Showstopper

I was so fortunate that my friend Erica invited a few friends to join her at the Taylor Swift concert a few weeks ago. It turned out to be the best show I've ever attended.

You may not be a fan, and hey, that's okay. We all have preferences. But what cracks me up is how many people dismiss her as "only singing girl songs." It was so silly to see how many people dismiss her work because "it is just for teenagers" or - and this one drives me crazy - "you won't see many men at her shows!"

Well. It is 2023. And how many men are present isn't actually a measurement of the success of a woman's work. So let me talk just a few statistics for a moment. This isn't to convince anyone to like Taylor Swift if they don't - but to make a point. Bear with me.

• She is worth over $400 million. Forbes currently estimates that her Eras Tour could net her between $500 million and $1.5 billion.

• She has won 12 Grammys, 40 American Music Awards, and a huge number of other significant awards, including being the youngest person on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

• American Songwriter notes that she became the first-ever artist to occupy all 10 of the Top 10 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after the release of her most recent Midnights album.

I could go on, for SO many pages. But here it is. If someone can dismiss a woman with this many accomplishments as "just" selling to "girls" then they have truly missed out on a very talented person in the music industry. Again - you don't have to like her - but you can't deny she's apparently doing a lot of things right.

So what is my point? Oh my friends, it isn't just Taylor Swift. So many of us as women are dismissed and unheard - and it doesn't matter how talented or smart or hard working you are. Honestly, it is pretty ridiculous how we judge not just individuals but entire groups of people on their worth - according to our personal standards.

I guess this Taylor Swift experience truly spoke to me