Due: March 6, 2016
According to the Oxford Dictionary, a stereotype is “a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing” (Stereotype, 2016). A stereotype can be positive or negative, but typically they are negative and can be hurtful. We hear stereotyping occurring every day and may not even realize it.
Taylor Swift is a current pop star with numerous songs playing on the radio today. An hour does not go by that we do not hear a Taylor Swift song. Some find that her lyrics are very stereotypical of a young woman. She sings about people breaking up, how they deal with those break ups, and how they move on. What some people may not realize is that she is singing about her own relationships and lack thereof.
Another thing that most people do not realize about her music is that she sings about specific past boyfriends while being strategic to not mention their names. She sings about small details in their relationships that only the two of them would know. To her this is a sort of therapy.
Swift used to be a country singer, which I feel has helped in her writing skills. However, this too could have given her a stereotype in and of itself. There are those that say country music is all about beer, trucks, dogs, and girls. Granted, Taylor has sung about none of those, I feel that the women of country music have influenced her to sing about relationships. She has since transitioned to country-pop music and finally to pure pop beginning in 2015. With this change, some critics have backed off since her sound lost that country twang.
I feel that the change in genres helped Taylor Swift gain popularity and notoriety with other artists and critics. Artists are lining up to work with her. Even though she is still singing about relationships and break-ups, she still has massive followers, so she must be doing something right. Sure these stereotypes are negative, but in my opinion, these are just haters talking.
References
Stereotype. (2016, March 1). Oxford Dictionaries. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/stereotype
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