Taylor Swift vs. Dads, Brads, and Chads: A Look into the Online Culture of Misogyny
Two Sides of a Useless Online Argument
A Brief History
Since Taylor Swift, 34, officially began her music career in 2004, she has faced unnecessary backlash for nearly every decision she’s made. From lyrics in her songs to celebrity squabbles to her romantic relationships, Swift is often called “calculating” and “a snake”, among others in an endless commentary of negativity.
(The Sun, 2016)
That’s not to say she’s perfect by any means. Swift has faced criticism more recently for her “climate crimes”, with many taking notice of her substantial use of private planes to take short flights. There is a general consensus among fans and dissenters in the Swiftie community that she needs to address and cut back on her seemingly significant contribution to the climate crisis. She has also received backlash for her claims in her 2020 Netflix documentary, Miss Americana, that she wants to be more politically vocal and use her platform to drive positive social change. Many feel as though she has not lived up to those promises, though some social media posts from Swift say otherwise.
(Swift, 2018)
Regardless, Swift is critically acclaimed for her songwriting and creativity.
Today’s Drama
In July 2023, after Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce expressed his dismay about not getting to meet Swift at her Kansas City stop on “The Eras Tour” on his podcast, the two began dating. People began to speculate that the two were in a relationship when Swift attended a Chiefs game and sat with Kelce’s mother.
(Hanna & Getty Images, 2023)
The National Football League, better known as the NFL, jumped at the opportunity to draw in more viewers (not that I think they needed it, however). They seemed to adopt Aristotle’s philosophy, detailed in Chapter 1 of Writing and Editing for Digital Media, of tailoring communication to your target audience; in this case, the female variety (Carroll, 2023). Almost immediately, NFL fans took to the internet, but not to bash the league; fingers flew across keyboards to bash Taylor Swift.
For months, the “dads, Brads, and Chads”, as Swift called them in the Time Magazine “Person of the Year” article written about her, have relentlessly attacked Swift online. (Lansky, 2023)
![[Time Magazine] Taylor Swift on causing a frenzy at NFL games: “I'm just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I'm being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads” : r/KansasCityChiefs](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kn13!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8947cda8-493d-46b7-83b5-eabffc2de868_1080x1205.jpeg "[Time Magazine] Taylor Swift on causing a frenzy at NFL games: “I'm just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I'm being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads” : r/KansasCityChiefs")
(Time, 2023)
The attacks have continued into the most recent Chiefs playoff, when they faced the Buffalo Bills on January 21. Some Bills fans even went as far as burning pictures of Swift at tailgates ahead of the game.
(Barstool Sports, 2024)
While I’m all for online commentary and criticism of celebrities to keep them in check and down-to-earth, this type of rampant misogyny is a type of digital culture I find unacceptable. I’m not her biggest fan, but this type of relentless and unnecessary criticism is something women have faced online for years. Being in a relationship and showing up to support your partner isn’t a crime. If people have a problem with it, it should be taken up with the organization that puts her in the limelight: the NFL.
This, to me, signifies a digital culture of bullying and anti-feminism that exists, on some level, in all corners of the internet.
References
Barstool Sports. (2024, January 21). TikTok - Make Your Day
Carroll, B. (2023). Writing and Editing for Digital Media (Fifth Edition). Routledge.
Hanna, J., & Getty Images. (2023). [Photograph]. In Getty. https://people.com/taylor-swift-supporting-travis-kelce-at-kansas-city-chiefs-games-pictures-8357398
Lansky, S. (2023, December 6). Person of the Year 2023: Taylor Swift. Time.
Swift, T. (2018). Taylor Swift breaks her political silence, endorses Democrats in passionate post on midterm elections [Instagram]. In ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/News/taylor-swift-breaks-political-silence-endorses-democrats-passionate/story?id=58349155
The Sun. (2016). IS TAYLOR CENSORING SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram speak out after they’re accused of working with Taylor Swift to DELETE snake emojis and comments [Screenshot]. In The Sun. https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1497638/instagram-speak-out-after-theyre-accused-of-working-with-taylor-swift-to-delete-snake-emojis-and-comments/
Time. (2023). [Time Magazine] Taylor Swift on causing a frenzy at NFL games [Tweet]. In SylvesterTaurus (Ed.), Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/KansasCityChiefs/comments/18ccbfg/time_magazine_taylor_swift_on_causing_a_frenzy_at/
I definitely agree with you. This kind of misogyny is so common in our culture today, and the digital world allows it to spread like wildfire. We absolutely need to do something to change it. Women today are not allowed to attend sporting events, watch them on tv, or enjoy something that is typically a 'boy thing' without having to justify themselves. We are not allowed to just watch sports without being asked to 'name 5 players on the team'.
Additionally, regardless of how well you know about a topic, you should be allowed to enjoy it. You should not have to be a superfan of something to enjoy it. People should be allowed to watch a football game without having to 'name 20 players on the team' or 'explain the rules'. There should not be qualifications to enjoying something.
Taylor Swift, in particular, deals with a ton of misogynistic criticism for every single thing that she does. She is frequently presented in a bad light by the media. From the criticism she gets about her past relationships, to the scrutiny she experiences for her current relationship with Travis Kelce, the media tries its hardest to paint her in poor light.
As a huge Taylor Swift fan, I thought about writing about this topic myself. However, I figured that I wouldn't be able to comment on it without getting angry. The type of misogyny that exists in our current online culture is unacceptable and really needs some improving. While I don't necessarily support every little thing Taylor Swift does, the things she gets mostly hated on for are not the type of things people should be addressing.
The utter disbelief I felt after the first Chiefs game Swift attended, when I was just scrolling through instagram and saw her on the ESPN and NFL instagram accounts, I was so excited at first, but appalled when I began to read the comments.
Taylor Swift has had a never-ending battle with being treated horribly by the media, her "haters", and fans of her past romantic partners. She also is in the process of regaining the masters to her own work by re-recording, due to her past record label selling her masters and the rights to her music without her consent. The song "The Man" from her album 'Lover', is about how she has had to work significantly harder to get where she is than a man has to. Taylor has experienced so much misogyny in her career, and I agree that it is unacceptable for it to exist in our Digital Culture.