I’m actually nervous to write this post, but I think that’s a great reason to do it. I’ve written about Taylor Swift on this blog before and mentioned her countless times but I was reinspired once again by the latest headlines surrounding her.

Yes, this is kind of about the booing at the NFL game – but it’s not what you think.

It’s Not Always Misogyny

That’s my hot take. Any criticism of Taylor Swift is often deemed by Swifites, fans or general admirers as misogyny.

Now I am not denying that a lot of the conversations around Taylor, and women in the industry in general, are misogynistic, because there certainly is a lot of that.

misogyny

(noun) dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women

I’m sure a lot of people hate her because she’s a woman; I’m sure a lot of these people were in the crowds at the football game the other night.

There is no denying that being a woman makes it harder to see success in any field – even the one Taylor is at the top of right now.

There is so much evidence to prove that misogyny is a behind a lot of things regarding Taylor Swift’s reputation and the conversations around her; I don’t think you need me to dive into that.

What I do want to talk about is the hate that derives from the other side.

The Other Side (Of The Door)

Moving past the fact that a lot of people booing Taylor Swift, are probably, misogynistic. Whether they realise it or not, there’s just something about this artist they do not like (she’s a woman).

Patriarchal standards that make us uncomfortable seeing a successful, liberated woman, especially one of these women in male-dominated spaces, like a football game or in the entertainment industry.

However, my hot take is that not all hate comes from this place.

Perhaps hate is too strong a word, but any criticism against Taylor Swift eventually becomes a surface-level feminist argument, because the critic is deemed a misogynist right off the bat, and I don’t think that’s right.

They may very well be a misogynistic – but that’s not always the case. Anyone can be a misogynistic, whether you realise it or not. Sometimes the deep rooted feelings you have may be misogynistic in nature, despite calling yourself a feminist or think you’re pretty liberated – I’m still working through a lot of stuff on this.

However, I do think there’s room outside of this whole thing to just have an opinion on a public figure, a celebrity and artist. Sometimes, it just isn’t that deep.

You Need To Calm Down

I feel like a lot of this blog post is pre-empting the response I have going on in my head (as I mentioned, I’m nervous about this, which is silly), but I want to make it clear to you:

• I’m a feminist
• I like Taylor Swift (I went to the Eras tour!)
• I understand misogyny and the fact it can come from people of all genders, including internally
• I’m constantly working through my own opinions, beliefs and thoughts
• I’m left-leaning

However, I also want to explore the other reasons why people may not like Taylor Swift without it being related to her gender.

There was a fantastic TikTok of a street interview about this from a few years ago. If you’ve seen it, then you already know where I’m coming from (as I do not have the app, I cannot link it). In this interview, the girl claims her ‘unpopular opinion’ is that Taylor Swift essentially uses feminism as an excuse to fight her haters – essentially, claiming all criticism is from a hatred of women, which is not always the case.

Even as a fan, I can say there are plenty of reasons to dislike her or disagree with her from across her career that have nothing to do with her gender.

Screaming ‘you just hate women’ every time valid criticism comes up defeats the point – heck, even when there is no valid criticism, but someone says ‘I just don’t like her’, it might not be about hating women.

One of my least favourite Taylorisms online is the concept that people who hate Taylor Swift, hate women.

While I can see areas where this may be true, based on the reasons people provide for not liking her, this does not eradicate the fact that some people just don’t her music/they don’t like her as a public figure.

There are some celebrities, public figures or even just people I see on the street that I don’t like that has nothing to do with my deep-rooted hatred of their gender.

For example, if you don’t like pop music, you won’t like Taylor Swift. No matter how good her music is, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea and sometimes this is all there is to it.

As much as Swifites want to make it more than this all the time, it’s not. And claiming that all criticism is misogyny takes away the validity of genuine concerns when sexist bullshit comes up.

It’s okay to not like her music or not care about her latest tour. The same way I don’t care about the NFL or any other sporting event for that matter. This doesn’t mean that I hate men or football players or whatever, it just means I’m not interested.

I understand the concern of misogyny and why people want to have these conversations. But constantly defending arguably the biggest female artist in the world, a renowned billionaire, isn’t always in favour of the greater good.

It’s a good conversation to have and can even be productive at times, but you’re not always right. And that’s okay.

If I Were A Man, I’d Be The Man

The people at the NFL might have be booing Taylor Swift because she’s a woman in a male-dominated space or because she’s linked to some shady people. They may be booing her because she supports the Chiefs or because she’s a young woman. (They might have been booing her because MAGA and that terrifying circle, but that’s not the conversation for today either)

It is harder out there for women, I understand and I appreciate that. I will never try to take that away from someone, even if they are a conventionally attractive, hugely successful, white, billionaire. Because as Gretchen Wieners says, “that’s just, like, the rules of feminism”.

I don’t really have a conclusion to this post, nor a nice way to round it off. Essentially, the TL;DR not all criticism of Taylor Swift is misogynistic. A lot of it is, sure but not everything.

That being said, I do think it’s part of our pop culture to hate Taylor Swift. It is the ‘cool thing’ to do. A big part of my Pick-Me Recovery was realising I loved Taylor Swift’s music, so much so I went to the Eras Tour and sobbed.

There is also another conversation we could have here about our obsession with celebrity, commenting on public figures, etc. But that’s too much for today.

It is possible for two things to be right at the same time – misogynists hate Taylor Swift, but not all criticism is linked to misogyny.

Of course, if you think I’m completely in the wrong here, let me know. I’m always excited to learn more and change.

Now, I don’t know why, but I have the urge to dance in a storm in my best dress…

Speak soon,

Rachael

Photo by Rosa Rafael on Unsplash