It’s you. Hi, you’re the problem it’s you, Taylor.
TW: Racism. Eating Disorders. Sexual Harassment & Assault. Taylor Swift-critical (/hj).
Note: The trigger warning was intended for any Swifties who think Taylor is a God and cannot be criticized. Also, as for any hardcore haters, I am in no circumstance going to demean her or her music. This long ranty article is about why I love and hate her all at once. Most importantly, we need to remember the human.
In my elementary school years, that was when I first witnessed people’s obsession with Taylor Swift. Hearing about her every so often in class from my peers or cousins, her name was inevitable.
Growing up, I wasn’t so much the kid who liked what was popular. And coincidentally, I was also that person who was bullied often by my peers, specifically, the ones who most likely peaked at seven. This was the beginning of my “pick me girl” phase, and I would have to endure years of bullying and not wanting to associate with mean girls in my class.
Ironically, the song “You Belong With Me”, was the biggest pick-me girl anthem, which expressed the exact same belief I had in my childhood and teenage years, except for the fact that I did not think about boys or crushes in any way whatsoever. How I thought I was different from my female peers was that I didn’t like makeup, many 2000s era Disney sitcoms, pink, or anything else considered “girly.” I could have considered myself then akin to Swift’s protagonist in the YBWM video.
I found myself listening to her music more often when my curiosity peaked into her music, breaking my “never consume any sort of media that’s popular” rule. While I listened to “You Belong With Me” and a few other songs by her, I actually thought that it was good, and was more impressed than I thought.
Shortly after that impression, Swift’s third album, Speak Now, was released. I wasn’t aware of it until a childhood friend I once had shared their CD album of it. Being 10-11 years old, I had no idea of the laborious process that Taylor went into while she was writing this album. Since her Fearless Era tour schedule was hectic, Swift would find herself up late at night writing lyrics in what would become Speak Now.
Meanwhile, in my early Swiftie days, Speak Now was a personal favorite for me because of one thing that truly connected with me as an artist; it was completely self-written by her. Due to her busy schedule, she would not have time to collaborate with other songwriters. Additionally, the emotional honesty in the transition from childhood to adulthood was one that truly defined much of who she is as a lyricist.
For the span of over a decade, I have considered myself an on-and-off Swiftie since that point and a major part comes from how being famous highlights many issues in both a good light and bad light on social, individual, political, and economic scales. I’m going to have a lot to address here so bear with me as I go through many of the reasons.
Everything has changed since December 13, 1989, when Taylor Swift was born to two bankers for Merrill Lynch, which is the investment branch of Bank of America. Her mother, Andrea, was a mutual financial advisor [1] and her father, Scott, was a stockbroker and owner of the Swift Group branch for Merrill Lynch[2]. Must be nice having parents who know a bit all too well about money, right? For that reason, Taylor Swift grew up pretty well-off that lived on a Christmas Tree farm which her father bought from a client. Additionally, when she began to break into the music industry, her family was able to afford relocating to Nashville, Tennessee to start her career. So for those who try to portray her as a music-underdog who worked hard to get where she is, it’s not entirely accurate due to her wealthy upbringing. However, it does not necessarily mean that she didn’t work hard to maintain her status.
Bringing up the fact that she began her career at a young and managed to win multiple awards throughout the years, it’s an impressive feat that she is still relevant since nearly two decades ago. To maintain that fame is part of a sign of putting in effort to what you do, let alone winning many awards throughout your career. She didn’t do it all by herself though. Like many celebrities, Taylor has an agent, PR people, Taylor Nation; she is the music industry, to put short. She is a mini-music industry in her own way that she is distinguished from many artists in selling her brand. Hailing her beginnings from country to entering the pop scene, Taylor Swift could easily write a song in any genre of her choice, and it could sell for millions with a big part of why being her fame (I mean look at reputation (EDM) alongside folklore and evermore).
With fame and a huge platform comes major responsibility. In most cases, celebrities do not always use their voice for good, as celebrity culture has caused negative impacts on society—including social and environmental impacts. As part of being a major celebrity, Taylor Swift is not immune to this; as a matter of fact, she has done great environmental damage with her private jet usage directly and indirectly. According to an article on Rolling Stone[3]magazine, Swift is the number one celebrity contributor to CO^2 impacts. Fans were quick to criticize her unreasonable usage of her private jet, and some made memes of Swift using a jet for minor trips and inconveniences.
