Taylor Swift and the media literacy crisis

Taylor Swift’s response to Charli XCX’s vulnerability illustrates the lack of critical thinking which is becoming increasingly prevalent in society.

By Ella Walken

Content warning: this article contains mention of suicidal ideation. 

By the time track seven of Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” (2025) rolls around, the listener has been accosted by many of Swift’s oft-trodden topics delivered by world tour worn vocals. The album is tiresome and trite, a piece of work defined by telling and not showing. 

 After her critically acclaimed folk-inspired turns “folklore” and “evermore” Swift has turned increasingly numbers-driven, resulting in her two most recent albums lacking the poetic vulnerability her fans are used to.  

 The epitome of Swift’s post evermore (2021) lack of genuine reflection and critical thinking has never been more present on track seven, “Actually Romantic,” a song allegedly targeting pop star Charli XCX. 

Upon listening to the song, one would assume Charli had been actively fostering a years long, malicious beef with Swift. Although it is impossible to know exactly what has been said behind closed doors, Swift mostly responded to things that have occurred in the public eye.  

It is important to note that Swift is largely basing her clapback on Charli XCX’s confessional track, “Sympathy is a knife” a track which never insults Swift in any way. Although she is never mentioned, internet sleuths quickly put the pieces together. It seems Swift did as well. In her response track, Swift mentions the person in question “Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face.” 

“Sympathy is a knife” chronicles Charli’s intense emotional struggles and deep insecurities. In the song, XCX discloses how sharing a space with an unnamed woman brings out some of her darkest thoughts, including suicidal ideation. Through the song, she vents about how spending time with a certain woman brings up deeply held insecurities.  

She yells, “I couldn’t even be her if I tried/I’m opposite, I’m on the other side.” Charli’s vocals are piercing and desperate, allowing the listener to truly experience the maelstrom of feelings she struggles with. 

“Sympathy is a knife” expresses an experience many women suffer yet never name: the deep pain of feeling inadequate in comparison to other women. This comparison can take many forms, including romantic, body, and professional comparison. This experience doesn’t start and end at diagnosing one’s own perceived shortcomings but can become a decades long torturous feeling. As much pain as XCX is in, she never degrades this other woman but owns her insecurity. 

Swift begins her response to XCX’s vulnerability by insinuating that she’s a coke addict in the opening verse. By the second, she’s compared Charli to a dog, claiming she’s “Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse.”. She drones on for three minutes with the chorus reiterating just how much she doesn’t think about the subject of the song.  

Not only is the track unwarranted and needlessly cruel, it’s simply a fundamentally misconceived misunderstanding of XCX and her vulnerability.  

The lack of media literacy doesn’t end just at Swift’s lyricism but extends to the millions of Swifties clamoring to defend Swift against good-faith criticisms and observations. “Actually Romantic” apologists argue that the song is a piece of satire.  

If that is true, what exactly is Swift satirizing? Fans also claim the lyrics under fire are supposed to be a joke. Where is the joke? There’s no setup, no punchline, no wit, and certainly nothing worthy of a laugh. To Swift’s army, any criticism of their dear leader is unacceptable. 

A culture which lacks discernment is one that will likely fall easily to predatory marketing. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with an artist promoting the sale of their work to adoring fans, it’s hard to perceive Swift’s seemingly endless variants of her physical copies as anything other than utter greed.  

These “variants” (frequently the same exact album with different cover art) result in many fans purchasing a multitude of vinyls, CDs, and cassettes, along with other merchandise. Swift has created a culture of overconsumption in her young fandom.  

As of the publishing of this article, Swift has released more than 30 variants of the album. 

 Bad Bunny, an artist of similar stature, released two variants of his hit 2025 album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” Over the years, Swift has released so many unnecessary materials that will likely end up rotting away in a landfill as many fans have purchased more Swift memorabilia than they could ever possibly enjoy. 

I used to be a proud Taylor Swift fan. I’ve found myself with no other choice but to hang up my hat. Swift has displayed some frustrating behavior since the advent of her career, but none so tone deaf and greedy as her actions this year.  

Swift misinterpreting another artists’ vulnerability, her fans defending anything and everything she says as well as overconsuming her merchandise illustrates a culture which lacks media literacy. Actively calling into question our own consumption of physical materials as well as art is important to maintain a society which is capable of disagreement and discernment. In a moment when outrage equals fame and AI is rapidly dumbing us down, it’s more important than ever to practice critical thinking, even when it comes to pop stars.