Taylor Swift has always been one of my favorite artists: as a matter of fact, I’ve been to three of her old-era shows (RED once, 1989 twice), but I grew up hearing people talk badly about her. It was never “cool” to listen to Taylor, and it was mainly because of the idea that her music was only about breakups and she dated too many men. Nowadays, I don’t hear anyone talking about it, and with her recent Eras Tour ticket debacle, it seems as if everyone has forgotten. I wouldn’t consider myself the biggest Swiftie by a long shot, but Taylor Swift deserves an apology from all of us. Specifically, though, from men.
Taylor’s career has been plagued with misogyny. The subject of her songs has always been a source for criticism, but the hate towards her really revved up in July of 2017. After Kanye West used her name in his song Famous, people were much more willing to believe his and Kim Kardashian’s side of the story, even though Taylor had stated that the way her name was used made her uncomfortable. West wrote, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b—- famous.”
Taylor had agreed to her name being used, however, this was not the way she had originally agreed to. The narrative had completely changed for Taylor; men in her situation would not have had the same issues with their reputation that she did. This has happened countless times in her career, and she has served as a scapegoat for a lot of misogynistic ideas. Oftentimes, too, it completely overshadows her accomplishments and successes.
Taylor has won 11 Grammy Awards, the Album of the Year award three times, has been nominated for the Grammys a whopping total of 42 times, and has topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts several times. Her Reputation tour remains the highest grossing U.S. tour of all time, as it brought in $266.1 million in revenue. She has constantly broken glass ceilings for female artists over the last 15 years and has proven herself as a more than capable musician. But when it comes to conversations about Taylor Swift, most people only think of how many ex-boyfriends she’s written about. Even my closest guy friends groan when I put Taylor Swift on. Taylor has been jeered at, talked over, and laughed at by the men of this country for years.
Taylor does write about her exes; but for me and so many other listeners, what she writes about is so incredibly relatable. She captures the essence of being talked over as a woman, not feeling listened to in relationships, and feeling inadequate or “less than” the female media image. In her recent Midnights album, Swift writes in her song “Question..?”, “Can I ask you a question? / Did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room? / And every single one of your friends was making fun of you / But fifteen seconds later they were clapping, too?” Although songs like these are so personal to her, their themes translate beautifully to many people’s experiences, especially in regard to the male gaze and feeling like an “object.”
I’ve noticed lately that people almost act surprised at Taylor Swift’s success, especially with the recent Eras Tour ticket controversy. I’ve also noticed this surprise comes from men, more often than not. While it almost always disappoints me, it never shocks me. Male celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio with 20+ ex-girlfriends are praised as “dating gods” while women like Taylor with almost half that amount of exes are shamed. Taylor deserves an apology for the relentless media scrutiny that she has faced over her career. Taylor’s exes don’t matter; her talent does. She owes no apologies and does not have to prove herself because she chooses to write about her exes. No woman should be made to publicly apologize for her dating life as she has, and I hope everyone can come to that conclusion soon.
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