Taylor Swift’s release of her new album April 19 has given me the opportunity to reflect on her incredible influence. Swift is not just a singer and songwriter but is also a role model for young girls and women. She challenges societal sexiest inequalities and double standards in her music. One song that really stands out in this way is “The Man” from her album “Lover”.
“They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to
And that would be okay
For me to do
Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you”
In Swift’s song she starts off with no beating around the bush. In this lyric Swift refers to the problems of slut shaming in the music industry. In 2019 Swift won Billboard’s “Woman of the Decade” award and during her speech she said, “Have you ever heard someone say about a male artist, ‘I really like his songs, but there’s just something about him I don’t like’? No, that criticism is reserved for us.” Men are often praised for dumping a significant other and quickly moving onto a new one, but when women do it, it’s frowned upon. Why is that?
“What I was wearing
If I was rude
Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves?”
In this line Swift describes that women are often viewed separately from their brains and looked at as an item. They are judged for their outer appearance before being given the opportunity to be heard. There is a universal issue of men interrupting women. Some men feel entitled to and most of the time they can get away with it. For instance, in 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards Swift won Best Female Video for ‘You Belong With Me’ at the age of 19. While Swift was giving her acceptance speech, rapper Kanye West snatched the microphone away from Swift and took away her spotlight by saying, “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” Although when West interrupted Swift she kept her composure and she acted as if nothing was happening.
“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I’d get there quicker
If I was a man.”
The chorus from Swift’s song is so powerful. She states over and over again how men are basically handed everything. However, women have to work harder and in many cases strive for perfection to even be heard. Many women can notice these issues mainly in the workplace. One example that has caused an uproar in the media recently is WNBA number 1 overall draft pick, Caitlen Clark being grossly underpaid. Clark has changed the world of not only women’s basketball but women’s sports. She has elevated the game to a whole other level. According to ESPN, Clark even broke the record to become the all-time women’s NCAA Division I scoring leader. Not only that, she scored the most points of all time by any college player, man or woman, with 3,951 points. Yet, Clark makes 137% less than the NBA’s number 1 overall draft pick.
Both Swift and Clark have used their influence to inspire many young women around the world to pursue their dreams and challenge societal normalities. They are both powerful examples of women who use their influence to empower and uplift others.
