The Authentic Eclectic
Taylor Swift’s Feminist Growing Pains
She’s come a long way since 1989
Taylor Swift- the Feminist- reappeared in 2021 with a spontaneous message. Since she has become woke over the last few years, Swift has integrated feminism into her brand in an authentic way. The latent patriarchal critique of “mad woman,” on her 2020 album folklore, contrasts the performative activism of the 1989 era. However, is Taylor Swift’s latest feminist statement consistent with the “woke-ness” of her post-2016 brand? Or, is it a vestige of the rallying cries of yesteryear, that often showed how little she understood about feminism?
Pivot to Feminism
During her 1989 album cycle, Swift introduced the world to Taylor Swift the Feminist. She did this through numerous interviews where she (many times) made the (valid) point that male artists Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran receive much less flack than she does from the media for “writing about their exes.” However, most were not pleased with the rollout of Swift’s new feminist brand. Only a few years before, Swift had said, “I don’t really see it as a boys vs. girls issue,” to The Daily Beast when asked if she was a feminist. Yikes. Country singers really are Republicans. But pop singers, apparently, are not.
However, Taylor Swift’s pivot to feminism circa 1989 (the album, not the year) might not have been as contrived as it appeared. Although she perfectly timed her feminist awakening with the release of an album about independence, Swift excels at commodifying something authentic. The use of feminism to strengthen her brand does not necessarily invalidate the authenticity of her feminism. Conversely, it would be sexist to criticize a woman for the way she incorporates feminism into her brand. By definition, that criticism is going to disproportionately affect women. Maybe, instead of criticizing feminists, we should criticize the men who make them necessary.
