School of Thought: Reaction to Swift shows societal flaws
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STUDENT INTRO: School of Thought this week was written by Payton Waters. Payton is a junior at Parkersburg South High School where she is a very involved member of the student body. Payton is a member of National Honor Society, Key Club, and volunteers at one of the local hospitals. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, reading, and listening to music.
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Recently, it is unlikely that you are able to open a social platform or a news site without seeing something about Taylor Swift. From the surprise announcement of her upcoming album at the Grammys, to the highly anticipated international leg of her groundbreaking Era's tour, Taylor Swift is indisputably at an all-time high in her career. Alongside her impressive achievements, her relationship with Chief's tight end Travis Kelce has gained traction in the media since her first appearance at a game in late September 2023. Since then, Swift has been filmed cheering on her boyfriend at many of the games and her connection with the NFL has been accompanied by a whole new demographic of professional football fans. Considering this new audience is great for ratings and bringing more attention to a sport that many Americans have loved for years, you would think her presence at Chiefs games would be a welcome one; instead, she has been met with backlash and negativity from people who esteem themselves "real" football fans. Much of the hate Swift has received lately has been due to the fact that the NFL airs footage of her in the televised version of the games she attends. This is completely unreasonable when you bear in mind that she does not control what gets broadcasted and what doesn't. When you intellectualize this concept, you realize that the source of the abhorrence many people feel for Taylor Swift can be reduced to underlying themes of misogyny and the denigration of celebrities.
Since the beginning of professional American Football, it has been geared toward male viewers, and remained a sport predominantly played by men. Unfortunately, this ideology is yet to be seriously challenged. Before Swift began attending Chief's games the only people in attendance that were widely discussed were the male players, coaches, and attendees. Now, a woman is getting a very small amount of screen time in comparison with the rest of the football game and that alone is enough to drive people to the point of detestation. The New York Times recently did a study that discovered Taylor Swift was only on screen for an average of less than twenty-five seconds over the course of a three-hour broadcast. That number is almost insignificant and discredits the argument that she's featured too much by the NFL, regardless of whether it's her fault or not. The fact that people were outraged she was shown at a football game at all shows a serious, deep-rooted issue that has nothing to do with her, the NFL, or football, and everything to do with societal norms.
As a society, we have an extremely unhealthy tendency to idolize celebrities and figures of the media. With that, comes quixotic expectations put upon them to always be perfect and never upset anyone. The belief that famous people should be flawless and agreeable is irrational because pleasing everyone is nearly impossible; this is made evident by the unbridled hatred being expressed toward Taylor Swift for merely living her life and showing her interest in normal activities. Celebrities have lives outside of the work we know them for, and unfortunately immense fame means they're going to be photographed doing things the average person can do everyday without detection. It is no surprise the NFL is capitalizing on a global superstar attending their games, it's a great opportunity for business growth, but that doesn't mean anyone has the right to ridicule Taylor Swift for something that is entirely out of her control. People, especially on the internet, have gotten too comfortable with slandering and projecting animosity to people they've formed parasocial relationships with. Much of the hate Swift is receiving is baseless, inexplicable, and solely because she is expected to do exactly what the public wants her to at all times.
Amidst the backlash of Taylor Swift being televised at NFL games, there are some positives that stem from the criticism and the resistance to changing social norms. For the first time, women are part of conversations they typically haven't been a part of in the past. Additionally, attention is finally being brought to the constant defamation of celebrities for living their personal lives. It is imperative that society stops jumping on "bandwagons" of hate and starts to formulate their own opinions on topics, because in this case, the real issue is the bigoted bandwagon itself. A recent quote from Swift herself sums up the issue perfectly: "I'm just there to support Travis, I have no awareness of if I'm [ticking] off a few dads, Brads, and Chads."