Misogyny: Taylor Swift knows about it “all too well.”
Image Courtesy: Graphic Design
If you’ve been on the internet for even a split second these past few weeks, then there’s a high chance you’ve come across pictures of Taylor Swift cheering for Travis Kelce at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 25. There’s also been extensive coverage of the pair leaving in a “getaway car” after the game. This, followed by Swift attending another one of Kelce’s games at the Metlife Stadium on Oct. 2 with friends, has sent the media into a further frenzy.
Celebrity relationships have always fascinated fans, but it seems the NFL just can’t get enough of this couple. With them changing their Twitter bio to “Taylor’s version” and the constant Taylor Swift lyric puns during commentary, the couple has brought a new wave of Swiftie coverage. While some are living for the 24/7 updates, a seeming over-coverage of the two has led to misogynistic comments on Swift’s social media — transporting us to a time when hating on the singer was the cool quotient of the day.
When it comes to celeb news, women always bear the brunt of society’s harsh judgment. Whether it’s Swift or someone else, villainizing women has stayed on trend, which is quite disheartening. It is not uncommon for people to belittle Swift’s music and career because she writes about her past and present relationships. People, however, do not seem to have the same problem with male singers when they do the same thing. For example, Drake sometimes does not shy away from mentioning his ex-girlfriend’s names.
As Swift said in her 2019 song “The Man,” “I’m so sick of them coming at me again, cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man.” The double standards are jarring, especially with the way some men feel entitled to talk about women’s bodies.
In a Barstool Sports podcast called “Pardon My Take,” the host Dan Katz says he would not believe the Swift-Kelce relationship until he saw a sex tape from them. He then goes into detail about what he would like to see in the tape and until that happens, he believes the relationship is “fake and for clicks,” further claiming Taylor Swift is using the NFL to “make her star big”
Regardless of whether the relationship is fake or not, the fact that a grown man can go on the internet and be gross is highly concerning. It’s ironic to say Swift is using the NFL to make her star big when sales of Kelce's Kansas City jersey spiked nearly 400% in the days following the Sept. 24 game Swift attended, and the secondary market prices for tickets to the Chiefs' Oct. 1 game in New Jersey against the New York Jets rose 43%.
Whether it’s Swift or someone else, villainizing women continues to stay on trend. Newsflash: you don't have to be a die-hard fan of a particular celebrity but objectifying women goes way out of the scope of trolling and into something much darker.
Strike Out,
Writer: Kaninika Dey
Editor: Annika Chaves
Graphic Design : Alexandra Purdy
Boston
