I don't know how everyone else feels about it, but personally I love Taylor Swift's new album, Lover.
Whether you like it or not, there is one song that I have not stopped thinking about since it was released over a month ago. Aside from being a catchy song, The Man was a surprise on the album. A good surprise.
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Hold on. Have you listened to it yet? You better give the song a listen before you go any further:
Taylor Swift - The Man (Official Audio)www.youtube.com
Taylor Swift has always been a solid model of a strong woman in pop culture; however, what did surprise me, or rather what bothered me, was that someone as talented and successful as Taylor Swift was expressing her disappointment in the challenges she faced simply for being a woman.
Obviously, I know celebrities are not immune to prejudices and judgment. In fact, I believe the exact opposite, but I could not help but instantly be shocked and then consequently quite angered by the feelings she expressed.
I was not angered by what she was saying because it all felt too true but rather that she was the one saying it.
If Taylor Swift, a hard-working, successful woman, feels that she is at a disadvantage to men in her industry, then what does that mean for the rest of us?
In the song, Swift addresses the disadvantages she faces as being a woman in her industry. She sings about the double standard that lies in society today.
She talks about how if she were a man, her hard work would be considered noble and worthy of praise, while instead she is questioned on her success and whether she even deserves it or not.
The line that plays over and over again in my head 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 is almost as though we, as women, are all in a race with men that we can never win because of society's double standards…So, why race?
We work endlessly hard, and yet it never seems to be enough.
While this may be a discouraging thought, I encourage you to turn this on its head. Women prove their strength in persevering.
Despite the setbacks, the snide comments, and the judgmental eyes, Taylor Swift has still won an astronomical number of music awards and has sold millions of albums.
Whether you enjoy her music or not, no list of achievements could ever do justice to the amount of influence Swift has had on music today as well as on society in general.
Taylor Swift may not be "the man," but the world needed her just as much as any other successful male artist.
