Taylor Swift’s Commentary On Gender
Photo Credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock: Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards Ceremony
By Sonya Surapaneni
Whether you pretend to hate her or have her album posters up on your wall, you can’t deny Taylor’s Swift’s talent. Or rather, her legacy.
Personally, my relationship to Taylor Swift’s music has always been a rollercoaster of love and hate. I loved her country, hated her pop, grew into her pop, went to three concerts, and now—I haven’t listened to her in over a year. However, I still have hundreds of friends who would just about die for her, and those who would pledge that she’s the reason they love themselves. As a female icon, she’s taught so many teenagers how to love themselves and has constantly sung about feminism throughout her career.
However, today I’m focusing on Taylor Swift and all the speeches she’s given, empowering women of every age. Early in her career she targeted Kanye West in a Grammy Speech, presenting herself as a strong woman, focused on empowering others. On stage, she says “I want to say to all the young women out there—there are going to be people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don't let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be the greatest feeling in the world.” And, as much as I love Kanye’s music, she’s absolutely right. So many women in the career industries are constantly being belittled by men, and it goes unnoticed so often; it’s almost normal nowadays. We’ve become so desensitized that it’s become so hard to call out, and we respect Taylor for doing it so bravely, in front of millions of people.
On CBS recently, Taylor slammed the music industry for sexism, bringing up the tense topic of equal rights—once again. She claims that “there’s a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry. A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.”
I could rant about how iconic she is again, but on a more serious note, she serves as an inspiration to me, and so many other girls today. Not many famous pop stars speak up about the injustices behind the music industry, and even knowing the risks of it, Taylor still chose to speak up, motivating others to do the same.
Gorgeous, educated, and brave, Taylor stands at the frontline for feminism, using her voice to speak up for millions. She uses her platform for the better, focusing on changing the world with her short pep-talks now and then. Anyways, stream Taylor Swift!
