The Taylor Swift Effect

After reading many blog posts online and many peoples comments on news websites I thought I would have a rant about the latest Taylor Swift drama and give my view on the subject..

I have been a fan of Swift ever since I discovered her first ever music video Tim McGraw on YouTube in 2006 and since then I have been lucky enough to see her perform in the UK at every single available opportunity, I have also been lucky enough to meet her mum, bandmates and almost the superstar herself multiple times. Reading comments online about her being a 'slut' and a 'whore' have this funny way of offending me too. Since the release of her latest album her popularity seems to be increasing as she has suddenly moved from the country market to the pop charts but this hasn't come without it's criticisms. 

Yes, she writes her songs about relationships and the emotions that come with them

Yes, she names and shames in half of her songs

Yes, she might come across as whiney and annoying and the only thing worth having is a boyfriend

BUT..

What songs nowadays aren't about the subject of romance? Isn't it nicer that young girls are listening to songs about one day finding their prince charming and falling in love rather than going into a club and getting drunk? 

''Taylor Swift’s life revolves around being in a relationship and that makes her a negative role model for young girls.'

I could understand this completely if it had some kind of truth in it but it does not at all, it's a popular topic in her songs I agree but first off, just because her songs revolve around love most of the time does not mean her life revolves around love. She writes love songs and if you don’t enjoy her music because it is too relationship-centered then stop listening to her. I do not respect the people that criticize her simply because she writes about relationships. I think the reason she writes most about love is because it’s a large part of her life, and also because it has become her 'thing' no matter if you like it or not, she's not going to be stopping that for anybody because all of her fans like her for the exact same reason. 

“After hearing my songs, a lot of people ask me, ‘How many boyfriends have you HAD?’ And I always tell them that more of my songs come from observation than actual experience. In other words, you don’t have to date someone to write a song about them.”

—	Taylor Swift

There is nothing wrong with naming the people who hurt her, she's a well known celebrity most of her relationships are public it's bound to happen and I'm sure that her suitors are well aware of this, it's what she's known for after all.

If you full on believe that she so called 'slut shames' (which I am not entirely convinced of), than DON’T LISTEN TO HER MUSIC. It’s as simple as that. If that one line in that one song (better than revenge, the one example I have found of it) has turned you off her music forever, so be it. Stop listening to her and don’t buy her music.

'Taylor Swift only dates guys to write songs'

So what if she has supposedly dated alot of guys or you're favourite celebrity crush, this by no means means that she is a bad person, the amount of people someone has been with does not convey there character at all at the end of the day it's her choice and if she wants to write about it then she can all she wants. The media is obsessed with tearing apart her love life, there is no celebrity that escapes this unfortunately a lot can be and is made up so before you go reading gossip sites about her being pictured with seven different guys in a week and dating every single one of them, just use your brain and think 'is this really true?'.

Taylor Swift is not the only music artist who might not be supposedly sending out the best possible message about relationships and maybe her music does makes it seem like a boyfriend is the key to happiness, but at the end of the day young girls would be getting this message regardless of Taylor Swift songs. She’s just a girl who wanted to write some songs to express her feelings, maybe you believe she’s childish, but she’s not the one who invented this problem, disney films and fairytales also have as much to answer for.

Personally Taylor Swifts music has been there for me when nothing else has and I find comfort in knowing that she has probably gone through the same situations as me. Until she actually does something 'scandalous' other than writing cute little love songs or sad breakup songs I will always have respect and adoration for her.