May 20, 2015
Taylor Swift Talks Feminism and Misogyny in Maxim
Having just been named number one on Maxim's annual top 100 list, Taylor Swift used the accompanying interview in the magazine to talk about her friends and the heavyweight topics of feminism and misogyny.
In reference to her avoidance of feminism early in her career, Swift said, "Honestly, I didn't have an accurate definition of feminism when I was younger. I didn't quite see all the ways that feminism is vital to growing up in the world we live in... I think that when I used to say, 'Oh, feminism's not really on my radar,' it was because when I was just seen as a kid, I wasn't as threatening. I didn't see myself being held back until I was a woman."
Swift also went to town in attacking the "double standards in headlines" and "double standards in the way things are perceived." "A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining," Swift said. "Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it's just basically another word for equality."
Last year, Swift credited her relationship with Girls creator Lena Dunham (who also appears in the totally rad "Bad Blood" video) with opening her eyes to feminism. "She runs her own company, she's creating music that connects to other women instead of creating a sexual persona for the male gaze and no one is in control of her," Dunham told Rolling Stone in 2014. "If that's not feminism, what is?"
Sure sounds like feminism to me.
h/t: Rolling Stone
In reference to her avoidance of feminism early in her career, Swift said, "Honestly, I didn't have an accurate definition of feminism when I was younger. I didn't quite see all the ways that feminism is vital to growing up in the world we live in... I think that when I used to say, 'Oh, feminism's not really on my radar,' it was because when I was just seen as a kid, I wasn't as threatening. I didn't see myself being held back until I was a woman."
Swift also went to town in attacking the "double standards in headlines" and "double standards in the way things are perceived." "A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining," Swift said. "Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it's just basically another word for equality."
Last year, Swift credited her relationship with Girls creator Lena Dunham (who also appears in the totally rad "Bad Blood" video) with opening her eyes to feminism. "She runs her own company, she's creating music that connects to other women instead of creating a sexual persona for the male gaze and no one is in control of her," Dunham told Rolling Stone in 2014. "If that's not feminism, what is?"
Sure sounds like feminism to me.
h/t: Rolling Stone