The phrase “ Feminist Taylor Swift ” probably sounds a bit dissonant for a number of reasons we probably don’t have to go into but can touch on a bit, namely that her music (however catchy) tends to advance some particularly yucky and disempowering stereotypes, dichotomies, and general negative stuff.
But now Feminist Taylor Swift is a thing, a Twitter thing to be precise, and an actual feminist Taylor Swift fan’s thing to be even more detailed.
Via BuzzFeed , we learned today that it’s the brainchild of a young woman named Clara, who the site explains is a senior at Brown University and responsible for That Girl Magazine , “a college blog devoted to ‘carefully walking the line between f***ing the patriarchy and recommending an awesome new lipstain.’ ”
We feel like you understand our soul already, Clara. Like many humans, Clara isn’t immune to Taylor Swift’s catchy tunes and regrettably relatable sentiments expressed therein — who among us has not lamented how so totally we are never, ever getting back together?
But still, the recurring theme of unrequited love and more troublingly, girlishness and coy behavior extended well past its shelf life (as well as some suggestion passivity is desirable) can run counter to one’s feminist sensibilities.
Which is why @FeministTSwift is so brilliant — not only does it gently mock Swift’s stylings, it also absolves the listener from lingering ideological guilt via the stating of said un-feminist tropes. Genius!
Sample tweets include:
I’ve heard every album / Listened to the radio / Waiting for something to come along / That wasn’t overwhelmingly heteronormative
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
Flash forward and we’re taking on the patriarchy together / And there’s a drawer of my feminist zines at your place
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
“I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter / She is the best thing that’s ever been mine” / Hold on, why am I a man’s property?
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
You pull my chair out and help me in / You don’t know how nice that is / But it also reinforces the idea that women are inherently fragile
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
RT @riotprl I don’t know about you / but I’m feeling twenty-two / cents underpaid per dollar
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
She wears high heels / I wear sneakers / We’re each expressing our gender identities in ways that make us feel comfortable / Date me
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
And our favorite:
Abigail gave her virginity to a boy who changed his mind / but virginity wasn’t all she had to offer / she had been duped by the patriarchy
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 13, 2013
Is Feminist Taylor Swift the greatest thing to happen to feminist Twitter today? The answer is yes.