Taylor Swift, one of the biggest and best-known musicians of this generation, is either loved or hated, and has been since her debut country album Taylor Swift was released in 2006. The media generally, has hated. Researching Taylor Swift leads you to her dating history, how she plays the field, her “feud” with Kanye West and her “crazy, “obsessive fans”. Even after trying to find out why she is hated so much by the media, it leads you nowhere. So, the reason why she’s the brunt of hate and gossip? At its core misogyny. Why internally, is there a root of dislike toward her? Swift wears her emotions on her sleeve and harnesses this, something is presented as a weakness. Being emotional is frowned upon and consistently dismissed, but Swift, along with her (rightful) anger and confidence emboldens her feelings, creating these songs that depict her inner self, embracing every part of this. It can be difficult to observe and even support this if you yourself haven’t harnessed and embraced these sentiments.
Why internally, is there a root of dislike toward her?
Although a lot more widely liked and revered now, previously, the media has successfully led an accolade of jealousy and disgust against Swift. I think most would agree it’s because society cannot stand to see an incredibly successful women, being one of the best, in a traditionally male dominated field. Swift’s work is discredited, mocked as just being about her ex’s, while she is constantly being expected to alternate her music. The speed at which the #TaylorSwiftisoverparty hashtag trended on twitter, highlights this bandwagon of hate, and how eager the media was to bring her down in 2016. Social Media and news outlets, questioning why Swift was upset when she was called a bitch in one of Kanye West’s songs, yet he received innumerable stunts of support.
Despite being a lot more popular and widely accepted, people still find it “different” dislike Taylor Swift, discrediting her song writing and herself as a person. But why am I calling this sexist? When we compare Swift to any male artist of similar stature to her, think The Weeknd, Harry Styles and Drake, absolutely none receive as much dislike or condemnation as Swift. Similar events and incidents are treated as polar opposites, think 2016, when she couldn’t do anything right, think of the constant jabs about her ex’s and the oh so common and reductive “she only writes songs about men”. To conclude, I think it’s pretty easy to see why she receives an inordinate amount of dislike and hate, sexism in the music industry is clear to see, and really not hidden anymore. It’s totally fine to dislike Swift’s songs and music, we all like different music, but it’s not okay to dehumanise her and hold her to opposing and impossible standards like the media has trained us to.