The Power of Today’s Female Voice
I have a story to tell. One that evades logic and circles crazy, but one that needs to be told none the less.
I am one of the invisible Gen-Xers, riding on the coattails of the sometimes loud, overly confident, and aging baby boom generation. I am not old enough to remember Vietnam, but too old to remember Taylor Swift in her earlier youthful “country era.”
But when Taylor Swift came blazing out of her youth at full blast — with zing, zest, determination, and the support of her loved ones, she caught my attention. Vaguely on my radar, she won a countersuit for $1 against a Colorado DJ who grabbed her ass. My ears perked up since normally women get squashed down, blown over, and demolished when it comes to standing up to the bad behavior of others — especially men. Look at her — I thought.
Then I noticed the Lover album with a bright, cute, artistic video telling some of us we need to calm down and a jaw dropping video about The Man with overly relatable lyrics that sucker punched me in the gut making her impossible to ignore — especially with such a stellar surprise performance as The Man. It solidified my support for her next generation style of feminism…like forever.
And when I thought it couldn’t get any better, she put out, not one, but, two pandemic-induced records at a point in time when the rest of us were drizzling in sloth-hood and over drinking in our homes because there was never anywhere to go or anyone to see…and we all felt like we were never ever ever getting back together. At this point, my curiosity and support for her work turned to admiration and awe. Then came Midnights and various Taylor’s Version releases, all of which proved that women don’t always have to play by men’s rules.
So when the Eras tour was announced, I whimsically signed up for fan pre-sale tickets. Someone who has successfully defined her career with determination, grit, and the skills to write so elegantly deserved one evening of my time, right? Weeks later, a text appeared on my phone with a magical code.
The day of the Ticketmaster sale I almost forgot. I was driving to a doctor’s appointment that morning when I remembered. At the doctor’s office, I multitasked getting into the Ticketmaster cue while getting my shots. As a clumsy Gen-X, I accidentally knocked myself out of the cue, not once, not twice, but three times that day! It was so stressful. But, somehow between 10am when I originally got in line and 6pm, I had finally made my way through the cue and was able to purchase tickets! I got six, the max available for one person to purchase. Four for my family and two for a coworker who wanted to go but didn’t make it into the pre-sale crowd.
Long story short, after hemming and hawing with my family over who would and wouldn’t go…did I really want my spouse there if he was just going to drag down the experience as a non-Swifty? Was it going to be my son or my daughter who would complain through the entire show? I finally made the decision to sell two of my tickets and decide which family member to take later…which would, of course, depend on which one I thought would be the least annoying concert companion.
Through a series of unfortunate events, it turns out my spouse and son were out of town the weekend of the concert. So, I agreed to take my daughter who, up until that moment, had zero interest in Taylor Swift. Then, something magical happened. First, she realized the value of how cool it was that I had tickets to something everybody wanted to go to. Second, she started listening to Taylor’s music in preparation for the concert. Third, she fell in love…and then her love turned to adoration.
All this meant that she could not have had more fun at the actual concert. An all day adventure, arriving at 3pm to buy merchandise early, tailgating with other Swifties, and a four-hour long concert where we were lucky enough to see the premier of her new music video. The next day, my daughter was in a Swifty blues mood. She was already missing the concert. Already wanting to do it all over again. So sad it was over. She’d had the time of her life.
And this is where I realized — whatever magic Taylor Swift has over her fans, the doubters probably wouldn’t exist if they just gave her a chance, opened their ears, and listened. She speaks to a whole swath of young girls and women who have often been ignored — whose voices in their true spirit have historically rarely shown up on screen, let alone on stage. Her lyrics uplift, her storytelling is mystical, and her talent is exactly where it has needed to be all along. Her genre of music evades time and age, which is perhaps why her music and fame continue to grow exponentially.
Some of us are lucky enough to find a flashing second, a mili-moment where our skills and talents align with our life’s work. She has figured out a path to solidify that alignment perpetually even in the face of adversity and, honestly, if we could all be so lucky the world would be a totally better place to live in. Her voice is both female and powerful, and I am so glad my daughter has now found a Swifty sparkle relatable in her own voice, life experiences, and personal story. I hope she and other young girls and women continue to lets this sparkle shine and use it often — always and forever.