While her jet-usage plays a huge problem in environmental damage, it’s not just Taylor who uses it, so the memes may not be as accurate as depicted. As mentioned in the same article, a representative for Swift has stated that her jet is loaned to other people. This does not make her any more defendable, because regardless of whether if Swift or someone else uses said jet, it’s a lose-lose situation for all parties involved, especially if it’s Taylor who cannot seem to catch a break.
Unfortunately, it would make sense for someone like her to fly in a private jet to get around. Being a high-profile public figure means to give up a lot of privacy and in worst case scenarios, all of it. Since the rise of her career, Taylor has dealt with people who want to know more about her personal life, and often draws on the line of being inconsiderate at best to outright creepy/dangerous at worst. Even when on a private jet, she still isn’t safe. An article from Auto Evolution[4] mentions how Taylor’s flight tracking details had been leaked, which could pose as a security threat. While she deserves to be called out for her contribution to climate change, Taylor has had many dangerous encounters with the public including stalkers, robbers, and many of the like. Taylor’s interview with Scott Raab from Esquire Magazine[5] goes into perspective about her personal life, including the not-so-glamourous parts of being famous. In her interview, Swift exchanges with Raab about what it’s like to be constantly surrounded by security & bodyguards:
“TS (Swift): I fought the idea of having security for a very long time, because I really value normalcy. I really do. I like to be able to take a drive by myself. Haven't done that in six years.
SR (Raab): Even in Tennessee?
TS: No, they have to be in a car behind me. Because just the sheer number of men we have in a file who have showed up at my house, showed up at my mom's house, threatened to either kill me, kidnap me, or marry me. This is the strange and sad part of my life that I try not to think about. I try to be lighthearted about it, because I don't ever want to be scared. I don't want to be walking down the street scared. And when I have security, I don't have to be scared.”
One could only imagine having to live with that much security in their daily life, because just to wish for a normal private life can be a daunting task for many public figures due to their prominence in society, for better or worse. Additionally, many people seem to forget that Taylor Swift is not just a brand and celebrity, but a human with flaws and feelings as well.
With that said, while Swift’s private life has highlighted the negatives of being a celebrity, Swift also has used her platform to relate and speak to many people for better, though it came at a cost. In her career and lifetime, she has dealt with sexism, double standards, the struggle of speaking up, and mental health issues. None of which are easy for anyone to deal with, especially as a woman with a platform where in historical terms, they have not been allowed to speak their own minds without judgment. It’s still a persistent problem in this era, however with the practice of speaking up being more common combined with voices like Swift’s amplifying these issues in the music industry, there’s a glimmer of hope for it to change for better.
In her early career, Swift wrote plenty of love songs and break-up songs, which led to the media to go in on about her personal life and relationships. Cosmopolitan[6] lists the many high-profile celebrities who Swift has been romantically linked with, including Joe Jonas, John Mayer, Harry Styles, and Tom Hiddleston. While there shouldn’t be any issue of dating many people then breaking up with them, some people seem to blatantly have a problem with it if Taylor is the person in that scenario. Additionally, she has faced scrutiny for her prolific love life in her early career. Hence, some people are critical of her songs when they say, “all she writes about are songs about boys and breaking up with them.” While that may be true, a part of that same crowd tends to, a.) be silent about other musicians’ dating life, b.) have not listened to more of Taylor’s discography about ideas that diverge from romance, or c.) both.
Despite the public and media being nosy about her love life, Taylor Swift arguably has handled dealing with those people well. In an Entertainment Tonight interview at the 2015 Grammys[7], the reporter, Nancy O’Dell, asks Taylor about her plans after the awards ceremony. In the video, the camera pans to Taylor’s dress where her legs are visible. Immediately after, about the 20 second mark, O’Dell asks the singer if she is “walking home with more than a trophy,” and followed by a comment saying that she’ll bring any men home. Swift replies that she is not and will be lounging with her cats instead. Reactions to this video were in praise of Swift for handling O’Dell, who was asking invasive questions about her personal life. And this goes back to how the media has painted an image of her thinking that her love life is what defines who she is. While she is not afraid to express her emotions in her love and heartbreak songs, that is not the full image of who Swift is.
Some famous songs Taylor has written that are not about her dating life (or a minor role in the song) include “The Man”, “Innocent”, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”, and “Look What You Made Me Do.” Having faced many hardships in her career, Taylor has written songs to express those frustrations and indirectly point out the many issues of the entertainment industry.
