Saturday, September 4, 2010

Does Taylor Swift Matter?

For my readers who are mothers or fathers of teenage girls (or are teenage girls wanting to someday be mothers) check out Why Taylor Swift Matters by Danielle Bean at Inside Catholic.
I think Swift has enjoyed unprecedented success, especially among female listeners, because she's not just a singer, she's a writer. She began her career by winning a poetry contest when she was just nine years old.
But Swift is not just any writer. She's a writer with a rare gift for giving voice to the longings of young girls' hearts and souls. Feminists like Chloe and Jamie may not like it much, but little girls really do dream of being fairy princesses, meeting handsome princes, and . . . getting married and having babies. Just you try to stop them. The flowery details might vary from one young girl to the next, but the longing to find personal fulfillment in loving and being loved in return is a universally feminine one....

...She may not intend to be a poster girl for authentic Catholic living, but Swift has tapped into a uniquely feminine longing and given it a voice, along with a rare sense of innocence. Contrast her particular brand of femininity with the sexual imagery pushed upon us by other popular music stars, such as Katy Perry or Lady Gaga, and you'll soon see what kind of battle is being waged for young women's hearts and minds.
Let's see, little girls: Shall we seek personal fulfillment through a sincere gift of self and a life of self-giving love? Or by using sex as a weapon with which we attempt to dominate men?

Roll your eyes if you must, but my money's on Swift, sappy love songs, and every little girl who dreams of loving others and being loved in return. Women who deliberately choose otherwise in the name of freedom and independence do so at the peril of their own happiness and satisfaction. In the end, no amount of feminist posturing can rewrite the lyrics that are written on every girl's heart.
Read it - if for no other reason it ticks off crazy, man-hating feminists!

Hat Tip:  The Anchoress

No comments:

Post a Comment