Why is it cool to hate Taylor Swift

Actually, it’s cool to hate women in general and shame everything we do.

More than cool, it’s … expected… Shaming women is what we do and what we expect to be done. It’s the norm. The status quo. It’s just… How things are, right?

The above is the answer as concisely as possible, but since I do have to write this article, let’s go a little deeper.

With Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the movie Barbie and Women's World Cup, 2023 has been filled with conversations about women and what it really means to be one. About our pains and pleasures, our experiences, our needs and desires. And TS takes it seriously. She takes us seriously.

Taylor Swift is an incredibly talented artist.

Let’s get to the evidence that supports that claim:

She has?12 Grammy Awards, 14 MTV Video Music Awards and almost 100 Guinness World Records.

She will most likely surpass?$1 billion?in gross ticket sales during the Eras Tour, according to Fortune.

With her album Midnights, she became the first and only artist in history to chart all top 10 Billboard Hot 100 spots, reveals the Insider.

We could spend literally days talking about her accomplishments and achievements.

But, from where I stand, her most incredible one is making millions of girls around the world relate to her music and enjoy it.

So why are Swifties so shamed?

Taylor herself was/is shammed throughout her career.

Why? Because she is a woman who celebrates the joys and pains of being a girl. She is a girl who makes music, content, and art for other girls. And things being made regardless of male existence is a really dangerous thing for the patriarchy.

A strong community of women, be it Taylor Swift’s fan base or the 4B movement, is an extremely powerful thing with an immense potential for change.

So shaming Taylor is not just about ‘putting her back at her place’, it’s about making sure we all stay there.

They shamed her for dating. Also, for not dating. For being thin. Also, for being fat. For smiling too much. Also, for not smiling enough. For trying to fit in. Also, for being authentic…

They did, and they do that to her, just like they did and do for each and every one of us women. Anyway, we will be crying, singing and dancing about it in every Eras Tuor concert. If that bothers you, you should really wonder why…

Her songs are about girls and girly things

Young female enthusiasm has always been seen as shameful. If it’s a ‘girl's thing’, it’s a futile thing.? Society tells girls the most important thing they can ever be is pretty, and then shame them for trying to gain that "title".

We shame girls for being on diets, for liking make-up, doing our nails, and caring about fashion. We classify all that as futile and unimportant. We judge girls for trying to fit into the standards that were forced upon them. And we judge girls who don't desperately try to fit in even harder.

There is the idea that enjoying sentimental/feminine/girly things makes girls less capable of rationality and reason. That liking those things, liking Taylor Swift, makes them unworthy of the same intellectual respect dedicated to men.

This is about making women smaller. This is about undermining their intellects, interests and capabilities. And making women believe that is the system’s cruellest trick.

The hysteria myth

To this day, the hysteria myth affects women and how they are perceived.

In ancient Greece, where it was believed that a wandering uterus caused “emotional and physical ailments in women”. During the 19th century, women's physical and mental health issues were often attributed to their reproductive systems. The pathologisation of women's emotions and behaviours reinforced the notion that they were fundamentally flawed and required control.

The hysteria myth served to silence women's voices and suppress their personalities. Women's legitimate grievances and desires were and are dismissed as irrational and linked to their supposed inherent emotional instability.

This resulted in a society that is very quick to associate many, if not all, women’s feelings as "hysterics." And who is more “hysterical” than a fan girl?

I end this article with some words from Taylor Swifit during an interview:

“I don’t think you should ever have to apologise for your excitement. Just because it is something that it’s cliché, it doesn’t mean that it’s not something that is awesome.

The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb or stupid for being excited about something.”

In other words, treat women, their stories, dreams and desires with the same respect you treat men. Be supportive. If being supportive is way above your league, just be kind. If you can’t be kind, just be quiet.

#TaylorSwift #PopCulture #Feminism #GenZ #GenerationZ #TheErasTour