Taylor Swift seems to always be in the news, often for her music but more-often-than-not for the romantic relationships that she engages in. Often times, these comments that are made come off as shaming her for her dating life. After a recent break-up with singer Calvin Harris, she was spotted with Tom Hiddleston. This led to her name resurfacing in the news for reasons other than her music. Taylor Swift seems to have become the poster child for slut shaming. Many making jokes about how she will quickly release an album after the breakup with Harris, or how she simply only dates these men for “inspiration for her songs”.
When Ed Sheeran releases songs that are directed at people that he has previously dated, fans swoon over it. the same goes for when One Direction does it. Yet, whenever women do this it tends to be received in a different manner. Many often turn to shame the woman for releasing such information about the relationship, as is the case for Taylor Swift. However, many female singers manage to release songs, even entire albums, about past relationships and their fans, and non-fans, never seem to question it. I mean, Beyoncé wrote Lemonade about Jay-Z’s infidelity in her marriage, and no one saw fault in that (not that there was fault to be seen).
Taylor Swift is 26, going on 27 in December, she is dating like any normal 26-year-old would. Yet, she’s in the public spotlight and this leads to the public outcry of slut-shaming that occurs. And while this may seem minor, when it becomes what Swift is known for, it has a detrimental impact on her career and young girls who watch her and hear what people say about her. It teaches young girls that dating around is not ok and it’s something to be ridiculed, when in reality it isn’t. Further, the impact it has on her career and her image degrades and downplays the talent that she has and shares with her listeners. Regardless of if you’re her biggest fan or not, most people can admit that she’s talented, whether it be her voice or her songwriting abilities (if not, please listen to All Too Well and tell me that song isn’t beautifully written).
As a society, we should be aiming to move forward and attempt to eliminate the spread of slut shaming and the impact it has on society and modern culture, not continue to mindlessly spread it. At the end of the day, yes, Taylor Swift earns millions of dollars and puts herself in the public eye, so it is expected that there will be some harsh words said about her. However, these harsh words are all directed at shaming her for simply being herself and engaging in relationships with others.
It would be unfair to the article for me to end it without stating that, yes; I am a huge Taylor Swift fan. Her music has continued to be there for me throughout some incredibly rough patches in my life, and for that I am forever grateful to her. So yes that does bias this article slightly, as it comes from a fans point of view, however, I still believe that the attacks that are made towards her are unwarranted and I would continue to believe this regardless of if I was a fan of hers or not.
