A lot of the hate Taylor Swift received/receives seems to stem from her dating life. She has had some very public relationships and breakups: Jake Gyllenhaal, Calvin Harris and Tom Hiddleston are amongst her more famous exes. When researching Taylor’s exes, I found that some of her male colleagues have dated a lot more people than she has who are equally as famous. Justin Timberlake and John Mayer both have pretty extensive lists. Yet, they do not seem to get as much attention as Taylor does when it comes to their dating lives. At first, I thought it was because she writes songs about her exes, but so do the rest of them. There is no logical reason for Taylor to receive the amount of hate she does when it comes to her dating life. Even if Taylor Swift dated all of the men in Hollywood, she should not be talked about the way she is. One of the main reasons why Taylor Swift is hated seems to be deeply seated in internalized misogyny. The idea of people hating her because she dates too much is outrageous. Male celebrities have jumped from woman to woman, yet nothing is said because “boys will be boys.” This narrative of girls dating too much is harmful to young girls growing up. Girls and women alike should not be sl*t-shamed for dating. Dating should be fun, and women should not have to worry about if they are “easy” if they date or sleep with a certain number of men.
Taylor Swift also seems to be told that she plays the victim quite often. These accusations stem from the Kanye West scandal circa 2009. It is important to note that this scandal started when 32-year-old Kanye got on stage and interrupted a 20-year-old Taylor for winning a VMA. Why was a 32-year-old so pressed over a 20-year-old accomplishing something? If Queen Bee herself did not care, what made him feel like he had the right to do what he did? Kanye West also made a song that discussed Taylor in an unseemly light. When she publicly discussed her disdain for the way she was talked about, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West called her a liar and released a snippet of a phone call, which put Kanye as being the good guy. Earlier this year, the entire phone call was leaked, proving that Taylor’s account was not wrong.
Unfortunately, many still maintain that Taylor has a victim mentality. They have gone beyond this scandal and adapted to other reasons as to why she plays the victim. One article I found talked about her supposed victim mentality because of her song “The Man.” The article talks about her femininity has only been an asset and not a burden like her song states. “The Man” is about how this is a man’s world and that it is not okay. The fact that someone twisted the song to push this portrayal of Taylor being a bad person goes to show how it is a man’s world. No one should be patronized for speaking against an issue that is universally known amongst a particular group of people.
Taylor is a role model and should be recognized as one. She is politically active and donates to organizations and individuals that need it. She has been donating publicly since 2011. She has donated to organizations and individuals alike. Taylor has donated thousands of dollars to fans for medical bills and living costs. Even during the pandemic, she has been helping her fans financially. In 2012 she released “Ronan,” which was about a young boy who died from cancer, and she donated all the proceeds to multiple different cancer charities. She is constantly advocating for women’s, POC and LGBTQ+ rights.
Taylor Swift is definitely looked at under a harsher light then her male counterparts. The outright misogyny towards her causes so many people to believe she is an awful role model and person. The hate towards her is very much unwarranted and deserves to be recognized. It took me a couple of years to acknowledge that the reason why I hated her was because Hollywood was pushing this narrative against a young girl who was breaking this glass ceiling and standing up for herself.