Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were the subject of a not-so-flattery column this week, and people are not happy about it.
In a recent column titled “Taylor Swift Is Not a Good Role Model” published by Newsweek, a writer by the name of John Mac Ghlionn offered some scathing criticism of Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce as he suggested that Swift is not a good role model to young women and girls because she is unmarried and childless at age 34.
“At 34, Swift remains unmarried and childless, a fact that some might argue is irrelevant to her status as a role model. But, I suggest, it’s crucial to consider what kind of example this sets for young girls. A role model, by definition, is someone worthy of imitation. While Swift’s musical talent and business acumen are certainly admirable, even laudable, we must ask if her personal life choices are ones we want our sisters and daughters to emulate. This might sound like pearl-clutching preaching, but it’s a concern rooted in sound reasoning,” Ghlionn wrote.
Ghlionn also suggested that the relationship between Swift and Kelce will not last long.
“While it’s true that young men need better role models, the same is equally true for young women. Swift and Kelce may last, and I hope they do. But, judging by her record, the odds aren’t great. Swift’s talent for sparking conversations, driving engagement, and raking in profits is commendable. Yet, admiration should not blindly follow. Her life, meticulously managed by a PR machine, represents a filtered façade rather than genuine reality. What young girls truly need, perhaps without fully recognizing it, are role models who provide both authenticity and actual depth, rather than artificial narratives and superficial glamor,” Ghlionn wrote.
Needless to say, this is a pretty horrible criticism of Swift and Kelce, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
No man has ever been chastised in the media for being a “bad role model for boys” because he was “34, unmarried and childless.”
@Newsweek should be ashamed to print this. https://t.co/83uFk5MwcM
— RevDaniel (@RevDaniel) June 29, 2024
This is a disgraceful piece. The article suggests that because Taylor Swift is unmarried and childless, and has dated a dozen men in her 34 years, that she is not a good role model. Written by a man of course. An expert on female role models no doubt… https://t.co/FwJ3tjYSuk
— Shane Beatty 🎙️ (@ShaneBeattyNews) June 29, 2024
Young girls do not need to aspire to marriage and children.
i personally have no interest in Taylor Swift but there are worse role models than someone who evidently works hard and is financially independent and also made huge donations towards food banks. https://t.co/y0gvi8un08— Prof. Pragya Agarwal (@DrPragyaAgarwal) June 30, 2024
This was written by a man who believes women's highest calling is marriage and children: "At 34, Swift remains unmarried and childless…We must ask if her personal life choices are ones we want our sisters and daughters to emulate."https://t.co/huOhrAlCcc
— Amy Diehl, Ph.D. (@amydiehl) June 29, 2024
Interesting responses to my tweet about the @Newsweek opinion piece on the "problem" of Taylor Swift being 34, unmarried and childless…it's only men rushing to demand that "role models should propagate the species!" 🙄
If you're the example…maybe we shouldn't.
— RevDaniel (@RevDaniel) June 29, 2024
Shame on @Newsweek & writer John Mac Ghlionn. Their ‘hot take’ on why #TaylorSwift is not a role model is misogynistic, sexist & frankly idiotic.
Number of times they have written about 34-year-old unmarried & “childless” male celebrities?
Zero.https://t.co/OYnGkuFqdz pic.twitter.com/AnKUhZ0lP1
— Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC (@caoilfhionnanna) June 29, 2024
Needless to say, people are not happy.
[Newsweek]
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