The Girlhood Era

Last summer, we thought things had changed. The highest grossing film of the year was Barbie, a satire that spat cold hard facts about the reality of being a woman. It also celebrated all that is good and beautiful about girlhood, and Greta Gerwig appeared to shatter at least a layer of the glass ceiling for women in cinema by being the highest earning female director.

And then the Critics’ Choice awards chose I’m Just Ken, the comic relief number performed by Ryan Gosling, over Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For (the key song for every emotional plot point) for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Then Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie (Barbie herself) were snubbed in the Oscar nominations, while Ryan Gosling was not.

In the time of Barbie, and the PWHL, we still live in a world where the U.S, arguably the biggest global superpower of the modern age, criminalizes its’ female citizens' bodily autonomy. We are so tired of running as fast as we can, knowing for a fact we would get there quicker if we were men. Well, valar morghulis (all men must die), but we are not men.

Despite all the setbacks, it is not a man who is single handily lifting economies. Nor is it men who sell out stadiums better than the NFL can. It is a woman who needs no introduction.

Taylor Swift, despite from what her many eras may suggest, has never wavered in her intentions. Swift has always been first and foremost a lyricist, who uses her medium as form of expressing emotions that are not encouraged to be expressed aloud by young women. In this world that does not encourage the success of women, except for a single day in March, Taylor Swift’s journey from a wide-eyed fifteen-year-old girl with a guitar and a poetic sensibility, to a literal earthquaking phenomenon has invited considerable challenge. So many times in her career men believed it was within their rights to “put her in her place”. From Kanye West and the infamous VMAs interruption, to exes attempting to dim her spotlight, to Scooter Braun, and the "Brads, Dads and Chads" throwing literal temper tantrums over Swift supporting Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, the uproar from men at Swift’s rise in power has never silenced. In the spirit of objectivity, it probably won’t – not in Swift’s lifetime. What will happen, as shown by The Eras Tour breaking Ticketmaster in what Swifties affectionately refer to as “The Great War”, is that women’s voices will keep getting louder. Those voices will echo through future generations as fans of great artists from older generations have done, and it will be more impactful than anything that came before. Taylor Swift’s legacy isn’t just hers – it’s the legacy of twenty-first century women.

Adult women in 2024 were still girls when Swift’s self-titled debut album released in 2006. Even Swifties who are teenagers today have been in the world long enough to have experienced some level of heartbreak (beit romantic or otherwise), and crave some form of uplift from a feminine role model. A true Swiftie is discerning, supportive, empathetic, and reflective. Swift's lyrics have inspired the recognition of these values, the need to prioritize them, and the utmost importance to pass them on. Taylor Swift has influenced the future.

The lessons you remember all too well from Swift, are to stay beautiful. Stay fearless, and never hesitate to speak now. Love can be burning red. Love can be golden. Love is why you lost your mind and fought the wars. They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one, but this is a fight that someday you’re going to win. Even in exile, you know there’ll be happiness. Take back your girlhood, it was yours first. Long live Taylor Swift.