DOI
10.1093/9780197812495.003.0019
Abstract
Taylor Swift’s “Wi$h Li$t” describes people who “want it all.” There, she declares that, in contrast to those who want it all, she dreams about living a quiet life with a driveway and a basketball hoop. This chapter argues that dreaming about a driveway with a basketball hoop while staying married to the hustle is still a form of wanting it all. Like Swift, and me, many other women today enjoy a degree of autonomy and material abundance that our grandmothers could only dream about. We’re free to boss up or settle down. But still, we have to make trade-offs. No one, not even Taylor Swift, can fit everything that is valuable and good into a single human life. The anxiety of choice is unavoidable, but it can be managed with the help of a good sourdough starter.
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
8-18-2026
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2026 Oxford University Press
Recommended Citation
Flanigan, Jessica, 'Boss Up/Bake Bread', in Lindsay Brainard, Ryan W Davis, and Jessica Flanigan (eds), The Philosophy of Taylor Swift (New York, NY, 2026; online edn, Oxford Academic, 18 Aug. 2026), https://doi.org/10.1093/9780197812495.003.0019.
