A FORMAL APOLOGY TO TAYLOR SWIFT

By: Ashly Tenio

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Taylor Swift, an American country turned pop singer is a well-known household name nationwide and around the globe. We know our beloved “Miss Americana” through her contributions in songwriting, publicly humiliating Kanye scandals, and of course, being the end of the stick on notions of slut-shaming in the early 2010s.

Swift was exposed to fame when she debuted in Nashville, Tennessee with her song: “Tim McGraw” that charted on the Billboards 100. Her fame skyrocketed when she released her second album “Fearless” in 2008, which garnered timeless hits like: “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me”. Her “not like other girls” persona captured the ears of many teenage girls and revived the relevance of country music. She collected many awards including her first-ever Album of the Year for the Grammys.

A teenager blossoming in front of paparazzi cameras, Swift’s success was a linear path to her becoming a young icon to many. Although, despite her musical success and increasing fans, the media seemed to have their fun dragging Swift down with baseless headlines. Swift, instead of being patted on the back for her witty hits and upbeat country songs, was beginning to see a shift in the reality of fame when she began dating popular public figures.

Instead of being admired for the prose of her writing, she was diminished as a woman with a figuratively red scarlet letter in her chest. To reclaim her good girl image, Swift did not make comments about these headlines and instead, spun the “shame” into art that got played on the radio daily. Reclaiming the narrative of her love life and her heartbreak, the media was unfortunately still relentless and painted her out to be some man-eater who profited off of failed relationships.

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Swift became slightly more outspoken about her experiences in the media with misogyny, though was brushed off due to consumer culture being drawn to negativity and light bullying. Many young girls, like me, denied Taylor Swift and her music when asked who I listened to, due to the embarrassment of listening to a “generic” female artist who “only writes about her exes.” Yikes.

In this day and age, as young ladies embraced being sharp-minded women, it seems as if the media has been kinder to Swift as the years of celebrity culture, slightly became enlightened about the struggles of female artists and the perception the media paints them to be. Today fellow young ladies who were basically raised to Swift’s discography have been stepping out into the daylight with their professed admiration for the pop singer.

So, to Taylor Swift who has been slaughtered in the media, I am sorry for once joining the hate train. Today I dance in my bedroom with the windows open blasting Taylor’s Version of “Fearless” with zero shame. The media has been cruel and continues to be, but as an individual one can choose to formulate their own kinder opinions about others who make positive impacts on communities.