Taylor swift is a good role model. here's why

Taylor Swift is a good role model, contrary to the Newsweek article

I read an article recently from Newsweek that I couldn’t shake off…it was about how Taylor Swift is not a good role model. And it wasn’t just because I am a diehard Swiftie that I was perturbed by the author’s errant remarks–it was because of what this article symbolized.

John Mac Ghlionn cited Taylor’s dating history as the crux of his argument as to why she is not a role model for our girls. In his article, he argued about how her celebrity dating defiles her message against the patriarchy, how her lyrics portray her as a victim, and how her success is unrealistic for girls to aspire to. 

Perhaps the irony of it all is that this article is exactly the patriarchy that Taylor encourages girls to scream at the top of their longs at…because this masochistic view of a categorizing a successful woman’s admirability by her dating life is the perfect example of unfair bias toward women (See: “The Man” by Taylor Swift).

Nonetheless, this article isn’t here to school Mac Ghlionn on his tacit compliance with age-old social confines and condescension toward women. I sense his article was a grasp at fame through a thinly veiled attack on Taylor Swift because she’s popular and trending. As a writer, I can appreciate the fact that sometimes, you write to the market, and Taylor Swift’s name certainly gets you at the top of the stack these days, even if your logic is unsound.

This article is, however, a look at why I do think Taylor Swift is a positive role model for girls, for females, and for every gender–and why it is downright demeaning for anyone to defile someone’s reputation based on their love life. Because women are worthy of so much more than being defined by their romantic life. This antiquated view that feels like it's out of an 1800s novel, though, still runs through the modern world thanks to articles like this.

And before John’s friends come for me in the comments, yes, I’m a Swiftie and a huge fan of her lyrics. If you look on my social media, you’ll see my cheesy grin on the field at the Eras Tour in my photos. Yes, I understand her lyrics and choices ruffle feathers and, especially with your children, you have to ascertain for yourself if her words comply with what you want to teach your children. And yes, I agree that worshiping anyone, even if they’re someone to look up to, can lead to unhealthy habits. All of that aside, though, I do think there are many reasons why Taylor Swift should be lauded as a positive role model and influence. Here are the points the aforementioned writer “forgot” or failed to mention.

1. Her charity work

    At every tour stop on the Eras Tour, Taylor has made significant donations to food 
banks in the areas, positively impacting millions of people. But if you do a dive online, you’ll find this isn’t her only way to give back. Publicly and privately, Swift has shown kindness and generosity in her gifts of money and time to causes she holds dear. 

In December of 2023, the star donated one million dollars to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee after the tornado on December 9 caused damage and deaths. In August of 2023, she gave super-sized bonuses to her Eras Tour workers, reportedly giving $100,000 bonuses to her drivers. These are just a couple of her reported “sizable” donations to various charities over the years, including pet rescues and individuals going through hard times.

It isn’t all just about the money, though. In 2012, Swift wrote the song “Ronan” in honor of a little boy who was struggling with fatal neuroblastoma. In the same year, she pledged all proceeds from the song to cancer charities.

Yes, Taylor has the money and influence to do things like this–but she’s also a great role model for using your power and gifts to make a difference that lives on and impacts others. That’s something I think many of us can look up to.

    2. Her body positivity

In her documentary “Miss Americana,” Swift is vulnerable and honest about her 
struggles with eating disorders. And although the press still likes to make 
incessantly inappropriate commentary on her size and weight, Swift’s message has been one of body positivity. Her outfits on the Eras Tour demonstrate a confidence in who she is. As a thirty-six-year-old, I appreciate the strength and beauty Taylor demonstrates; she’s reminded me that a woman can still be seen as sexy and confident in her thirties and beyond, something I think many of us struggle with. 

This isn’t to say Swift is perfect. In 2022, she released a video for “Anti-Hero” that featured Swift stepping on a scale that said “Fat.” After realizing that the message of this scene could be hurtful to body positivity, Swift immediately cut this scene from the video. This shows she is not only trying to spread a positive body message to her fans, but that she’s willing to take ownership for her mistakes. 


3. Her passion for her work

    Taylor Swift also demonstrates how pursuing your passion and being true to 
yourself leads to success and fulfillment. She is known for her tireless work and dedication to her artistry, constantly releasing new music and ideas. She speaks frequently about how music is her passion, and she’s living her dream. She also has been open about how she never could have imagined this success when she was a teenager from Pennsylvania. Her story reminds us all that dreams come true if you work hard and stick to your passion.

Even when things get difficult for Swift due to bad press and haters, she’s stuck with her passion and still pursued her musical journey. In the middle of the Kanye and Kim media storm, Swift disappeared for five years…but then came back stronger with “Reputation,” an album with a message of female strength, confidence, and perseverance. She shows girls and really everyone that even when the world seems to be against you, you should stick to your passions and chase the dreams you want. She’s never shied away from being who she wants to be and saying what she needs to say, even if it ruffles opinion writers’ feathers. 

To have that unwavering sense of self and what your purpose is inspires all of us to find the thing that lights us up…and to dream big.

4. Her lyrics and emotional vulnerability 

For me, the pull of Swift has always been in her vulnerable, emotional lyrics that capture what it is to be a woman, an artist, an outcast, a dreamer, and so many other things throughout our lives. Swift’s ultimate role model status comes from the fact that she is inclusive in her lyrics and who she reaches. When you go to the Eras Tour, you’ll see people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and personalities because her music has a universal pull. 

Her songs remind us that we are not alone, that we all go through difficult emotions and fall down. That we all feel like we don’t belong sometimes in “Anti-Hero” or that sometimes the memories of the past haunt us in “All Too Well.” She reminds us that it’s okay to stand up for yourself in “Look What You Made Me Do” and that moving on is difficult in “Fortnight.”

Her songs are a celebration of the raw realness of being a woman…and of being a human. She reminds us that emotional vulnerability isn’t weakness but instead leads to connection, something our world is often missing. And if you talk to Swifties, you’re apt to hear story after story about how her music helped them through difficult times, through loneliness, and through good times. She’s hallmarked so many of our lives with her lyricism and honesty, and she’s reminded the world of important messages along the way such as with her song “The Man” and “You Need to Calm Down.” She isn’t afraid to go to the deep topics to make a statement, using her influence to make a difference.



At the end of the day, admittedly no one knows Swift other than what we see of her in the media. It’s up to us to make our own judgment on who to look up to and why. But to blatantly disregard Swift’s achievements, charity work, and positive messaging for women simply because you don’t like how many men she’s dated is a flagrant disregard for who she is as a person. It’s not about protecting Swift’s image or her fans being upset that you tried to attack our idol.

It’s that articles like these tell girls and women that no matter what they achieve or how good of a person they are, their validation always comes from the men they do or don’t date. And if you ask me, that message is the truly poor role model for our girls, for women, and for all of us.


Lindsay Detwiler is a high school teacher and the USA Today Bestselling author of The Widow Next Door as well as several other thriller novels.