I like Taylor Swift’s music in general. It is a little bee-boppy and fun. Nice to do some car-dancing to.
But I have a beef with her recent song, Love Story. It is a nice song, but in it lyric wise Taylor repeatedly compares her guy to Romeo, and begs to be saved. That kills me – and not in a good way. I totally get being lonely and not wanting to be, but this song just reinforces bad ideas to me.
I was raised on Disney. I thought for a long time that a guy was going to take me away from my troubles. That if I was merely in a relationship with the “right” guy that my self esteem issues would melt away, that my self worth would somehow be bolstered, and that I would be able to achieve my other goals and dreams. Uh….Thanks Disney.
Now several bad relationships, a divorce, and lots of growing up later, I realize that I have to save myself. My issues are my issues. I need to love myself first. And I do now. As a result I am able to engage in healthier relationships. In fact, one of the things I love about my fiancé (yes I said fiancé!!!!) will not rescue me. He is reliable, and wonderful, and really good to me. And when things come up I know he is there for me. But he doesn’t ever try to save me. If I have something that I have to go through, he doesn’t try to step in and prevent it. He lets me know he is there for me and stands back. I love that. He respects my strength.
So by all means enjoy the music, but don’t take that crap to heart. You are as strong as you want to be.
Thanks for reading
Berkeley
