What Taylor Swift Can Teach Us About Human Rights

by Meredith Hood

Are we in our human rights era?

This December, Swifties will be taking a short break between legs of the Eras Tour, but the month will also mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The first document in the world to identify and enshrine human rights, members of the UN came together in 1948 and outlined the 30 rights they deemed most essential to being human. Many of these rights can be spotted as lyrics in Taylor Swift songs (Easter eggs, if you will). Take a look:

“The Man” — Lover (2019)

Lyrics: I’m so sick of running as fast as I can//wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man

They’d say I hustled//put in the work//they wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve//what I was wearing//if I was rude

UDHR Article: 1. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”

Article 1 affirms the right to equality. In “The Man,” Swift expresses frustration about being discriminated against based on her gender throughout her career. She has experienced challenges that men in her position do not face. When she reaches her goals, her integrity is questioned. She’s asked if she succeeded on her own merit, how she was dressed, and how she treated people along the way. She’s asked questions a man likely would never have to answer. Article 1 tells us there is no exception for gender inequality in human rights; worth is inherent and within all of us. Swift’s gender should not be an impeding factor in her success.

“Love Story” — Fearless (2008)’

Lyrics: He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said//marry me, Juliet

It’s a love story//baby just say yes

UDHR Article: 16. “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.”

Perhaps her most well-known love ballad, “Love Story” may appear to be built solely from fairytale and literary elements. Comparing her relationship to the forbidden love of Romeo and Juliet, the song resolves by Swift’s father ultimately giving his blessing to the couple. Article 16 states marriage is a foundational human right. Don’t tell Scott Swift, but Taylor and her beau did not need her father’s okay to tie the knot.

“You Need to Calm Down” — Lover (2019)

Lyrics: Control your urges to scream about all the people you hate//’cause shade never made anybody less gay

Why are you mad?//when you could be GLAAD?

UDHR Article: 2. “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind.”

In “You Need to Calm Down” Swift is voicing her allyship to the LGBTQ+ community, whom she knows are particularly vulnerable to violations of Article 2. She denounces those participating in hate speech, maintaining their anger is misplaced and futile. Swift also rhymes “mad” with “GLAAD,” formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, an LGBTQ+ advocacy NGO. Article 2 states our freedom from discrimination is a human right, and Swift reaffirms this through her declaration of support for marginalized groups.

“No Body, No Crime” — Evermore (2020)

Lyrics: I think he did it but I just can’t prove it

She thinks I did it but she just can’t prove it//no, no body, no crime

UDHR Article: 11. “Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.”

In “No Body, No Crime,” Swift suspects the husband of her friend Este is being unfaithful. And when Este goes missing and her husband’s mistress moves into Este’s house, her suspicions grow. Something terrible has happened to Este. Swift knows Este’s husband is responsible, but she can’t prove it. She takes matters into her own hands and, well, you know.* The 11th Article of the UDHR reminds us until Taylor is tried and found guilty by a jury of her peers, she cannot be held accountable for Este’s husband’s death.

“Only the Young” — Miss Americana (2020)

Lyrics: So every day now//You brace for the sound//You’ve only heard on TV//You go to class, scared//Wondering where the best hiding spot would be

They aren’t gonna change this//we gotta do it ourselves

UDHR Article: 3. “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”

21. “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

26. “Everyone has the right to education.”

Multiple UDHR Articles are at work in “Only the Young.” Swift is describing the culture of gun violence in America and the impact on its young people. Fearing an active shooter, Swift evokes provocative imagery of students looking for places to hide in their classrooms. Article 3 contains the most fundamental right we have as human beings — the right to life. Students and faculty in American schools are not currently guaranteed this right. The right to life and the right to education, Article 26, are being violated if educational institutions are not safe spaces. In the bridge of the song, Swift states her call to action: if US government officials are unable or unwilling to enact change, then it is up to us (especially the young people) to do so. Article 21 states our right to participate in our government. We can run for office ourselves or vote for candidates who are aligned with our cause. “Only the Young” encourages both, drawing on two other Articles as its driver.

Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the architects of the Declaration, said “where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home.” Maybe universal human rights can begin right in our cars, listening to Taylor Swift.

• Swift believes in an eye for an eye in avenging her friend’s death. That’s all I’m at liberty to say.

Meredith Hood is a Fellow at the Center for Human Rights and Human Rights Education at Salem State University and was an Intern at Human Rights Educators (HRE) USA.

Yvonne Vissing, PhD, is the founding director of the Center for Human Rights, as well as the Center for Childhood & Youth Studies at Salem State University. She is always happy to help you promote human rights and you can find her at yvissing@salemstate.edu

For more information on young people’s right to have human rights, check out Yvonne Vissing’s new book on Children’s Human Rights in the USA: Challenges and Opportunities (Springer Publishers 2023).