In her song “The Man” from her Lover album, Swift addresses how women are judged much harsher by society than men in universally every aspect of their lives. Swift is no exception to this as a woman in the music & entertainment industry. To briefly re-address her love life, in addition to the media’s obsession with Swift’s, women generally are ostracized for expressing themselves (especially in the intimate department) that they’re told to hold their tongues and use discretion. On the contrary, men can get away with bragging about their conquests without being labelled as a “slut” or “promiscuous.” With that said, it notes how men and women are viewed differently for doing the same thing as Swift writes in her opening lyrics of the forementioned song:
“I would be complex
I would be cool
They'd say I played the field before I found someone to commit to
And that would be ok
For me to do
Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you”
These lyrics perfectly describe Swift’s (and many other women’s) feelings towards the sexist attitudes by society. Seeing how Taylor doesn’t hold back on her words as much as she used to, these words leave an impact. They are the type to reflect on how society as a whole can change and does. Because as much as celebrity culture can suck it, people with platforms can amplify changes because of how powerful their presence is.
Swift has also been vocal, or at least open, about some more serious issues. Ever since her reputation era (about the point where Taylor was at her lowest), she has found herself speaking more about politics, overall wellbeing, sexual assault and violence. Bringing up any of these topics are difficult, regardless of whether one is rich or poor. However, one of the ways to make it less difficult is if there is media coverage to those topics, prompting everyday people to think about how it affects themselves and others around them. Additionally, it breaks the stigma of addressing serious issues that can harm themselves internally and externally. While public figures may be discouraged by the institutions they are associated with to speak up, they have the platform commoners lack making it an easier task for them.
In her early career, Taylor stayed out of politics to maintain a “good girl” image prominent in country music circles. To put things into consideration, pulling from an article by Billboard[8], research by the Country Music Association (CMA) shows that the average country music listener is 45 years old, has a home, and has an income over $70,000. Additionally, they are family-oriented and about a third of the surveyed population have children, averaging 2.3 children per family. Knowing about this information in regards to who is a country fan, one could easily see why country music is enjoyed by a certain demographic.
For a long time, it was held in belief that country music was considered “conservative” in comparison to other genres such as rap, hip-hop, and alternative; and there is some truth to this. In a 2007 NPR Interview[9] between Debbie Elliot and Lester Feder, an album called Thank You, Mr. President, which was dedicated to then-president Richard Nixon, is said to have possibly been the origin as to how country music became a conservative music staple. In the interview, Feder mentions how then-governor of Alabama, George Wallace, had a strategy identical to what Nixon would adopt in the 1968 election that would lead to the latter becoming president.
“Mr. FEDER: Well, absolutely. Nixon's victory was dependent on prying away Southern whites, working class whites, middle class whites that had traditionally voted Democratic. And those were the same voters that George Wallace was going after. So he knew that in 1972, when he was going to run for reelection, if Wallace ran again, it would be a major problem for him because he still that votes - those votes to win. So in the intervening years, he reached out to the South, to those middle class, working class whites, through the same means that George Wallace had. And he took a page right out of his playbook and courted country music.”
Feder adds how a song by Merle Haggard, “Okie from Muskogee”, was originally intended as satire only for it to be taken seriously by the demographic who sneered at the counterculture scene, turning the originally apolitical country music into being seen as stereotypically conservative.
Tying it all back to the modern-day era and noting Swift’s transition from her country music origins to breaking into the contemporary pop realm, it is rather symbolic in who she is as a brand and artist. Noting how Swift shied away from controversial issues in her early career as her reputation wasn’t developed as it is now, it is suffice to say that she has let go of that American good girl image by supporting gay & trans rights and denouncing racism. While most people don’t seem to have any issue with this, some are a bit more on the critical side of her speaking about politics. On one hand, it's easy to view her as doing the bare minimum for marginalized people, seeing how she’s white, rich, cis, and heterosexual (*gives Gaylors the death glare, and might bring that up in the future*); additionally, she is a business brand in herself like any other capitalist. Moreso, other artists have been more prominent in activism such as Hayley Williams of Paramore who once let an teenage activist organization[10]take over her Instagram page promoting awareness on racial injustice and systematic oppression. Regardless on whether she is speaking about politics for business or from a human standpoint, Taylor still on the occasion posts on social media calling her fans to take action for a better society which is much better than promoting hate in an era where it’s abundant.
