Why Taylor Swift is a healthy role model for girls like me
I was disappointed with the sarcastic description of global superstar Taylor swift (Mail). why try to shame Miss swift for the clothes she chooses to wear? she’s admired worldwide for her chic style. Her wardrobe is completely appropriate for a confident 25-year-old. Taylor isn’t seen in public showing too much skin, and she doesn’t wear low-cut tops or too-short skirts. women shouldn’t be sexualised or shamed for the outfits they choose to wear. we’re told she ‘writhed around in a wet T-shirt for Rolling stone magazine’, but her style in the shoot was entirely right for such an imposing magazine. she’s a musician — she wasn’t revealing too much skin, she was wearing jeans and a vest. when famous men are photographed topless, they aren’t humiliated by being accused of ‘trading on their sex appeal’. The fact that Taylor showed a bit of skin in a relevant and respectable photo-shoot doesn’t mean she’s asking to be ‘snapped naked in her bedroom’. she’s described as ‘pencil-thin’. Too often, female celebrities are told they’re too fat or too thin. This is disrespectful and puts pressure on young females like me to think they, too, have to have the perfect body image. It’s irresponsible. Taylor swift is a healthy young woman who probably feels media pressure to maintain her slim body image. If she were to gain a few pounds, would she be accused of being overweight? would we be reading about ‘Taylor’s muffin top’? Let’s hear less about female stars’ bodies and more about their achievements. Criticising Taylor as a ‘workaholic’ is ridiculous. she’s worked very hard to be where she is, but the music business is an ‘industry’. No one would criticise the head of IBM for being a ‘workaholic’. why shouldn’t Taylor care about her work and take pride in it? Taylor says she has ‘no interest in drinking’ and wants to be ‘responsible for things she says and does’. You won’t see her drinking in public and falling out of nightclubs. surely this should be applauded? she’s staying healthy and sets a good example to her young fans. The suggestion that her good deeds are all an act is an accusation often aimed at celebrities, but Taylor is a successful young woman who appears genuine and true to herself. Her critics should take a more positive attitude towards her impressive talent, her caring actions and her achievements.
EMILY WOOD (14), Guildford, Surrey.