Taylor swiftly rises to the top

Ex-country singer turned pop star shares her story with the world

Taylor Swift shares her experiences throughout her career.

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Taylor Swift shares her experiences throughout her career.

Jake Perez, Staff Writer

Taylor Swift has been in the industry for over ten years, so there is no doubt that Swift has stories to tell. Directed by Lana Wilson, “Miss Americana,” the new Taylor Swift documentary, received many mixed reviews on Swift’s struggles in her life. “Miss Americana” portrays what Swift’s life has been like both on and off screen in her time as a performer. She talks about her battle with eating disorders, being a woman in the music industry, sexual assault, and her voicing of political opinions. 

Women in today’s society are under pressure when it comes to body image, and Swift explains this led to her battle with an eating disorder. Swift said that the comments about her stomach used to get to her, and she would just force herself to stop eating to satisfy the hate. For women in the real world this reality is still present. Girls are taught from a young age that their bodies must look a certain way, and if it’s not then they are not normal or perfect. Struggle with body image amplifies when someone is showing themselves to millions of people everyday. male artists or producers and mainly targets women solely because of their gender. Judging someone based on their body is wrong because a person should not be judged on their physical appearance and should instead be known for their achievements and talents. It is unethical to find one thing wrong about a person and focus on that.

Men get the advantage of being praised more since women are discriminated

against. Female artists, like Swift, have to push themselves even more than their male counterparts to get the recognition they deserve, and this could lead to self doubt and low self esteem, which is common with many women today. Swift brought attention to this issue through her song “The Man” by saying “I’m so tired of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man.” It is still an issue that women have to work harder in the world to be recognized, and it is absurd they have to go through discrimination only because of their gender. Fights for equal representation in women are essential if we want everyone to be happy and equal. Feminism is a great way to deal with these issues as it fights for women to not overpower men, but to be equal to them.

Another big issue Swift had to deal with was her sexual assault experience and how it 

affected her. Swift doubted that she would win her case against her assaulter, but ended up winning in the end motivating her even more to strive for the rights of sexual assault victims. As a result of the belief that women are more vulnerable, women are targeted now in today’s society and often don’t know what to do when they are in a situation like that. This mistreatment in women goes beyond celebrities even though it is a big issue regardless of who the victim is. Though feminism is more active and recognized today, people push down the activism of this movement, and completely invalidate the countless years that women have spent fighting for their rights to be equal in all aspects. Yet they still do not get the equality they deserve and defend. 

After her experiences with her case, Swift started to voice her beliefs on social media.

When Swift heard about Marsha Blackburn’s ‘Tennessee Christian values,’ Swift was appalled. As a Christian from Tennessee herself, Swift did not agree with Blackburn’s ideas pertaining to racist and homophobic remarks. After long debate, Swift took to Twitter and rebuked Blackburn’s ideas.She did so to support all people regardless of gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Though critics may say that Swift was wrong in voicing her political opinions online, this is not at all true.The decision Swift made in the end was the right one because she helped put the issues of today’s society in the spotlight. Swift tries to raise awareness of modern movements that still do not have enough support as they should today. People are still discriminated against based on who they are, and Swift is trying to bring attention to the help that minorities need.

Movements that help push towards equal rights add to the free country that America should be and says it is. The United States cannot be the Land of the Free if everyone in the country does not have equal rights.