By now, many know about the “Eldest Daughter Syndrome,” an unofficial condition that took Tiktok by storm in 2024 due to family therapist Kati Morton raising awareness of this topic on her channel. This topic quickly got everyone’s interest and attention. According to Karishma Luthria and Claire Keenan in an article on the topic for The Guardian, people who experience this “syndrome” often have high expectations, even perfectionism. Other symptoms include being a Type A person (very detail oriented, punctual, overachiever), worrying and stressing all the time about little things, being a people pleaser, and feeling guilty over everything that happens.
One person who knows the condition all too well is Taylor Swift, seeing as she is the oldest of two children in her family. In her new album, The Life of A Showgirl, released on October 3rd, she talks about topics that range from the problems brought on by fame to finding love to making your own happiness to feeling the regret of not taking a chance. Swift also acknowledges the problems, feelings, and pressures many people experience at some point in their lives, even if you’re the youngest in your family.
In the song “Eldest Daughter,” Swift writes and sings, “Pretty soon, I learned cautious discretion/When your first crush crushes something kind/When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie/Every eldest daughter/Was the first lamb to the slaughter/So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire.” In this song, Swift is basically saying that from a young age, she has felt the emotional burden and turmoil that comes with being the eldest daughter. Being a lamb to the slaughter is typically someone who is innocent and helpless, unlike a wolf, who seems to be in control of their life, knowing who to “hunt” and when to appear dangerous and strong, even if that is just a facade.
Swift, the superstar pop icon, will never fail to remind all of us that she is still human and that she has feelings too. She reminds us that almost everyone, especially eldest daughters, feel pressure to be perfect, but she also reminds us that we can eventually free ourselves from the shackles of this malady when we find true freedom, love, and happiness.
