Taylor Swift's getting explicit. Parents, don't tune out

Banning artistes or switching radio stations may be instinctive for parents who want to shield their children from suggestive pop music. There's a better way.

- June Yong

As a young teen in the 1990s, I remember mindlessly scribbling the words of a popular Madonna song on my science lab table: "I'm crazy for you, touch me once and you'll know it's true.

Of course, I got into trouble - I had to copy the sentence “I will not vandalise school property” multiple times, and call my parents. But it is for that reason the incident stuck in my head.

Fast forward to today, with the likes of Taylor Swift’s track, Wood, from her recently released album, The Life Of A Showgirl, and Sabrina Carpenter’s Tears making waves in the music scene, Madonna’s Crazy For You seems almost virtuous in comparison.

How much more trouble would I have got into if I had scribbled the lyrics of Wood on my science lab table instead!

Swift’s song is laced with double entendres, from “redwood tree” to “magic wand”. It celebrates her fiance, Travis Kelce’s, sexual prowess and the way he’s seemingly broken her streak of bad luck in love.

Pop music certainly flirted with adult themes in the past think Madonna’s Like A Virgin or the Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1. But these songs often relied on innuendo and suggestive phrases rather than explicit detail.

Today, the tone has shifted. Artistes like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter are part of a wave of pop stars whose lyrics are more direct, employing metaphors that leave little to the imagination.

This is representative of a broader trend: our increasingly sexualised culture.

What does it mean when children and teens encounter music with adult themes before they’re developmentally ready to process them? And more importantly, what can parents do?

SUBTLE INFLUENCE OF MUSIC

Music is powerful. It shapes identity, influences mood, and often becomes the soundtrack to one’s formative years.