Daily Readers,
Before we start, let me make a few things clear. I love dogs and dolphins. I love macaroni and cheese. I love overpriced lattes and Spider-Man movies. I love children’s movies with adult jokes (and celebrity voice actors, of course) and planning my obscure Halloween costumes 11 months in advance. But as weird as some of these things may be, no one has ever scoffed or rolled their eyes at me the way they do when I tell them I love Taylor Swift.
Honestly, I can trace all this back to my elementary school years. During the early 2010s (arguably the peak of “not like other girls”-ism), I would constantly tell people I just didn’t like Taylor Swift. But I loved her music, and I always had. My favorite song of all time was “You Belong With Me.” So why did I always feel the need to lie (especially to the boys in my class) about something I knew I liked? I was embarrassed to admit what I enjoyed out of fear that boys would laugh at me, or that they wouldn’t take me seriously. And in my eight-year-old eyes, music I thought was for teenage girls just didn’t seem respectable.
So why, then? Why did I feel so uncomfortable admitting something that wasn’t embarrassing? Why do I still fight the urge to preface my interest in Taylor Swift’s music with a “hear me out,” when I talk to men or to adults? It’s not like she’s suffering from a lack of success. But if there’s anything I’ve noticed, it’s that Taylor Swift has a reputation (no pun intended) as someone who makes music for teenage girls — writing songs about love and boys. And who could respect an artist who panders to that audience?
Taylor Swift definitely isn’t the first artist to be carried to stardom by the masses of teenage girls. From Frank Sinatra to Elvis to the Beatles, teen female fans have played pivotal roles in locating “greats” and single-handedly elevating their career. But what I find most interesting here isn’t necessarily teen girls’ role in boosting the music industry, but society’s reactions to their involvement. It’s not like middle-aged dads were jumping to be first in line for an Elvis or Beatles concert at the time of their initial successes. But now? You better believe I can’t get through a car ride with my dad without at least one play of “Suspicious Minds.”
I’m not saying that teenage girls are a superior brand of humans with impeccable taste. But I am saying that once teenage girls express an interest in something, that thing becomes embarrassing to the rest of the world. Yet when they back off and find a new artist to appreciate, society is suddenly able to give credit where credit is due and recognize a “great” — just with no appreciation to the group that carried them to stardom in the first place and stood by them when the rest of the world wouldn’t.
Once again, it all goes back to the primal, B.S. elementary school idea of “that’s for girls, this is for boys.” As long as teenage girls were screaming their poodle skirts off for Elvis, no “respectable” teenage boy or adult person could be seen enjoying the same music. The Beatles may have eventually reached a wider fanbase, becoming appreciated by nearly the whole world. But for a period of time, the band was “nothing more than noise” to the majority of listeners, who just couldn’t support a band associated with “mostly 14- to 15-year-old girls.” And nowadays, I see it still. I watch as my male friends discuss a popular TikTok song on their For You pages, only to see their faces drop when I reveal that it’s the bridge to Taylor Swift’s “cardigan.” And I’ve never seen anyone more embarrassed than a teenage boy asked what his favorite Taylor Swift song is. Seriously, the awkward shuffle, the “Uhhh”, the pretending to forget the name of “Love Story” even though every member of Gen-Z knows the whole song by heart: It’s a whole routine.
So what’s so embarrassing about teenage girls that the world would rather miss out on genius and high-quality music than be associated with our interests? In decades past, it’s been a matter of fear of being associated with the female fangirl population. But in recent years, it’s been a matter of something different: specifically, a fear of being associated with the stereotypically feminine topics typically present in Taylor Swift’s music.
Swift’s music often focuses on the love she experiences in her life. But here’s where the signals often get crossed — as a result of lazy media and tabloid gossip, Swift has earned a reputation for her past relationships and even been labeled a “serial dater” (because God forbid a woman dates in her late teens and early twenties). But from writing about her loss of a loved one, to her love of a friend, to her love of a place to her love of love itself, Taylor Swift has made her living off of love — not just off of romance.
I’m sick of having to say “She doesn’t just write about romance,” like that’s such a bad thing. I’m sick of seeing people sneer and say “Doesn’t she just write about her exes?” like that’s not something most artists do. If Taylor Swift knows how to write a mean love song, why shouldn’t she lean into her strong suit? Why should her love songs and the sparkly dresses she performs them in counteract the genius of her lyricism? Why should love, emotion and other stereotypically feminine ideas cause society to become embarrassed by an association with her music, if not for a societal fear of femininity?
So, before I finish, let me tell you a few more things I’m sick of.
I’m sick of people implying that fans of Elvis, Sinatra and the Beatles cared less about the music and more about the cute boys onstage, implying that there’s no way young female fans may actually know what they’re talking about.
I’m sick of feeling embarrassed by my love for an artist with a lucrative, decades-long career and the unofficial title of “the music industry” (RIP, Barbara Walters) because other people allow sexist and patriarchal misconceptions to shape the way they listen to music.
I’m sick of running away from my interests because the world is so desperately afraid to be feminine. So, Taylor fans, next time you’re asked your favorite artist, hold your head up high and tell them. Femininity is a lot of things, but it sure as hell shouldn’t be embarrassing.
Happy listening!
Love,
A Teenage Girl
Daily Arts Writer Olivia Tarling can be reached at tarling@umich.edu.