On the contrary, there are people who have said that Taylor Swift has gone “too woke.” For as long as she was apolitical, a certain demographic was unfortunately part of her fanbase: white supremacists[11]. Again, given that she is white, it’s easy to see why that crowd chose her as an icon. The real question to ask about this is, “why?” Of all people white supremacists could’ve chosen as their icon, they chose Taylor Swift. The answer to that question remains unclear, however it could possibly be pinpointed to a few culprits. One possibility could be that according to the infamous Breitbart ex-writer, Milo Yiannopoulos, memes originated on a Pinterest account by a teenage girl. The girl in question would attribute Hitler quotes to Swift, which became viral to the degree where she heard from Swift’s lawyer who told the girl to not associate the pop star with notorious figures. Another account could be a now-removed Facebook page, “Taylor Swift for Fascist Europe”, where the group’s main objective was to preserve a widely considered hateful ideology, in blood and in spirit. While the group’s members called other white celebrities “degenerates” for not acting a certain way, they praised Swift for supposedly being “Aryan in blood and spirit.”
That same demographic turned on her once she finally began to endorse Democratic candidates[12]. During the midterm elections, Swift wrote on Instagram regarding her voting affiliation, “In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now.”[13] She went on to cite the jeopardized state of rights for marginalized people, which in turn, angered white supremacists. Additionally, former president Donald Trump said that he liked her music “25% less.”
To this day, Taylor Swift manages to make people left and right upset for expressing herself in a way many people worldwide relate to. In the following video, the controversial figure Candace Owens, makes a misleading claim in her video, “Taylor Swift’s Music Is Not That Good.[14]” And while some may agree with that sentiment, Owens entirely misses the intended point saying that the lyrics of “Anti-Hero” make no sense. The video is a 2 to 3 like/dislike ratio on YouTube, not because bots or brigades, but rather to criticize Owens’s ignorance to Swift’s intended message of the song. From Taylor’s perspective, “Anti-Hero” is a song that addresses insecurities she faced in the industry, the criticism she would receive for doing just about anything, and the physical & mental toll it took on her health. The last part especially, is what really gets people to relate to her music and find a connection with her as an artist and person.
--------------[Content Warning: This section goes into detail about eating disorders.]------------
One of the lesser-known but more serious facts about Taylor is that she had an eating disorder. An unfortunately too-well known problem in the entertainment industry is that especially among women, eating disorders have had a serious impact on their overall wellbeing. On top of that, when the media goes on to comment on their bodies, knowing that they’re going through something difficult, a clear line is drawn in what is okay to criticize about and what is not: eating disorders being one of the topics that is broadly considered a no-go when it comes to things people can take lightly. Most people can agree that nobody should have to know or ever live with is an eating disorder, even if it’s a person you dislike or hate a person with fiery passion. Eating disorders not only seriously do physical damage, but it also negatively affects people in the other ways of their health, especially emotionally and spiritually. On the ANAD statistics web page[15], it lists some disturbing facts about eating disorders; listed facts include that over a quarter of people with eating disorders commit suicide and thirty percent of people with them have experienced sexual abuse.
Eating disorders can happen to anyone regardless of socio-economic status, and as much as I hate to say it, it’s also the part where we have to remember who is the human behind the media we consume; so don’t be like Becky from the “You Can Sit With Us” podcast[16] where she was criticized for her insensitive comments about Taylor’s eating disorder. While Taylor can afford more resources to treat an eating disorder than the average person, it’s still something people should consider when they think of the music they listen to or shows they watch. The people who are involved in the long process of making entertainment go through a lot, and what can happen behind the scenes can get very ugly. In Taylor’s case, years of the media speculating about her personal life, the industry’s treatment of women (Taylor included), and work pressure have played a role in her development of an eating disorder and she has gone into detail about it in the Miss Americana documentary.
Around the thirtieth minute of her documentary Miss Americana (I highly recommend watching it), Taylor goes into detail about the how the media would endlessly comment on her body to a point where she began to question her security and self-worth physically. Subsequently, Taylor goes into detail about what went through her mind when she worried about her body—including being self-conscious with her diet and having intrusive thoughts when she would see images of herself on the internet. These experiences are common among people who struggle with eating disorders; some people may hyperfocus on how much/what they’re eating, and others may have unwanted thoughts about their image such as “not being thin/fit/pretty/good enough”. To pull from Taylor’s own words in Miss Americana, “there’s always going to be some standard of beauty you don’t meet.”
