It’s safe to say that one of my biggest regrets of the summer is not attending Taylor Swift’s “1989” tour. I was constantly reminded by my Facebook friends and Swift’s Instagram and Snapchat stories that it was the place to be. Which throwbacks would be sung? Is she truly that beautiful in person? What surprise guest would be next?
In the past two years, Swift has made a huge transformation from country singer to pop star, with her latest album flying off the shelves at a record rate. However, this isn’t the only thing that’s different about her image.
Swift has decided to change her tune on feminism after educating herself on the definition and realizing that she stands with the cause. Befriending Lena Dunham may have sped the process along. Her posse has grown from adorable cats to a group of strong successful women in various stages of their lives and careers. Don’t worry, though, the cats are still around.
In each of her shows this summer, Swift featured special guests, most of whom were a part of her endless crew. From Fifth Harmony to Avril Lavigne to Selena Gomez, it was quite the showcase. Swift’s statement was clear: female friendship is what kills the patriarchy. But, does it really?
Critics have been quick to say that Swift only uses feminism to build her brand and coddle her demographic, which largely consists of young girls and women, and I cannot disagree. She may have the best PR and advertising team I have ever seen.
An example critics turn to is her music video for “Bad Blood.” Though it features many badass women, the main plot point of the video is pitting woman against woman. It’s been largely rumored that the song itself is written as a slam towards Katy Perry.
A more recent event highlights the drama between Swift and Nicki Minaj regarding the MTV Video Music Award nominations. Many have pointed out that Swift uses feminism as a defense against criticism instead of seeing the bigger picture of how race and other issues may play a factor in society. When it comes to feminism, Swift has yet to see that things are not as black and white as they seem.
However, I believe that she is doing more good than harm in promoting female friendships as part of her newfound persona. Swift, like many influential figures, can be problematic at times. (For example, her latest video “Wildest Dreams” is ignorant of race.) But like many of us, she is still learning about the gray areas of what’s wrong and what’s right. The only difference is that she’s doing it in the spotlight.
The bigger discussion at hand here must focus on how we as a society see these friendships between women. There’s more to them than just the fantasy of pillow fighting sleepovers and “hold my earrings”- type brawls. Female friendships do not exist for entertainment. They exist for empowerment.
Let’s bring it back to the music video “Bad Blood” for a second. What makes this five-minute video so different from the two-hour long, mindless action movies Hollywood produces every year? Most of these movies are solely based on big fight scenes between men and yet money keeps rolling in to make them.
In my opinion, to see a group of men together may be intimidating physically. To see a group of women together is intimidating mentally — and for some strange reason, society can’t handle it.
Like men, women too are allowed to fight without it being anti-feminist. We get into arguments and disagree with one another. People tear down other people, regardless of gender. Swift just chose to bring her A-Team to battle and came out victorious.
Still, it is not only the patriarchy that’s to blame for the negative look of female friendships. Too often jealousy between women ruins what could potentially be very fulfilling relationships with one another. The competition created between women prevents us what we truly should be doing: collaborating.
It pains me to see the media pit women against one another and question the true intent of these friendships. Why must our relationships with one another boil down to men and catfights? Are women not allowed to have complex, multi-dimensional friendships, just as men do?
Swift isn’t bringing anything new or crazy to the table when it comes to having a powerful lady squad. This has been happening for decades, and even centuries. Look at Oprah and Gayle, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, or one of my personal favorite duos, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
All of these women hold their own ground just fine, and have made huge strides in fighting for equality with humor, compassion and wit. Courageous women show us that they are all winning their individual battles, but they need each other to fight the war.
