Taylor Swift and the message she sends to the young women of today

Before I even begin this post, let me just say I do not wish to “bash” or hate on Miss Swift. I’m sure she’s a wonderful human being and I respect her for becoming so successful at such a young age. However, the message she is sending to her demographic of fans (10-18 year old girls, mostly) is an alarming one.

In some of her songs, she slut-shames the “evil” woman she’s singing about. In her song “Better Than Revenge,” a line in the chorus is as follows;

She’s not a saint and she’s not what you think; she’s an actress. She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.

She does not explicitly call the female a slut, but it is most definitely implied.

In another one of her songs, “You Belong With Me,” she sings about a guy and how he, well, belongs with her. That is not the most irksome factor. I am not here to condemn feelings of wanting, people! The video on the other hand is what irks me. Swift portrays both female characters in the video. The first one, herself, is dressed in jeans, an oversized sweater and wears glasses. The other character is the clichéd mean girl. She’s the cheerleader who wears short skirts and high heels. Taylor Swift is not the first person to send this message across. As I stated above, it is indeed a cliché. However, most pieces of culture (movies, books etc,) have a higher rating and are only seen by teenagers and young adults. But, miss Swift’s fan base usually begins with 10 year olds. If they hear this message from an early age, it will never leave their heads and they will probably grow up to have the same views as Taylor herself.

Not only does she slut shame. Oh no! It goes on to making herself the victim. There is only one song where she apologizes for breaking someone’s heart (Back to December). Now I’m sure she has had her heart broken and I can only imagine how she must have felt. It is not a pleasurable feeling for anyone. But she needs to stop hanging onto these men and writing vindictive songs about them. This woman is twenty-two and she acts like a 14 year-old when a relationship ends. It’s okay to have a cry about a guy, especially if you were in love, but you just gotta move on. Maybe even be single for a while? Men are not everything and you should not let a relationship define you.

As I conclude my ranting story, I wish to restate my opening sentence. I am not here to bash Miss Swift. No, I respect her as a person, and some of the things she stands for are good for the young people of today. She’s never been caught drinking or doing drugs and is strongly against doing them. That’s a wonderful thing for young women to see and be exposed to. However, I wish her songs didn’t send such bad messages sometimes. If they didn’t, I feel like she’d be the perfect person for young women to model themselves after.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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