Reading any opinion piece on Taylor Swift always comes with the risk of being enraged but there’s one currently doing the rounds on the internet that had my jaw on the floor.

Admittedly, I am a Swiftie and proud to say it so I’m naturally inclined to side with her but I’d like to think that most people, Swiftie or not, would be left with thoughts after reading a post on Newsweek titled Taylor Swift Is Not a Good Role Model. Miriam O’Callaghan called the article ‘outrageous and laughable’ while Maia Dunphy said the piece was ‘almost comical’ and she’d be cancelling a subscription so I’m not alone.

In the post, the author argues that although Taylor’s ‘economic impact is extremely beneficial’, she’s not a great role model for young women and girls because ‘at 34 she remains unmarried and childless’. A quick reminder here that, yes, it is 2024.
PIC: PATRICK SMITH/GETTY IMAGES
The author does go on to say ‘some might argue [the fact Taylor is unmarried] is irrelevant to her status as a role model’ (hi, it’s going to be me) but that they believe this is ‘crucial to consider what kind of example’ it sets.

‘We must ask if her personal life choices are ones we want our sisters and daughters to emulate. This might sound like pearl-clutching preaching, but it’s a concern rooted in sound reasoning,’ they say before listing several of Taylor’s past high-profile relationships and mentioning her current with American footballer Travis Kelce who surprised her in Dublin on Sunday.

Describing her past relationships as being a ‘revolving door’ and asking if any ‘loving parent reading this [would] want their daughter to date 12 different men in the span of just a few years?’ the point is really hammered home.

TAYLOR SWIFT PERFORMS ON STAGE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM. PIC: GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
The author’s next point is about the patriarchy and I’ve never been inclined to shout the famous line from All Too Well louder after reading it. They suggest that Taylor’s ‘rallying cry against patriarchal structures stands in stark contrast to her personal dating choices’ so again we’re back to her relationship status.

This is 2024 – have we not moved past being a wife and mother being the most important thing in a woman’s life? What about everything else Taylor has achieved? Admittedly, the piece does mention her ‘economic impact’ through the beast that is the Eras Tour but what about how, as another post doing the rounds at the moment says, Taylor has done more to end food poverty in the UK than the government after donating to food banks in the cities where she’s taken the Eras Tour? That’s fantastic and if my daughter did that, I’d be pretty proud. 12 boyfriends behind them or not.
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As a Swiftie, I wouldn’t be of the opinion that Taylor is anti getting married either. Lots of her songs are about marriage – Love Story and Paper Rings – to name the very obvious ones but yes marriage does crop up in less positive lights in other songs as well.

In imgonnagetyouback Taylor sings ‘whether I’m gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet’ then there’s the heart-wrenching ‘at dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on and that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding’ in The Tortured Poets Department and ‘the only kind of girl they see is a one-night or a wife’ in Lavender Haze.

I’d argue, again as a Swiftie and well aware that I’m biased, that she shows marriage, and relationships in general, in a multi-layered way and instead of thinking of her having several exes (who doesn’t?) in a bad light, it’s more positive in Taylor knows what she wants and what she won’t put up with.
TAYLOR SWIFT WORE THE COLOURS OF THE WELSH FLAG AS SHE PERFORMED IN CARDIFF. PIC: SHIRLAINE FORREST/TAS24/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Instead of asking ‘if her personal life choices are ones we want our sisters and daughters to emulate’ like the author of the Newsweek opinion piece does, I’d instead ask do we want our sisters and daughters to stay in unhealthy relationships?

Taylor’s lyrics are up for interpretation and Swifties have plenty of theories about what they mean but the ring line in The Tortured Poets Department and pretty much all of All Too Well (10 Minute Version) don’t paint Taylor’s past loves in the best of lights. Do we really want our sisters and daughters sitting around waiting for men when ‘turning 21 is meant to be fun’ or ‘weeping in a party bathroom’ over a boy?

The Newsweek opinion piece concludes by focusing on Taylor’s music saying that ‘Swift makes breakups look easy. In reality, though, they are messy, painful affairs’ before adding that women feel ‘more emotional pain’ than men. Sorry, but I have to wonder if the author has listened to Taylor’s music? The idea that she makes breakups look easy is laughable to this Swiftie. Instead, I’d suggest that Taylor shows how difficult breakups can be to navigate but that sometimes they’re needed.

TAYLOR SWIFT PERFORMS ONSTAGE IN NASHVILLE. PIC: GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

Taylor does admit her faults in music as well. For example, in Back To December she sings ‘so this is me swallowin’ my pride, standin’ in front of you sayin’ I’m sorry for that night’ so it’s not like she comes out completely unscathed from her songs.

Finally, what is wrong with feeling feelings? Maybe women do feel the impact of breakups more (and I know lots of men who would disagree) but so what if they do? Isn’t it a good thing to work through your feelings, no matter your gender? I’m inclined to believe Swifties would agree.