FermanMonteRae

♲ Corvid Crone (CorvidCrone@kolektiva.social) 2025-05-13 23:24:04:

Re-listening to Swift’s song “Dear John” at age 36, and it is so clearly a song about predatory men who date teenagers.

“Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with?”

John Mayer dated Swift when she was 19 and he was 32. She wrote this at age 20 (Swift is the only songwriter for this track). I’m so disgusted by the men who criticized the track, calling her “a bitter brat swimming in self pity” when she was processing how inappropriate this relationship was.

She describes an extremely toxic relationship:
“Long were the nights when
My days once revolved around you 🚩
Counting my footsteps
Praying the floor won’t fall through again🚩
And my mother accused me of losing my mind” 🚩

“Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone tonight” 🚩

“All the girls that you’ve run dry have tired lifeless eyes
‘Cause you burned them out” 🚩

And she blames herself in the song for not listening to others’ warnings:

“And I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said
“Run as fast as you can””

While, yes, she’s a popstar, she was also a 19 year old girl. No 19 year old deserves to be blamed for dating a much older, manipulative man. He was the adult here. Fortunately, Swift is a financially successful musician who has a strong support system.

Unfortunately, most teenagers who go through this do not have that luxury. So, when you call Swift a “bitter brat”, consider who else might hear your condemnation and silently take it to heart.

You don’t have like her music. It’s not for everyone, but she does give words to feelings that most women have experienced as a direct result of patriarchy.

Criticize her for her obscene wealth, not for her sex life or the way men interact(ed) with her.

Source