Taylor Swift is an American songwriter taking the music industry by storm. She is known for her music versatility and is an extremely prominent cultural figure of the 21st century. Her success is not only attributed to her musical talent but also to her ability to connect with her fans and address relatable themes through her songwriting; along with this, she is additionally known for her advocacy on issues such as gender equality and artist's rights.
Taylor Swift has been recognized for her support of feminist ideas and principles through both her music and her actions. While her feminist stance has evolved over time, she has used her platform to address issues related to gender equality and women's empowerment. We can see this particularly in her song 'The Man' and 'You need to calm down'. In 2014, Swift wrote an open letter to Apple criticizing their initial decision not to pay artists during the three-month trial period of their streaming service. Her stance led to Apple changing their policy and paying artists during the trial. This action was seen as an example of a powerful woman standing up for fair treatment and compensation. In this magazine cover, we can see how she is commended for her position in the music industry as a strong independent female artist. Near the top of the cover Taylor's name dominates; written in a black, powerful font, we can see how powerful her presence is not only on this cover but in the industry as a whole. Above Swift's name, she
is given the label 'Queens of pop', which tells us that while she is among-st many other female pop artists, she appears to be the most prominent figure at that time. The cover maintains a black and white aesthetic, with Swift maintaining eye contact with the audience with black eye
shadow, earrings and metallic outfit. Perhaps this colour scheme is a reference to Swift's 2017 album, Reputation, which similarly has a black and white album cover. The magazine cover uses three different adjectives to describe Swift: Icon. Feminist. and Rebel. The full stops at the end of each word places emphasis on them and adds an element of strength and independence. 'Icon' highlights Swift's worldwide popularity and fan base, while 'feminist' shows to the audience what themes Swift tends to cover and advocate for in her music. The final word 'rebel' shows how Taylor Swift is known for her ability to call out mistreatment in the music industry. Underneath these words, the tagline tells us 'why we all need to channel Ms Swift'. The tagline tells the audience that Taylor Swift is a role model for people to follow, particularly young girls. The use of the vocative Ms instead of Miss adds an element of respect, as titles for women nowadays are criticized for being a way of highlighting women marital status or sexual availability.
Taylor Swifts website has a simple layout, with an inviting colour aesthetic. This website serves as a hub for all things related to Taylor Swift, including her music, videos, tour dates, news, and merchandise. Fans can find information about her latest releases, upcoming events, and more on her official website. Swift's socials can be seen in the top right corner: accessible for fans. Near the bottom of the opening page of the website, Swift has a section called directed projects, where we can see videos that Swift has directed herself, alluding to her skills as a director. At the very bottom of the page, we have the option to sign up to receive updates; a good way of keeping super-fans involved with all things Taylor Swift.
"The Man" is a song by Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, "Lover," released in 2019. The song addresses issues of gender inequality and double standards that women often face in society. In "The Man," Swift imagines how differently her actions and public perception might be if she were a man. The song's lyrics and music video emphasize the disparities between how men and women are treated and perceived, particularly in the entertainment industry. Swift sings about how she would be praised for the same behaviors that have led to criticism when she was seen as a woman. The song is particularly iconic as the main character, while dressed in heavy makeup and prosthetics, is Taylor Swift herself, acting as a man in the video. As "The Man," she behaves in ways that parody stereotypical masculine behaviors, showcasing the disparities in how men and women are judged for similar actions. The video highlights how normalized some of this behavior is, and the mistreatment of women in the entertainment industry, which is primarily seen in the lyrics of a certain section of the song:
What's it like to brag about raking in dollars
And getting bitches and models
And it's all good if you're bad
And it's okay if you're mad
If I was out flashin' my dollars
I'd be a bitch, not a baller
They'd paint me out to be bad
So it's okay that I'm mad"
The song features many iconic scenes which, while they are funny, also draw our attention to the difference between how men and women are treated in occupational industries in particular.
'The Man' reading the newspaper on the train emphasizes the sexism that can be in newspapers or magazines which are often normalized. This is done in an overt way to put forward its message in a way that simply cannot be misunderstood.
This scene features 'The Man' taking his daughter to the park, a simple task that anyone could do; however the fact that its the father doing this and not the mother its praised and celebrated despite the fact that if it were a mother doing this it would be completely normal. The fact that it is mostly women praising 'The Man' suggests that the women are not entirely victims in the double standard, and behavior like this has been normalized for too long.
In this scene we have 'The Man' throwing a tantrum over not getting a point in a tennis match that is for women's charity. Here the message could be that this man is only partaking in this charity match to look good to the public, and it suggest to the audience that he doesn't actually care about the cause in any way.
In this part of the music video we have Taylor Swift's 'Miss Americana' documentary switched around and named 'Mr Americana' by 'Tyler Swift' instead. We can additionally see that the documentary in apart of the official selection for the 2020 'man-dance' film festival. Perhaps this suggests to us that women often fail to get recognition in the entertainment industry.
At the end of the video, the music video 'cuts', and 'The Man' walks off set towards Taylor Swift, the director of the music video. The actor asks if the previous take was more what Swift had in mind, to which she responds with 'could you try to be sexier? Maybe more likable this time?' After this she commends her female extra for her excellent work.
Here we can see the obvious message Swift is putting across. In the most overt way she is demonstrating the double standards within the entertainment industry, and how women are still today mistreated and not given as much praise as their male counterparts.
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