Taylor Swift was already perhaps the most famous woman on the planet even before she began dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and that relationship has only amplified her fame as it brought her into the world of sports. One downside of this fame is that she has become a target for some heavy criticism, and that was certainly the case this week.
In a recent column titled “Taylor Swift Is Not a Good Role Model” published by Newsweek, a writer by the name of John Mac Ghlionn wrote some scathing criticism of Taylor Swift as he claimed that she is not a role model to young girls or “worthy of initiation” because she is 34 years old and is not yet married and does not have children.
“At 34, Swift remains unmarried and childless, a fact that some might argue is irrelevant to her status as a role model. But, I suggest, it’s crucial to consider what kind of example this sets for young girls. A role model, by definition, is someone worthy of imitation. While Swift’s musical talent and business acumen are certainly admirable, even laudable, 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,” Ghlionn wrote.
Ghlionn also took a shot at Swift’s dating “record” as he claimed that “odds aren’t great” that she and Travis Kelce will last.
“While it’s true that young men need better role models, the same is equally true for young women. Swift and Kelce may last, and I hope they do. But, judging by her record, the odds aren’t great. Swift’s talent for sparking conversations, driving engagement, and raking in profits is commendable. Yet, admiration should not blindly follow. Her life, meticulously managed by a PR machine, represents a filtered façade rather than genuine reality. What young girls truly need, perhaps without fully recognizing it, are role models who provide both authenticity and actual depth, rather than artificial narratives and superficial glamor,” Ghlionn wrote.
Needless to say, this is some pretty horrible criticism, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
Young girls do not need to aspire to marriage and children.
i personally have no interest in Taylor Swift but there are worse role models than someone who evidently works hard and is financially independent and also made huge donations towards food banks. https://t.co/y0gvi8un08— Prof. Pragya Agarwal (@DrPragyaAgarwal) June 30, 2024
No man has ever been chastised in the media for being a “bad role model for boys” because he was “34, unmarried and childless.”
@Newsweek should be ashamed to print this. https://t.co/83uFk5MwcM
— RevDaniel (@RevDaniel) June 29, 2024
Swift is undoubtedly used to criticism like this, but that doesn’t make it any less scathing and frankly abhorrent.
[Newsweek]