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Monday October 27th marks the release of Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album. Already available for presale on iTunes, her latest compilation, 1989, has Swifties worldwide in great anticipation. On Instagram, the pop star has been leaving clues on her page for fans, leaving a few romantic lyrics from upcoming tracks scrawled onto scraps of paper.
How would I, a psychologist, know all of this? Truth be told somewhat bashfully, I do admit that I, too, am guilty of following Taylor Swift on Instagram. And owning a handful of her albums. It didn’t always start out that way I assure you. In fact, I will even unashamedly shift the blame onto two of my best friends in graduate school for turning me onto her whimsical and girly lyrics.
Albeit occasionally (and recently) bordering on the reckless and juvenile, there has always been something innocent and romantic in the words of a young teen as she matured into a young lady. Yes, there was some added entertainment value in a talented woman turning every heartbreak in a million dollar track. Any woman whose affections ever went unrequited or disappointed could vouch for what sweet vindication Swift’s successes provided. Who didn’t for half a second entertain how wonderful it could feel to turn heartache into profit? Yet, there is also more to it than that.
Inherent in Swift fever is not just another pop icon for the masses to idolize. There is something uniquely remarkable about living in a time where hook-ups and all manners of sexually provocative behavior are deemed normative. Many “experts” and the media would like us to believe that women objectifying themselves and expressing sexual “liberation” is an acceptable if not desirable direction for society to head. Despite research indicating the significant harm for women doing so, and naysayers being quick to tout terms such as “slut-shaming,” it is unequivocal that such behaviors negatively impact women’s self-esteem and can lead to increases in being victims of sexual assault among other concerns.
However, there is also good reason to believe that not all teens have bought into this message. I would argue that the popularity of a teen icon such as Taylor Swift indicates just the opposite of what’s been promulgated. Take a good look at Swift’s Instagram page (even if you want to insist it is all a marketing ploy controlled by her image management team). You will see numerous pictures of her cat, her baking experiments, and also photos of a young lady who strives to bring some of the vestiges of antiquity into the millennial age. Listen to her words, and you hear a girl who seeks the deepest kind of love even if it’s right out of a fairy tale.
As we see our children growing up faster with each generation, I would suggest there is some comfort to be found in the young women who still hold out for the fairy tale love. There is hope in young women looking to a pop star who didn’t become famous by baring her midriff and cooing, “I’m a slave for you.” There is even something endearing about young girls and women connecting to a songwriter who can admit to loving, blushing, feeling enchanted and wonderstruck. Absent is being “too cool,” apathetic, and sexually assertive.
Embedded within the stories Taylor weaves in her songs are values that include family, marriage, and even respect for the self and others. Granted, I will fully admit her twerking and antics in her “Shake It Off” video were not exactly tasteful; I’ll give her a one-time pass and attribute it to a prefrontal cortex concern. Will I be pushing teens out of the way in line at Target on a Tuesday to hear what else she has to say? Likely no; they will have already downloaded the tracks onto their iPhones and I’ll be able to add one more CD to my jewel case collection without too much trouble. But I will be listening closely to what else she has to say and how teens relate to her tales. I'll be hoping her messages are still hopeful and the images she conjures are touched with magic. I'll cross my fingers and toes that young girls and women hear ballads that encourage them to retain their innocence and never stop dreaming.
For Tweets that inspire, but likely not as well as Taylor does it, follow me on Twitter at MillenialMedia.
