So, here I am, perusing the internet, sipping a coffee, and I see an article titled “Time 2023 Person of the Year. Taylor Swift.” This was cause for pause…
To make matters more interesting, I then happened upon a post on threads that read, “It’s shameful and sad that a hyper-promiscuous, childless woman (Taylor Swift), aging and alone with a cat, has become the heroine of a feminist age.” The post featured the cover of Time Magazine.
Full-stop!
I am not a swiftie, or I don’t think I am. I find her music catchy, relatable, and enjoyable, but I don’t rush out to purchase her albums; I don’t own any paraphernalia, buy merch, or attend her concerts. I do have her songs in several of my playlists. My favorite album she has released is hands down ‘Folklore,’ and my favorite song is, ‘I Knew You Were Trouble.’ If that makes me a Swiftie, then so be it.
The cause for the pause I mentioned above was so that I could read the article with express interest. It was well written and an homage to Swift’s life over the past 20 years, starting with a 30-second story about Kenny Chesney and going through her Kanye West debacles and her comeback. There were a lot of great quotes from Taylor in this article, and also some stories I was unaware of. You can read it as I linked above; it’s worth it.
The post on Threads didn’t catch me off-guard, but I went down the rabbit hole of the comments section to see what was being said. Not surprisingly, the Swifties came to her defense.
What I can appreciate about Taylor Swift is her ability to stay ahead of the curve, her ingenuity, and her perfectly crafted format for success. If you look at the beginning of her career, her songwriting and relatability are the #1 factors of her continued success. She can take unique and complex life experiences, weave them into a lyrical web, and underlay them with catchy melodies and backing tracks. Her mastery in this act creates an unparalleled connection with her music. Her storytelling artistry is second to none; she has carved out a piece of history on her terms.
Another area I appreciate about Taylor Swift is her ability to convey to young women everywhere they can do, be, see, act, and live exactly how they want. Taylor’s life is a testament to a woman’s ability to dominate and rise above all obstacles. All women and girls need that kind of messaging: a strong narrative highlighting that women have options. They have an identity of their own, in their own right, without needing anyone else.
You will learn if you stick around that I am a feminist. I do not hate men; I am not anti-man, and I am not the type of person to believe a man has to lose for women to win. I am a feminist in the way that equality has to exist, opportunity has to exist, and equity has to exist for all women as it does for men. A man doesn’t need a woman to thrive, and a woman doesn’t need a man to thrive.
We have seen men win in all arenas for centuries, so it is significant to know women, such as Taylor Swift, can win on her terms. She exemplifies to men and women everywhere that you do not need to go about life like anyone else. You do not need to subscribe to the status quo. You can take her bypassing studios and making a deal directly with AMC as an example to understand that she does not take the path most followed; She carves it for herself.
In the past 25 years, only 16% of Time Magazine’s covers have featured a woman. If you look, you will find four featured a woman alone, and three were grouped in with men. Having Taylor Swift stand alone and be this year’s Person Of The Year is a big step in the right direction for our society. You are going to find men and sometimes women who will try to discount and discredit successful women and make unnecessary comments and ludicrous claims because it challenges their misogynistic narrative.
The fact remains Taylor Swift is a genius-level entertainer with insane business acumen, a reality-bending strategist, and responsible for economic booms wherever her tour landed this year.
So, what is this world coming to? Other than a chaotic dumpster fire of divisive politics and wars happening worldwide? Finally, it has come a time when women can be celebrated as massively as men have been since the beginning. It is a time when a ‘thirty-three-year-old childless cat mother, aging and alone (he didn’t fact check), can be heralded as the person of the year. And it’s about damn time!
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