The Life of a Swiftie

Taylor Swift VS Taylor Swift's Music

TLDR - I love the new album, I am a fan of Taylor Swift’s music, I feel at home in the fandom, I attended The Eras Tour, and I think Taylor Swift is extremely controversial (and she should absolutely be held accountable). I’ll be discussing the album, why I consider myself a Swiftie, her relationship with Matty Healy, her billionaire status, and the difference between who Taylor Swift is and who she wants us to believe she is. I’m discussing this because The Life of a Showgirl has brought forward some important points that, as a fan, I feel are important to acknowledge.

I like The Life of a Showgirl, but I also understand the criticism surrounding it. I’m surprised that I loved it so much on first listen because I didn’t care for The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) when it came out, and now it’s one of my favourite TS albums. I assumed I’d feel the same about The Life of a Showgirl, and I was prepared to give myself time and multiple listens to assess how I felt about it, but The Fate of Ophelia immediately captured my attention.

I'm a sucker for Taylor’s upbeat, catchy pop hits - I think they’re fun in a way that a lot of pop isn’t for me. I can’t explain it, but Taylor’s songs don’t really get old, and I’ll listen to them on repeat for years without getting bored. The Fate of Ophelia is catchy, and I like the concept behind it, but I also understand why people don’t. Whether it’s because it doesn’t sound exciting to them (which I tend to hear from people who don’t like Taylor’s music in general, and that’s fair enough) or because they’re confused about how it fits into the album, either way, I get it. The theme of the album is, after all, The Life of a Showgirl, and The Fate of Ophelia is clearly about how falling in love with Travis Kelce has saved her (if you don’t know - Ophelia is a character in Hamlet who is driven to madness and dies at the hands of a man who mistreats her).

I don’t personally have an issue with this, though, because I don’t think an album concept should limit you to one theme, and anyway, Taylor’s love life is a massive part of her life as a showgirl. Does this make it less enjoyable for some people? Sure. But I personally liked it. I also like the idea that she’s suggesting she won’t die at the hands of a man who mistreats her because she’s found love with a man who doesn’t.

Moving straight onto Elizabeth Taylor. Elizabeth Taylor, as well as being enjoyable to listen to, just makes sense. Outside of those who actually enjoy her music, Taylor Swift’s career has been almost entirely dominated by the backlash she receives for dating and writing about her love life. This is why I feel Elizabeth Taylor, a celebrity (or showgirl) who famously married seven men and was heavily criticised for it, is a great channel for Taylor to express what it is to be a woman in show business. Not only this, but she’s clearly grateful to have found someone who she is desperate will stick - despite the public criticism she is (once again) facing for her choice in men (Matty Healy is a whole other situation & I will be discussing it).

I’ve heard a lot of criticism for Father Figure, and it all seems to be the same, so I’m going to share my opinion - I don’t think she’s talking about being a father figure for other artists, and I think that’s kinda obvious?! She seems to be discussing power dynamics within the music industry - the protagonist of this song is a powerful figure in the industry who promises to protect younger artists, but instead sets out to control and dominate them. And I don’t think, as some articles have suggested, that she’s glorifying this. To me, the protagonist is clearly a villain, and the lyrics hint at the challenges she - along with other women in the industry - had to face early in her career. If anything, I think Father Figure is the most on-theme song on this entire album.

Opalite - this song is about finding love, and I love it. I think it’s a bop, and sometimes that’s just what music is all about. Again, I don’t personally care about it being off-theme.

CANCELLED! is a tricky one for me, and I understand the backlash for it. I like it, even though the line “they’re the ones with matching scars” makes me cringe. Most celebrities who get cancelled get cancelled for a reason and should be held accountable - this is something Taylor brushes over in this song. But I think it’s pretty clear that she’s talking about people who get cancelled for minor issues. After all, people have literally attempted to cancel Taylor herself purely for writing and singing about dating lots of men. Selena Gomez, one of Taylor’s best friends, has almost been cancelled over numerous things that were, realistically, all speculation (beef with Hayley Bieber, falling out with the friend who gave her a kidney, etc.) In my opinion, this can be the issue with cancel culture and seems to be what Taylor is talking about when she discusses her friends being cancelled. Needless to say, cancelling celebrities for their wrongdoings is absolutely the right decision sometimes. Either way, it’s all part of the life of a showgirl.

I’m not even going to get into Wood because I really don’t care that much. She’s an adult woman who wants to sing about her fiancé’s dick. If you’re upset about that, grow up?!

Let’s move on to Honey. I struggled with this one. I like the song, I think it’s enjoyable to listen to, but I think her off-handedly referring to a woman as a bitch (after years of saying she was actively unlearning this and didn’t agree with it) is a problem. I didn’t enjoy that, and I think it speaks to the wider issue of who Taylor Swift is as a person VS who her brand pretends she is, which I will come to in a moment.

Wi$h Li$t - I literally laughed out loud when I listened to this song - not because it was funny. I laughed because I couldn’t believe I was listening to a billionaire talk about how all she dreams of is a humble life with a basketball hoop in the drive, and comparing herself to those who want a luxurious lifestyle and plastic surgery.

Is a humble lifestyle all you want, Taylor? If so, I reckon a billion would help in sending aid to Palestine - you know, due to the genocide Israel is committing that you’ve yet to acknowledge.

For someone who claims to want a simple life, she didn’t release singles or even any snippets of the songs on this album before selling a shocking number of variations of it. Girl, don’t pretend you’re not driven entirely by money - you are literally a billionaire!

