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If A Man Says He Hates Taylor Swift, That's Likely How He Feels About Women In General

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Taylor Swift

A woman on TikTok broke down the intersection between misogyny and men who dislike Taylor Swift.

Swift, who’s in the midst of her whirlwind Eras tour, is often seen as a lightning rod for a certain kind of feminism, and with that, a certain level of misogynist backlash comes in the form of dismissing Swift’s artistic impact.

But one woman isn’t standing for that patriarchal attitude any longer. The self-declared Swiftie named Phoebe captioned her post by noting that “the hetero men are gonna be mad about this one and I am gonna enjoy it.”

So, why do some men hate Taylor Swift?

Likely because they hate women in general.

At least that's what some fans, like Phoebe, believe. She posted footage of herself with Swift’s song “Mad Woman” playing in the background. In her post, she stated, “I will always believe that the way a man speaks [and] feels about Taylor Swift is ALWAYS indicative of how they view and treat women.”

“Whether you are a Swiftie or not, men who hate Taylor Swift just absolutely reek of misogyny and are a huge red flag,” she continued. “Hating on things just because you aren’t the target audience for them shows such a lack of empathy and also a general disregard for that target audience (women mainly).”

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Phoebe went on to pose the question, “If you can't have respect for what so many girls enjoy and adore then how can you truly respect us?”

One person in the comments summed up the issue at hand succinctly, stating, “Her music doesn’t have to be everyone’s cup of tea… but an excuse like all she writes about is her exes’ feels so incredibly misogynist.” Another commenter claimed, “If a man hates Taylor Swift it's because he’s a ‘not all men’ man and feels attacked by everything he sings about.”

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Swift has frequently been a target of misogynistic and chauvinistic vitriol.

From the moment Swift began to write and sing with gumption and fearlessness, she was put down by people who are clearly uncomfortable with a woman exhibiting these traits.

One of the most common criticisms leveled against her is that she "only" writes about her exes, but she also writes about her daily lived experience as a woman in a world that often denies women a voice. Her lyrics touch on themes of love, loss, friendship, growing up, and growing apart, all of which come under the umbrella of the basic human emotional experience.

Even if it was true that Swift was writing "man-hating" lyrics at all times, would that make her any worse than the countless male artists who speak about women in derogatory ways?

Swift, in her music and in life, has had the audacity to hold men accountable and has taught a generation of women to do so too. If that makes someone made, it's likely because they would rather women not use their voices or stuck up for themselves.

While not all art will reflect the exact lives of everyone consuming it, there’s inherent value in learning to at least appreciate work that isn’t made with your specific demographic in mind. 

In a 2015 interview with Maxim Magazine, in which she was named Number One on their annual Hot 100 List, which in itself can be viewed as problematic, Swift addressed the issue of misogyny. 

When asked about becoming “more vocal” about feminism, Swift analyzed the double-standard present in producing creative work. She stated that “a man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining.”

She continued on, correctly noting that “misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born.”

For men to disregard the artistic expression of female artists as not worth their time, solely because it doesn’t speak directly to them, showcases a narrow worldview that doesn’t make space for diversity of experience.

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Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.