Taylor Swift - Not Just a Break Up Song

Taylor Swift -- for many of us, she defined our childhoods, teenage years, and even our current identities. She grew up with us. She touched our lives. I remember being ten years old, dancing in my living room to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless,” and then a year or two later, “Speak Now.” Posters of the two iconic albums were plastered on my wall. It really did look like some sort of a shrine. 

As I grew, Taylor grew as well. From her first self-titled album to Reputation and now evermore, Taylor evolved dramatically as an artist. Now, Taylor has a new album, or as she coins it - “a sister album to folklore.” Also, Taylor is working on re-recording her past albums to her royalties. 

Unfortunately, Taylor’s career has been anything but pleasant. From lawsuits to losing the rights to her music, Taylor’s career is a foremost example of misogyny not only in the entertainment business but in the media as well. In this analysis, I will go over an overview of Swift’s career, the many obstacles she’s had to face, and how she is persistently a role model.

Let's start from the beginning -- on October 24th, 2006, Taylor Swift released her first self-titled album. The most popular songs from this album are “Teardrops on my Guitar'' and “Our Song.” I can remember screaming my heart out to these songs, and I will find myself playing them now and then. Two years later, Taylor released her second album “Fearless.” This album was featured as number one on the Billboard Hot 100, further launching her career. Now here is where we can see misogyny take its first form in her career. In a 2008 Women’s Health interview, the interviewer describes Swift as unlikely to “crash and burn like Britney [Spears] or Lindsay [Lohan].” This is problematic because it feeds into the “not like the other girls” stereotype. This comparison is made between the “young” and “innocent” girls as compared to the “crashed” girls. This internalized misogyny perpetually brings down women’s mental struggles as opposed to blaming the entertainment industry. The interviewer then tells their readers not to “expect photos of her pantiless and slinking out of a limo finding their way onto the internet first.” This is a prime example of victim-blaming because instead of placing the fault on the intensely intrusive paparazzi, the media will constantly tear women down for what, wearing underwear?  

Flash forward to 2019, Taylor released Lover, her eighth album following Reputation. One of the most notable songs on the album is titled “The Man.” This song depicts a world in which Taylor is a man and therefore is more respected and more successful: “They'd say I hustled, put in the work they wouldn't shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve, what I was wearing, if I was rude.” While this song strove to empower women and to moreover bring light to the gender discrepancy in the entertainment industry, the media formed a different opinion. For example, shortly after the song and accompanying music video was released, USA Today published an article titled “Dear Taylor Swift, You are Not a Victim, so Stop Acting Like One.” The article additionally claims that throughout her career, Taylor’s gender has only helped her to become successful -- “Her incredibly successful brand is uniquely feminine. Look at the way she dresses, the way she sets up her stages, or the cover art she chooses.” There is a myriad of offenses to unpack here. 

First and foremost, putting forth the narrative that Taylor’s gender is the reason she is successful today is blatantly sexist. Although Taylor had been constantly sexualized and even sexually harassed in 2013, there continue to be claims made that Taylor’s gender has aided her career. Also, saying that Taylor’s brand is feminine just because she dresses a certain way is painfully stereotypical. Taylor’s album covers have an incredibly different range. The comparison between reputation and fearless is innately opposite -- light monochrome beige to black and white. From, this a question forms: what about Taylor’s album covers is specifically, and stereotypically, feminine? Is having long, blonde hair the end all be all of being a woman? These stereotypes perpetuate through the entertainment industry. This USA Today article is moreover proving Taylor’s point in “The Man,” which is incredibly ironic. 

The mainstream media has always been incredibly misogynistic and Taylor Swift is just one example. How can we, as a society, help deplete headlines such as “Taylor Swift’s Spineless Feminism” and “How Taylor Swift Played the Victim For A Decade and Made her Entire Career”? The media undoubtedly helps us determine our outlook on every entertainment artist. The simple answer would be to stop giving these articles traction, however, their clickbait-nature ensures that this will never be a reality. The ability to distinguish these misogynistic articles from reality lies in forming our own opinion. The first step: recognizing that gender is a social construct and that no one specific physical feature is selective to a specific gender, for example, dressing only being for women. Any gender can wear a dress because gender norms are just a social construct created to help reduce people to their specific gender. Taylor Swift can wear a dress, and so can Harry Styles.

The second step: realizing that just because Taylor Swift writes some of her songs about her relationships does not mean she is “boy crazy.” Many of Taylor’s songs do not even pertain to relationships. I feel as though many of those claiming Taylor is not a real feminist because she writes about men have jumped on some sort of a bandwagon. In reality, as Taylor terms it, “feminism simply means that you believe that women and men should have equal rights.” On those grounds -- and being the dictionary definition of feminism -- why is it not acceptable for Taylor to write about romantic relationships but acceptable and “raw” for other artists to do the same? Additionally, many, including the USA Today article, claim that Taylor cannot be a true feminist while still embracing “feminine attributes.” This, again, leads back to the idea that gender roles are just a societal construct and then any gender should be able to be smart, sophisticated, and powerful, weaning whatever they please. Taylor highlights this in her documentary Miss Americana: "I Want To Love Glitter And Also Stand Up For The Double Standards That Exist In Our Society''. 

Moreover, the mainstream media constantly perpetuates misogynistic analyses of women in the entertainment business. Not only women, but anyone who chooses to portray a stereotypically feminine attitude and style will face intense criticism. On this basis, how will we ever reach gender equality? One of the most important steps we can take as a society is to acknowledge the underlying misogynistic tones in media articles. As always, acceptance is the first step to change. It is difficult to envision, but I hope that one day society can reach a point where a woman can write about men without being considered anti-feminist, anyone can wear dresses without being called anti-masculine, and the media does not constantly reduce women in the entertainment industry to their gender. 

Works Referenced

"Interview with Taylor Swift: She's Living Her Taylor-Made Dream." Women's Health, www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a19982986/taylor-swift-interview/.

Smith, Haley Victory. "Dear Taylor Swift, you are not a victim, so stop acting like one." USA Today, www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/09/17/taylor-swift-the-man-lyrics-youre-not-victim-stop-column/2335335001/.

Woodward, Ellie. "How Taylor Swift Played The Victim For A Decade And Made Her Entire Career." Buzzfeed, www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/how-taylor-swift-played-the-victim-and-made-her-entire-caree.

Zimmerman, Amy. "Taylor Swift's Spineless Feminism." The Daily Beast, www.thedailybeast.com/taylor-swifts-spineless-feminism.