Unless you have been living under a rock, we all know that Taylor Swift released her new album, "Lover." This album has quickly become one of my favorite albums of hers, if not my all-time favorite. Among all of the songs on the album, one of my absolute favorites is "The Man." I've listened to it so much that it's actually become my most listened to song recently on Spotify.
One of the most common criticisms of Swift over the years has been that she has had too many boyfriends and that she only ever writes songs about them. She has already brought up in previous songs how this is a double standard because male artists that do the exact same thing and are praised. Swift touches on it again in "The Man," while also bringing up other double standards that women face. For example, the public's reaction to clothing choices is completely different when it comes to women and men.
Women are often chastised for what they wear and if it shows "too much skin" then it's used as a justification of them being labeled as a "slut" or even worse, used to blame them if they are ever sexually assaulted. Swift explains in her song that if she were a man,
"What I was wearing, if I was rude / Could all be seperated from my good ideas and power moves"
Women are often reduced to their appearance and their actual talents are ignored if they do not meet up to our society's ideas of beauty. Men are not expected to live up to the same unrealistic beauty standards.
Being confident and proud of your accomplishments is another huge double standard between men and women. Swift touches on it with the lines:
"If I was out flashing my dollars / I'd be a b*tch, not a baller / They'd paint me out to be bad / So it's okay that I'm mad"
Our society loves to see women constantly doubt themselves and feel like they do not deserve the success they have. When a woman flaunts her hard-earned money in the same exact way men do, she is vilified for it. Swift is correct in saying that it's okay for her to be angry at this. The only way that people will open their eyes and realize that there are stark differences in the way that society treats men and women is by people in positions of power bringing attention to these issues.
Out of all of the lines in "The Man," my absolute favorite is
"I'm so sick of running as fast as I can / Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man"
It describes how many women have to work twice as hard as a man doing the same job in order to achieve the same success. Male labor is often more valued than female labor, which is why the gender wage gap still exists. And these wage gaps only get worse when other factors are considered, such as race.
I love that recently there have been so many artists releasing songs that talk about women's rights. I hope that "The Man" can be a wake-up call to anyone that still thinks feminism isn't necessary.
