Taylor Swift: You either love her or you hate her.
For some people, she exemplifies feminism and girl power in the music industry. But for others, Swift represents a different symbol: one that is more negative. There is no doubt that Swift has faced an immense amount of sexism in the industry, so why are her experiences often invalidated? How did Swift’s image shift from a beloved country-pop star to a two-faced, annoying liar? One Medium article puts it perfectly: “Hating on Swift is basically a universal hobby, at this point.”
Swift’s documentary, Miss Americana (2020), gives us insight into her personal struggles and experiences as a woman in the music industry, including eating disorders, sexual assault and one man that almost ruined her entire career. The film was made as a clapback to the criticism she receives every day. The goal of the documentary wasn’t to derive sympathy for herself, but instead to show us that she, one of the most influential artists in the music industry, experiences similar struggles to an average woman.
According to Swift, women are held at an impossible standard in the music industry. She has realized over the years that any move she makes will be harshly criticized and that the expectation is not for women to achieve success on their own. “As a female in this industry, some people will always have some slight reservations about you: whether you deserve to be there, whether your male producer or co-writer is the reason for your success… ” Swift said in her acceptance speech at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in 2019.
“It’s a little discouraging that females have to work so much harder to prove that they do their own things. I see Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea having to prove that they write their own raps or their own lyrics, and it makes me sad, because they shouldn’t have to justify it,” she said. This gender disparity is the reason why Swift speaks out against male privilege in the industry and stands up for other female artists. By calling misogyny out, she helps others realize the music industry’s disparity and helps to dismantle people’s internal biases.
Calling out gender inequalities is what separates Swift from other (specifically male) artists. While some male artists do speak out and amplify female voices, they have not been personal targets of sexism in the industry, so many don’t feel an obligation to advocate. For Swift, experiencing this sexism and speaking out about it is necessary. In her song, “The Man,” Swift sings: “They’d say I hustled/ Put in the work/ They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve [if I were a man].” This song received harsh criticism across the world. One USA Today article writes, “This type of feminism isn’t empowerment. Grasping at a fake victimhood and complaining about it to the world is not empowerment.”
The invalidation of other womens’ struggles is toxic to society. While it is undeniable that Swift has achieved success in the music industry, it is also undeniable that Swift has faced struggles in her career that she would not have faced if she were a man. Tom Christensen, the Head of the Music Department at Fieldston, teaches a course on American music. According to him, the criticism “is mainly due to our male dominated society and the unfair bias we have toward women in general.” He also believes that there isn’t a fine line between the music industry and the rest of society, but that the music industry might even experience more misogyny. Instead of writing about how Swift’s obstacles are nothing compared to those of other women, we should be listening to what she has to say since unfortunately, most women face similar struggles, regardless of fame or wealth.
Fieldston’s own, Abena Koomson-Davis is a musician in addition to being an Ethics teacher. She has been on Broadway, been in several bands and performed with famous musicians, like Kesha and Stevie Wonder. In 2018, Koomson-Davis, along with other members of the Resistance Revival Chorus, performed with Kesha at the Grammys. Kesha performed her song “Praying,” written about the challenges that she has faced as a woman in the industry. She also performed with her sisterhood of other female artists, like Cyndi Lauper, Camila Cabello and Andra Day.
With the performance around one year after the Women’s March in Washington D.C, it was a powerful moment for women across the world. For Koomson-Davis, the challenges she faces as a woman in the music industry are similar to the challenges she faces as a woman in society. Things like belittlement or assumptions about a woman’s ability exist in society which the music industry is ingrained into. Famous female artists like Taylor Swift and Kesha have a platform to speak out against the challenges they face in the music industry, and sharing their voice is critical for women all over the world who can relate to these issues.
One infamous example of conflict includes Swift’s feud with Kanye West, starting in 2009 at the MTV VMAS. Taylor Swift, just 17 years old at the time, had been announced the winner of the best female video award. As it turned out, male rapper Kanye West had other ideas about who should have won the award. West got up on stage and confidently told the audience that Beyonce should have won the award, stealing Swift’s deserved feeling of victory and celebration away from her. This was an embarrassing moment for everyone involved: Swift, West and even Beyonce.
Years passed, and West had still never personally apologized to Swift. The situation only escalated when West’s song “Famous” dropped in 2016. “I made that b**** famous,” raps West, referring to Swift. According to Swift, she was never aware of this rather misogynistic line in the song. This accusation started a series of back and forth tweets between Swift and Kim Kardashian, West’s wife. Kardashian claimed that Swift did approve the lyric, even referring to Swift as a snake in one tweet, suggesting that she was a liar. After many more messy Twitter arguments and released phone calls, it was revealed that Swift had been telling the truth the entire time.
This pop culture drama represents a much larger gender issue. Why is it that a man’s side of the story is more likely to be listened to and believed than a woman’s? A study by Pew Research found that the word “honest” was used two times more when describing men than when describing women. When you relate this research to a topic such as sexual assault, the pieces come together.
In 2017, Swift famously won a lawsuit against a man who groped her at a meet and greet in 2013, winning $1. This process, which she described as “dehumanizing,” took around 4 years. “This is with seven witnesses and a photo. What happens when you get raped, and it’s your word against his?” she said. The $1 that Swift won was a powerful statement that demonstrated her support for other victims of sexual assault.
The unjustified disliking of Taylor Swift around the country has to stop. How many times have you heard someone hate a male artist ‘just because’? Swift has rightfully earned her spot as a successful musician, so society must stop doubting her achievements and work towards dismantling misogyny in the music industry.
