-songwriter has taken center stage, not only at her record-breaking Eras Tour but also in the hearts and minds of millions across the globe.

I started listening to Taylor Swift when I was five years old, thanks to the “Hannah Montana Movie.” Whenever I rewatched the movie — which was a lot — nothing could stop me from singing it at the top of my lungs when her song “Crazier” would start playing.

Fast forward 15 years, and there I was, at 20 years old, with a steadfast obsession, sitting in my seat, watching the countdown for the kickoff of  the Eras Tour in Mexico City.

Now, Taylor Swift has always been a big deal, but this past year has skyrocketed her to a new level of fame.

The Eras Tour can arguably be called the most extensive tour of all time, with an unfathomable demand that even caused Ticketmaster to crash several times. As soon as I got my tickets, I started preparing for a concert that was still months away.

I had multiple Taylor Swift nights before the concert where I sat with my girlfriends, listened to her music, “made the friendship bracelets” and talked about anything and everything. Women worldwide who posted their outfits, bracelets and makeup for the concert online were flooded with positive comments.

The tour quickly became more than just music, and instead a celebration of girlhood, bringing thousands of women together under the umbrella of Taylor Swift.

Many of us grew up with Taylor Swift, listening to her stories through songs and slowly beginning to relate to the words that she wrote. As women, we are usually pitted against each other. I remember reading Seventeen Magazine’s “Who Wore It Better” sections as a kid, unconsciously comparing two women who looked just as beautiful in the same dress. Even now, I scroll on TikTok, comparing myself to other girls on the app, wishing I looked more like them. Yet, when I walked into he Eras Tour I was immediately liberated of the target I put on myself and felt safe.

It felt surreal: thousands of girls dressed in glitter coming up to trade friendship bracelets as a sea of compliments echoed through the concert hall. I was in awe at how the simple appreciation of women by other women made such a harmonious event. It was a pure example of unquestioned unity, a sense of calmness I’d rarely felt before. I let myself feel as I sang the lyrics to every song at the top of my lungs. I let myself laugh, cry and scream without the preoccupation that I was being judged.

The Eras Tour’s impact is not just economical, and the tour itself isn’t even just about music, but about the experience of being a woman.

And yes, I am completely biased. Taylor Swift has been there for me through every emotion. Her music has been a comfort for me through both romantic and platonic breakups, changes, falling in love, falling apart, starting new chapters and closing old ones.

But as I held my best friend’s hand at the concert, I realized she’d also been there for the thousands of women around me. Her music had comforted them through their breakups, traumas and changes.

It’s not easy being a girl. We are forced to follow society’s contradictory rules on how we act, dress and talk, the movies we watch and the music we listen to. Greta Gerwig makes a nod to this struggle in her film, “Barbie” where the character Sasha, portrayed by Ariana Greenblatt, says, “Men hate women and women hate women. It’s the one thing we can agree on.”

Yet, for three hours, I felt nothing but acceptance just for being me. I looked around and saw unbridled joy, no one worrying if they were being judged, dressed in pink and sparkles: being “stereotypically girls” and not giving a damn.

So yes, the Eras Tour is an incredible production that has had an incomprehensible impact on the economy — but it means more than that. To millions of fans worldwide, it was a place where they could simply be. Thousands of women coming together, singing in unison lyrics that make them and everyone around them feel understood. No restrictions, no societal rules, just a place to listen to your favorite songs while being unapologetically you.

And that is the true power of Taylor Swift.