Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift may be one of the most famous women on the planet right now. From her hit songs to her long list of connections, she’s a force to be reckoned with. And of course, she’s got people talking.
For her songs about being a damsel-in-distress and the cultural appropriation in some of her music videos to her oh-so-famous girl squad, Taylor has become the modern-day face of white feminism.
Photo from Billboard.com
To be clear, white feminism isn’t a term referring to all feminists who just happened to be white. It’s a term that sees white women as the norm when it comes to feminist issues. And as much as Taylor calls herself a feminist, this is the kind of feminism she seems to be promoting.
As empowering as her Grammy speech was, critics called it out for reeking of white feminism.
“I want to say to all the young women out there – there are going to be people along the way who are going to try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. But if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going, you’ll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you there. And that will be the greatest feeling in the world.”
Taylor said all of that with a team of men behind her, and an army of beautiful friends in the audience to cheer her on.
Photo from Billboard.com
Taylor Swift is by no means a perfect feminist. Nobody is. But she has some good points, and she’s getting the conversation going. There is more that Taylor has to learn as she continues to speak out for the women out there, regardless of status or race. There is so much that we, too, can learn.
Beyonce
Photo from Time.com
During the 2014 VMAs, Beyonce Knowles ended her show-stopping performance with the words FEMINIST flashed in bold on the screen, and everyone listened. She is basically the queen after all. It has been a well-known fact since her time with Destiny’s Child. She is a music powerhouse, and she’s a powerful role model for women all over the world.
Photo from Elle Magazine
As much as hundreds and thousands of people adore her, she also has her critics, and one of them is the novelist Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie is famous for her groundbreaking novel Americanah. Her speech “We Should All Be Feminists” has also gone viral. It was no wonder Beyonce enlisted her help in the creation of her 2013 hit ***Flawless, a track which featured words from Adichie’s famous speech.
Adichie may have agreed to lend her words to Queen Bey, but she has since gone on record to say Beyonce’s feminism isn’t exactly her cup of tea.
Photo from the Huffington Post
Beyonce may sing songs about girls running the world, but she also headlines tours entitled “The Mrs. Carter Show.” In one of her most famous songs, she’s calling men to “put a ring on it.” All of these has led Adichie to describe Beyonce’s brand of feminism as one “that gives quite a lot of space to the necessity of men,” and therefore, a type of feminism that is not hers.
In an in-depth interview with ELLE magazine in 2016, Beyonce expounded on what the word feminist means to her, and it’s as inclusive to men as it is to women.
“I’m not really sure people know or understand what a feminist is, but it’s very simple. It’s someone who believes in equal rights for men and women. I don’t understand the negative connotation of the word, or why it should exclude the opposite sex. […] We need men and women to understand the double standards that still exist in this world, and we need to have a real conversation so we can begin to make changes.”
Different people may have different ways of seeing it, but one thing is clear. Feminism isn’t about bringing either men or women down. It’s about empowering women in the face of inequality and double standards. It’s about believing that men and women have equal rights and opportunities. This is what these women are trying to put out there, and maybe we should join in on the conversation with them.
