Why does Taylor Swift get so much criticism for dating? She's a beautiful young woman; of course she's going to date. Unfortunately, the criticism she gets has its roots in sexism.
I'm not here to defend Taylor Swift against criticisms that she only focuses on "white feminism." Maybe she does. No, I'm here to defend her against all of the name-calling and shaming she gets for dating and then writing songs about those relationships.
Since Taylor Swift entered the spotlight around 2008, she has had eight high-profile romances. The list goes as follows:
1. Joe Jonas: July 2008 – October 2008
2. Taylor Lautner: August 2009 – November 2009
3. John Mayer: November 2009 – February 2010
4. Jake Gyllenhaal: October 2010 – January 2011
5. Conor Kennedy: July 2012 – September 2012
6. Harry Styles: December 2012 – January 2013
7. Calvin Harris: March 2015 – June 2016
8. Tom Hiddleston: June 2016 – Today
So let's do the math. That's eight relationships in eight years. That's hardly a serial dater.
Men in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio for example, date tons of people back to back and receive little to no criticism.
We need to stop calling Taylor Swift a slut. The term is almost always used to shame women for their dating choices. We need to stop shaming women for their choices.
As for her breakup with Calvin Harris and prompt union with Tom Hiddleston, so what? The only people who know the real story of what happened are Swift and Harris. Frankly, it's none of our business. Maybe it was a poor decision, but we all make poor decisions with regards to dating. Ours just aren't publicized and gossiped about in tabloids.
Another criticism towards Swift is along the lines of, "Maybe the problem is her!" Maybe. Maybe not. We like to pretend that we know everything about celebrity's relationships, but the reality is that we don't. Just because a woman dates, on average, one guy a year does not mean that there's something inherently wrong with her. She's probably still figuring out what she wants in a relationship, and being in the spotlight adds an extra difficulty to her relationships.
One of the largest criticisms of Swift is that she only writes songs about her relationships. First of all, she has a few songs that are not about romantic relationships. Second of all, that's what SO MUCH music centers around, not just Taylor Swift's music. Breakups, romance, and relationships are inspiration for many artists. Rarely are men criticized for only producing songs about relationships. This is a completely gendered criticism. On the other hand, if she had been singing about partying, she would be criticized for that as well, much like Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha.
Because Taylor Swift is a high-profile celebrity, we think we know enough about her to make a judgment. The fact is that we don't. The only person who knows the truth about her relationships is Taylor herself. We need to stop criticizing women for dating. We need to stop criticizing women for every decision they make.
