Loralei Rohrbach

If you pay attention to pop culture, you’ve probably heard that Taylor Swift, who truly needs no introduction, is dating the tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce. 

Honestly, it’s no surprise if you know about this groundbreaking, earth-shattering news even if you live under a rock. Even though there are thousands of aspects of Swift’s career that people could talk about, the default everyone goes to nowadays is her new relationship. 

I think it’s a problem. 

Reducing the unbeatable force that is Taylor Swift to a man, or worse, pivoting the conversation to talk about something that is vaguely adjacent to said man’s career, is annoying at best and misogynistic at worst. 

Now, before you yell at me for that last sentence, hear me out. 

Swift is one of the most decorated artists in history. She recently broke Grammy history by winning the prestigious Album of the Year award for the fourth time for her album “Midnights,” earning her a total of 14 Grammys. Her record-breaking “Eras Tour” is the highest-grossing tour of all time, surpassing Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road.” She’s about to release her eleventh studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” while still touring around the globe. 

With all that under her belt and more, it’s unfathomable why, with all of Swift’s achievements, anyone would think it’s appropriate to shift a conversation about her to instead be about her man. 

Of course, gossiping about celebrity relationships isn’t new. I understand that and have witnessed it over my decade-long tenure as a “Swiftie.” What I don’t understand is why, in the year 2024, the conversation about famous women still completely shifts when they start dating someone new. 

Swift, just like every other woman on the planet, is her own person. She has her own career and her own aspirations and achievements. To downplay, or in many cases, outright ignore her personhood to instead talk about the person she’s dating is disrespectful to not only Swift but to all women who have had their achievements downplayed because of men. 

It’s important to stress that this problem isn’t exclusive to “non-Swifties.” Even between her fans, I’ve noticed a tendency to talk about Kelce. Even when it would have made more sense for the conversation to stay on the topic of her artistry and songwriting, or her tour or, hell, even her cats. 

While I know I may likely come off as a bit cold toward Kelce, I promise I have no bad blood toward him or his relationship with Swift. I also think there is definitely a time and place where it makes sense for “Swifties” and “non-Swifties” alike to talk about him and Swift. 

All I ask is that the next time someone tells you that they are a “Swiftie,” your first question should not be about Kelce.