Kayla Bartsch writes for National Review about the significance of Taylor Swift’s high-profile engagement announcement.
The romantic affair is a watershed moment for every female under 40 — it’s like the lead of America’s most popular sitcom has finally found “The One” after 19 seasons of trial and error. And the last episode? A lavish wedding.
While a self-proclaimed “New Romantic,” Taylor is not afraid to embrace tradition and make marriage the pinnacle of her story.
Who else remembers when eschewing wedding vows was all the rage among celebrities? When tabloids were full of snippets about famous couples who lived together as “partners,” and perhaps even raised children together, but shrugged off marriage as an antiquated or unnecessary social convention?
Famous duos such as Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling, Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham, and even Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, have all hovered in “partner” limbo. Of course, if “love” is the only thing that matters — and marriage is viewed as irrelevant, or even an obstacle, to that purer goal — then the wedding bells are bound to stay silent.
The pop star’s recent engagement — accompanied with all the pomp and circumstance (and public ecstasy) of a royal wedding announcement — asserts marriage as the real endgame of romantic relationships. Taylor’s “yes” implicitly affirms for girls everywhere that it’s okay to want to get married; that it’s a “beautiful miracle, unbelievable,” instead of just acceptable.
Taylor’s engagement announcement already has 31 million likes on Instagram. Her post that announced the highlight of her career — buying back all the music she’s ever made — received fewer than 10 million. While Swift’s fans have cheered her on in every success, it’s apparent that this latest win has especially captured the hearts of Swifties and normies alike.
And this makes sense — since her first album dropped in 2006, anyone who has listened to her music has been a part of her quest for a husband.
