“Slut!” is a seamless melding of the two Taylors: the girl with the teardrop-stained guitar who draws musical inspiration from her love life and the proud feminist who told Maxim in 2015, “Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born.” She touches on how her relationships are treated differently from those of male celebrities with the lyrics, “Love thorns all over this rose / I’ll pay the price, you won’t.” In other words, she’s the one who is risking relentless hateful trolling, sexist late-night talk show jokes, and negative headlines by adding another lover to her list.
She also sings, “But if I’m all dressed up / They might as well be lookin’ at us / And if they call me a slut / You know it might be worth it for once.” Swift is giving fans some profound insight into what it’s like for her to date in the spotlight. She can’t just enjoy a casual outing with a guy she barely knows; before she steps out in public with someone, there has to be enough chemistry there for her to feel like being with them is worth the price she’ll pay for it.
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The song’s music is dreamy, but there’s an edge of bitterness to Swift’s lyrics. “Everyone wants him, that was my crime,” she laments. Basically, she dated someone desirable and she was cast as the villain by those who were jealous of the relationship.
