Taylor Swift: global phenomenon, celebrated popstar, and, practically, religious entity. Yes, she is all of this but she is also so much more. This isn’t a love letter to Taylor Swift or an image of fans kneeling at her feet and screaming for another song to be sung; this is someone acknowledging Taylor’s endgame presence, her final impact on history.
Whether intentional or not, whether curated upon planning her career or not, Taylor Swift has become a modern, unique expression of feminism. She is the voice for silenced and shamed women who were forced to internalize their pain by men and societal pressure.
It is important to remember she isn’t the full picture. She isn’t representing all races, sexualities, stories, identities, classes, but no one can expect her to be, as a white, cis woman who hasn’t had all those experiences. No one can expect one person to be everyone. However, she is an umbrella.
Taylor Swift talks about the female experience that many people globally can relate to because while it might not exist everywhere, female oppression exists in most places in some form. “I look at the crowd at her concert and there were all manners of ages, and stripes of people, colors of people…there’s something universal she’s tapping into,” said English teacher, feminist, and Taylor Swift fan, Shannon Sieckert. “I feel seen when I listen to her songs which is really interesting for me because [Taylor Swift] is younger than me…She’s able to capture things in a way where I don’t always have words to understand or adequately describe them,” added Sieckert.
Many women have been betrayed by men, businesses, or friends on top of the other issues they face. Once again, Taylor is the mouth that speaks truths for females who have been taught self-loathing, which she normalizes and validates. This can provide women with the opportunity to verbalize and accept their stories, to understand they are worthy of experiencing the human experience, the pain and grief.
They are justified in their pain, in the wallowing, in the contradiction and protest against men who have been their oppressors and creators of a society that inflicts such pain. “She makes people feel seen and heard…regardless if you’re a fan or not I think that it’s really obvious that what she’s doing and how she’s doing it is super revolutionary,” said sophomore Shira Ayalon, president of the Taylor Swift Lyric Analysis Club on campus. Sophomore “swiftie” Maddie Collins believes, “She said so many things that empower women…I know Gypsy Rose recently said ‘Taylor Swift inspires me; she embodies girl power’”.
Feminism is the equality of the sexes. Susan B. Anthony, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Malala Yousafzai, and so many others have fought for this common goal of equality. While Taylor Swift isn’t often placed in the same arena as these women, understandably so, she has still made an impact on feminism.
She has revolutionized feminism to be so personal and specific that many have been able to find refuge in her music, in her image. “She puts so much effort and thought into her lyrics and makes storylines and metaphors that are relatable. She paints a really vivid picture that looks into how she’s feeling and her personal accounts,” said Ayalon.
People can see a woman with so much influence and fame speaking the stories they were taught to suppress. This validates and uplifts their experiences. By doing this people are able to cope, mourn, and protest. They are able to feel human. “She picks these things apart and makes us feel okay for feeling and there’s a sort of joy combined with ‘oh my god I’m not the only one,’” said Sieckert. These women can feel like they belong. That belonging, empathy, and solidarity grants freedom, ambition, and a kind of safety. This ultimately creates a form of necessary equality.
Taylor Swift uses the medium of pop tunes for feminist work. Pop tunes often take the form of catchy songs, illustrating females as incomplete beings who require a man, the love and praise of a man to be whole or worthy of a happy existence. This is the genius, intentional or not, of this woman, this artist, and, above all, this feminist. Within the realm of female stereotypes pop tunes can perpetuate, Swift contradicts those very stereotypes.
At first, listening to Swift’s music it can seem incredibly basic and superficial. The melodies can sound the same. The content can seem immature. However, Taylor Swift is more than just music. She has to be because love song after love song isn’t enough to achieve authenticity. It is easy to become lost in the fanfare, in the cult-like, herd behavior environment of Taylor Swift and her music. Maybe that’s why some initially gravitate towards her.
However, in future generations when people recall this artist and review her lyrics, backstory, and accomplishments, they will see what she did. They will learn that by making feminism an empathetic, intimate experience she brought out so many underground dwellers, so many women to embrace their own stories, to buttress and propel feminism, all while revolutionizing the way we see it.
“You look at someone like Britney Spears who was chewed up, spit out, and over sexualized, then you look at somebody like Taylor Swift and how everybody comments on her dating life and what size her body is…she is really shining a light on some of that stuff and the toxicity in our cultures towards women. If there was something broader people should take away from her is how not to treat women and girls and how to parse feelings with nuance and tenderness,” said Sieckert.
Sophomore Rodrigo Dominguez, who personally doesn’t enjoy her music, said, “she really uplifts a lot of women, if you’re a woman listening to Taylor Swift for that is great but just listening to her cry over break-ups isn’t good.”
Ayalon continued, “even if you don’t like the music you can understand there’s true meaning behind it and it’s deep even if it doesn’t sound like it…you have to take the whole picture into account and realize how far she has come in what she’s accomplished.” Taylor Swift needs to be acknowledged for this new movement she has created that has allowed people to join and continue to build a world, to rebuild a society, where females are just as human as the rest.