On top of all that, during the time her eating disorder developed (between the 1989 and reputation eras), another infamous incident occurred[17]. Most people are aware of what happened in the 2009 VMAs; when Taylor was giving her speech for winning the “Best Female Music Video of the Year Award”, rapper Kanye West interrupted her then proceeded to go on about Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time, prompting people to boo at him. From the Miss Americana documentary, Taylor thought the audience was booing her, making herself believe she wasn’t worthy enough. There was a brief amendment between the two[18], up until Kanye released the song “Famous”. Not too long before that point, he called Taylor mentioning to her how he supposedly was going to get approval to release his song with some questionable lyrics. Taylor advised him [West] to not release it, but the latter proceeded to do so anyway. Upon the release of the song, it sent Taylor on a downward spiral, especially with the lyrics, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.”
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When the edited phone call between them was leaked, it was manipulated into making Taylor looking like the bad guy. Subsequently, Taylor notably removed all her social media and went invisible for a period time[19]. Not long after her inactivity, she released her everchanging album, reputation, with the hit singles “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” digging at Kanye. Taylor’s popularity and reputation slowly re-rose, bringing her closely back to right where she left her fans. Eventually in 2020, the entire phone call[20] between the two was leaked only to reveal that Kanye and Kim edited the call to save their faces, ultimately disproving that Kanye made her famous and diminishing his reputation. Funny enough as a side note, the couple divorced and Kanye made a series of controversial comments stripping away many of his endorsements, partnerships, and honorary titles. Reputation-era/Post-reputation Taylor would never be the same as she was in the past and would start a new beginning. Being more honest with how the music industry is and herself as a person, Taylor would incorporate that in her later music, such as her Lover and folklore albums.
-----------------[Content Warning: The following section addresses sexual violence]--------------
Eating disorders were unfortunately not the only thing that negatively affected Swift’s health. The artist accused DJ David Mueller of groping her at a meet and greet event that occurred in 2013[21]. Taylor doesn’t bring up this event until her documentary, seven years later. She also reveals in the documentary that the case would not go into trial until four years past the event in 2017. The jury found Mueller guilty of all charges pressed against him, having to pay the one dollar Swift filed against him in the lawsuit. According to Swift’s account[22], Mueller has not paid that dollar bill she asked and has currently been living off-grid ever since the incident.
Swift could have easily sued the man for much more, considering her wealth. However, why she chose to sue him for a dollar was an act of symbolism to change for better—to raise awareness of violence against women. In a world filled with privileged men ruling the world, women and female-presenting people’s voices of all backgrounds may be silenced. However, when intersectionality plays a factor, their voices are suppressed even more so. When people with significant platforms open up their personal experiences on sexual violence, it amplifies the voices of those who are unheard. Additionally, it educates people about sexual abuse awareness and encourages society to do what they can to stop it.
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Regardless of one’s opinion on her, it is hard to deny that Taylor Swift has made an impact on society, especially in the music and entertainment industries. Like most celebrities, her name and brand are so prominent that it can spark a debate between fans, critics, casual listeners, and hardcore haters alike. However, the thing that makes Taylor Swift stand out from others is her ability to adapt to her surroundings, in the sense of selling herself as personable and relatable (especially in her earlier days). She has risen to the top in the pop world, that at one point, was the number one artist on Spotify.
Being the larger-than-life artist that Taylor Swift is now, nearly twenty years of the evolving brand has fascinated people about who she is as a businesswoman and as a person. It’s amazing how Taylor Swift and Swifties can make good, bad, and ugly things happen: being a woman with a platform to call for change, being a mega-scale celebrity who is nearly just as privileged as any CEO, and having the craziest fandom on Twitter who attack her exes for no sane reason while also holding corporations accountable. When it comes to celebrity news (Taylor being no exception to the rule), there’s always going to be speculation as to what’s happening, and fans are hungry for constant updates.
Closing Note: Wow. I can’t believe this took me months to finish. There were times where I just felt like phoning it in and just posting it undone. However, when I wasn’t as busy with work or club commitments, I took advantage of that time to write down what was happening. I also wanted to note that since there was so much happening in the time I was writing this article, I figured to do a part two which will address more recent events about Taylor Swift. Most of all, I’d like to thank my friend and chief editor, Tanya Rogers in her generosity with providing a writing space for this article and time for me to write this, since we're both overachievers with busy schedules.
Part II will be released in late June 2023.
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