“This song really is a real guided tour through all the things I tend to hate about myself; we all hate things about ourselves” – Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift recently released a music video for her new single “Anti-Hero”. It’s another masterpiece that brings this deeply personal song to life for the viewer and fans. One of the things I love about Taylor Swift is her ability to masterfully articulate her thoughts and joys and struggles through lyrics. In the video for the song there was a scene of her standing on a scale with the words “Fat” being shown. In response, some started making tik-toks and other social media posts because they didn’t think it was fair or appropriate for someone like Taylor to use that label for herself. In response, her team did remove the scene showing what the scale said.

I have really been bothered by the response this video has received, especially from those, like me, who are overweight. Her new album is a collection of songs written while she was kept up late at night. That space in the day where we all have our restless thoughts and where our inner demons and easier access to our brain and soul. Here’s the thing though, we don’t get to look at someone else and tell them that their insecurities and struggles aren’t valid because they don’t match our idea of what that struggle should look like. In this situation, to do so promotes body shaming, can invalidate eating disorders, and frankly, it’s bullying.

As someone who has long struggled with my weight, I’m really disappointed that others would invalidate the experience of someone else when it comes to body issues. We may not always get to choose how we perceive ourselves but we do get to choose how we treat others who share their struggles with us. There is enough shame to go around in this world, let’s not add to it.