On “The Oprah Winfrey Show” today, Taylor Swift said she doesn’t need a boyfriend. She was interviewed by the sweet, 11-year-old Jordan (a big Taylor Swift fan), Oprah’s “co-host” for the show. Jordan asked Taylor if she has a big crush right now and Taylor responded by saying that she doesn’t have a boyfriend and doesn’t feel the *need* to have one. She explained that she’d rather be single than in a relationship just to be in one.

How refreshing.

As a parent, and now to a girl, it’s great to hear. It’s especially important coming from a young woman that so many tween and teen girls admire. Taylor is beautiful, talented and rich. Any man would want to date her, yet she’s choosing to fill her life with other things, saying she’d make room for a relationship if the right man came along.

It’s great for 11-year-old girls to hear. Too often I see women, not just girls, dive into relationships that are wrong. They are always in a relationship, moving from one boyfriend to the next without taking a break just to “be.”

Last year I wrote a post inspired by the people at Dove who continue to promote the importance of teaching a sense of self esteem in girls. They said, “only three in every 10 girls feels worthy.” Wow. It’s important to teach girls, from a young age, how important they are. They don’t need a boy or a man to feel worthy. That while being in a relationship can be a great thing, it shouldn’t be the only thing in your life.

Maybe Taylor will inspire young girls to have confidence in themselves and to be comfortable with who they are — boyfriend or not. If it’s cool for a pop star like her to be single, maybe other girls will not put so much emphasis on whether or not they have a boyfriend. We need to shift the focus on needing a boyfriend, to wanting one if it allows them to continue to be who they are. And, that if they don’t have a boyfriend, they are OK.

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