Don’t even get me started on the highly problematic issue of her calling out and comparing herself to people (let’s be real - women) who’ve had plastic surgery. Suggesting superiority over those who want plastic surgery is old, inherently misogynistic, and brings us back to the fact that Taylor is not who her brand suggests she is.

Ok, now we’re getting into it, so let me just stop and explain why it has been extremely hard for me to write this.

I’m a Swiftie

I am a huge fan of Taylor Swift’s music. I enjoy every era for a different reason. Her music brings me a lot of joy. I go to a lot of concerts, and The Eras Tour was one of the best I’ve ever been to. I think she’s a fantastic performer, she is passionate about her art, she’s a good writer, she’s a good singer, and she’s a great artist.

I’m also a HUGE fan of the fandom. I love Swifties, and I love what Taylor Swift’s brand has done for girlhood. Trading friendship bracelets and wearing pink and glitter has never been so cool. Being in a room full of Swifties feels like having your hair braided at a sleepover - it’s nostalgic, it’s girly, it’s pure.

I find that a lot of people who hate Taylor Swift hate her due to the abundance of misogynistic rhetoric about her. I’m not saying this is the case for everyone who dislikes her, but I think a majority of people who decide they don’t like her music (or her as a person) have decided that based on her being a powerful and influential woman who dates a lot of men and sings about it. This is NOT valid criticism, and it IS misogynistic.

However, I am now going to discuss my issues with Taylor Swift as someone who is simultaneously a massive Taylor Swift fan.

My struggle with being a Taylor Swift fan

Let’s put her music aside and delve even deeper into who Taylor Swift is as a person. No, I don’t know her, but I know her controversies, and it’s important that every Swiftie recognises and acknowledges them.

Matty Healy

Honestly, her dating Matty Healy was bullshit. I am also a big fan of The 1975, and it fucking sucks when you enjoy art created by terrible people. Taylor Swift, who claims to be a feminist, dated a man who openly joked about getting off on porn that degrades and brutalises black women, made racist jokes about Ice Spice, and did a Nazi salute on stage (AMONG OTHER THINGS!!).

While she frequently participates in speaking out against sexism when it impacts her, she actively brushes misogyny under the carpet when it comes to women of colour. White feminism, anyone?

Taylor Swift’s confusing silence on political and humanitarian issues

As an activist, I struggle back and forth between expecting celebrities to constantly participate in political and humanitarian debates, and recognising that it’s a tall order for anyone to be that politically active. There are A LOT of issues in the world, and it can be very easy to get burned out when trying to tackle them all. Taylor Swift has been active in the political world for a long time - she speaks out against the Trump administration, she is candid about who she votes for, she is pro-choice, she supports the LGBTQIA+ community, she is an advocate for stricter gun control, and she is openly liberal.

On the other side of the coin, Taylor Swift hasn’t (to my knowledge) used her platform to speak out about Israel committing genocide in Palestine. And, as mentioned above, there are conflicting messages in her music. She calls herself a feminist, then refers to other women as bitches. She dated a man who was racist and misogynistic, and only stopped dating him because he ghosted her (by her own admission).

Why do I think she doesn’t always speak out?

We saw the backlash she faced with her dad and management team in Miss Americana when she wanted to speak out about protecting the LGBTQIA+ community in her state. I think, after all these years in the industry, Taylor has somewhat been consumed by her brand. Everything she says and does is monitored and calculated. She has to avoid backlash at all costs, and so sometimes, instead of saying something, she says nothing (unless it’s about something that directly impacts her, of course).

Do I think this is reasonable?

No, I don’t.

Her billionaire status

There is no such thing as an ethical billionaire. It is not ethical to hoard money while people starve. It is not ethical to act like you want a humble life while continuing to release album cover after album cover to exploit your fans. And on top of that, it’s not transparent to pretend you’re down to earth while charging your fans £600 to come to your show.

To understand this better, watch the video below, which puts into perspective what a million VS a billion looks like. In summary, 1 million seconds = 11.5 days, while 1 billion seconds = 31 years.

One last (incredibly important) point of discussion is that the criticisms I’ve brought forward throughout this article are not unique to Taylor Swift. A lot of celebrities, especially men, get away with the same and worse behaviour. Most singers and actors are not politically active and are never questioned about it.

I truly believe that the reason Taylor Swift receives so much backlash, more than most celebrities I can think of, is the result of sexism.

I also think that the most important thing to take home from this, if anything, is that worshipping celebrities is never a good idea. We all fall victim to it - I do it all the time. But we don’t know who they are, and when we do, they will often disappoint us.

Love their art, admire their brand, participate in their fandom, but don’t idealise who they are as a person.

And in case it wasn’t obvious, I am still a Swiftie, and I will be shamelessly listening to The Life of a Showgirl on repeat for the next 294713985 days (give or take).

There are other important topics that I didn’t discuss in this article, such as Taylor Swift’s impact on the environment and her comments about Charli xcx in the song Actually Romantic. I have attached articles for further reading at the bottom of this page alongside my sources for this article.

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Thank you for reading! I run on matcha lattes, so if you like my writing and want to support me, you can buy me a matcha below (no presh) xoxo

Sources and further reading -|
Matty Healy and his controversies - https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/matty-healy-controversies/
Taylor Swift and white feminism - https://www.rockandart.org/white-feminism-critical-look-taylor-swift/
Taylor Swift on politics - https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/08/27/donald-trump-vs-taylor-swift-a-bad-blood-timeline
Taylor Swift and her impact on the environment - https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2024/02/13/taylor-swift-and-the-top-polluters-department/
Charli xcx fued - https://variety.com/2025/music/news/taylor-swift-charli-xcx-feud-actually-romantic-timeline-showgirl-1236538041/