Taylor Swift just released the first album that she owns the rights to. That’s an impressive fact for any artist and Lover is even more of an impressive album. The record is full of dreamy love songs, upbeat pop anthems that you can’t help but sing along to and one song that I’m particularly fond of.
“The Man” is the fourth track on the record and, in it, Swift address sexism head-on.
“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man,” she sings in the chorus. “And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ’cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man.”
Most women, if not all, have felt this way in life. Whether it’s a woman fighting to be taken seriously in her career or a girl in school trying to be heard over her male counterpart, it’s a way we’ve all felt. Swift eloquently put those feelings into music.
In the song’s second verse, the 29-year-old tackles another layer of sexism. It isn’t just about not being taken as seriously as men or having to work twice as hard as men, it’s about our looks. It’s about the clothes we choose to wear. It’s about the makeup we choose to wear — or not wear.
“They’d say I hustled, put in the work. They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve, what I was wearing if I was rude. Could all be separated from my good ideas and power moves.“
As females, we’re judged on every aspect of our lives — from our wardrobe and hair to our personality and outspokenness. Although this happens in all careers, it’s particularly problematic in the music business and especially in country music. Women still struggle to have their music taken seriously in this genre and to even get adequate radio play.
We spoke to multitalented TV and Radio Host, Suzanne Alexander, about the struggle women face and how Swift addresses it in “The Man.”
“I think Taylor’s song is something many of us women can relate to,” she said. “I look forward to the day when the strongest of us unite and form the ‘good ole girls club.’ It will be a beautiful thing.”
It will definitely be a beautiful thing and we’re hopeful that this year is a turning point. Women are speaking out and they’re even creating music about the struggle — and it’s not just Swift. Women are fighting for their music to be heard. The CMAs are set to celebrate female musicians in November. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a big change because women are coming together to demand that it change.
Cheers to female empowerment and cheers to you, Taylor, for continuing to bring this issue front and center.
