A group of mothers are sounding alarm bells over the “darkness” they have found in the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s latest hit album.
The moms were seen pointing out the stream of foul language and the mature themes on Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” which has seven explicit songs that carry warning labels, the New York Post reported.
The question has been raised as to whether the extreme contents of the album are suitable for Swift’s young fans famously nicknamed “Taylor Tots.”
Swift is already well-known for her constant streams of songs with lyrics criticizing her past lovers, but this album seems to kick it all up a notch.
“I feel bad for all the Taylor Tots because most parents are not going to deem this album appropriate,” Swiftie Crystal Barkley wrote on the Taylor Swift’s Vault Facebook group.
Her comment spurred a lot of feedback quickly gaining more than 1,000 comments as mothers of fans jumped in to agree that the album is problematic.
“This album is definitely NOT suitable for kids,” commenter Tana Hancock wrote.
Mother Casey McDonald Smith added that the dark themes in the album were worrisome.
“I’m OK with the curse words, but there’s a lot of self-harm, violence, and death talk I’m not feeling comfy with at this second,” Smith wrote.
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Another mom said she intended to pay very close attention to the lyrics before she exposed her 9-year-old daughter to the album.
Another mom, Kilee Herlin, exclaimed, “I have been debating this myself. Not because of swears but just because of the deep, mature feelings. It’s definitely got some darkness.”
“I don’t think her lyrics are for kids anymore as well. And that’s OK. Let the kids listen to her older stuff then when they are 21, give them the rest and let them figure it out,” fan Trayce Chambers agreed.
Others, though, pointed out that Swift has produced a cleaned-up version of the album more suitable for younger fans.
“She is writing about adult stuff … However there is a non-explicit version so if you’re worried about the language itself that shouldn’t be an issue,” Anna Wells noted.
Fan Kaitlyn Baumgardner, though, fully excused the dark turn heard on the album, writing dismissively, “Taylor is a grown adult. She’s going to write about adult s***.”
“Taylor isn’t for the little girls anymore, she grew up and so did we,” Emily LaCroix wrote, adding, “And we’re here for it.”
Regardless, many of these moms are right to be concerned. Currently, Swift is the most popular singer in music today, and her influence is vast. A dark, brooding, even dangerous album like this one could have far-reaching effects that Swift didn’t even account for.
Parents have every right to make sure that what their children are being exposed to is suitable for them, and parents need to be far more proactive about the media their kids consume. Whether it is TV, movies, music, or social media, there is an awful lot of extremely inappropriate stuff floating around out there — all of which parents need to be aware of.
