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It’s called ‘The Man’ and it talks about the sexist stereotypes and double standards that still occur between men and women. Swift poses the idea that if she were male, but still the same otherwise, her dating life would be interesting to the public, instead of polarising as it has been. She would be admired or perhaps even idolised for being someone who has a lot of partners, the way a man would be dubbed a “ladies man” or “successful with women”. Yet because she’s female, her having some failed relationships is seen as a flaw. Throughout her career, Swift has been a victim of sexist double-standards regarding relationships — she even described herself as a “lightning rod for slut-shaming” in a 2016 interview with Vogue. She turned this unfair caricature into a hit with 2014’s “Blank Space”.
Before the release of the album, Swift hinted to the track several times in music videos. In her video for ‘ME!’ featuring Brendan Urie, Swift is seen wearing a yellow pantsuit with a briefcase, surrounded by other people wearing the same ensemble in different colours. In her video for ‘You Need To Calm Down’, a tapestry of a Cher quote is shown, saying ‘Mom, I am a rich man’. Cher said this during an interview in 1996 when talking about how her mother wanted her to marry someone rich.
In the pre-chorus, Swift sings about what it would be like if people believed her. This line references the ‘Me Too' movement and the general attitude towards survivors of sexual assault. In 2013, Swift herself was groped at a concert by former radio DJ David Mueller and was sued later in 2017 for causing the assailant to lose his job. He claimed that the event never occurred. Swift then countersued Mueller for a symbolic $1 and won the case.
Swift tackles the issue of gender inequality in the workplace and careers in the chorus. She refers to having to put in an extra amount of work compared to a man in order to achieve her goals. The common argument regarding gender inequality is that men have certain advantages over women due to existing laws, biases and societal norms.
Taylor Swift is one of the most criticized musicians. The public has ranked her 13th on the most hated US musicians. She states that being a woman is a core reason for people coming at her, meaning criticizing and insulting her. If she were a man, she says she’d be “the man,” and celebrated for her accomplishments and attitude. Swift further elaborated on the different standards that people hold men and women to in an interview with CBS after the release of Lover. “There is a different vocabulary for men and women in the music industry, right? […] A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react, a woman can only overreact.”
In the second verse, Swift sings ‘What I was wearing, if I was rude / would all be separated from my good ideas and power moves’. Women’s emotions and clothing choices are frequently used as an excuse to judge them; the same experience is rarely given to men. For example, in their 2019 VMAs coverage, Daily Mail put double the number of women than men on their “worst dressed” list, and women’s clothing choices are commonly used to justify sexual assault against them. Also, experiments show women are more likely to be perceived as rude in the workplace when taking a serious tone than men. In the following lines, Swift says ‘and they would toast to me at the players play / I’d be just like Leo in Saint-Tropez’. This is likely a reference to Leo DiCaprio, who hosts yearly galas in St. Tropez. Taylor is referencing lavish lifestyles and men who are encouraged for living like that—it is important to keep in mind that Leo is far from the only one who behaves this way. Rather, Swift is calling out the societal norm that reinforces this behaviour as being only acceptable for men.
The media has often accused Swift of being money-hungry, thanks to things like copyright lawsuits her old record label brought up against fans, with some outlets going as far as calling her “a greedy capitalist scammer.” Despite this image, Swift is one of the most charitable celebrities around — after the June 2019 release of “You Need to Calm Down,” Swift made a large donation to GLAAD, the LGBT organisation she name-drops on the song. Swift mentions this topic in the bridge of the song.
‘The Man’ touches on a lot more than the privilege of being believed. Swift alludes to the inequality between women and men, not just in relationships, as songs like ‘If I were a boy’ by Beyoncé mention. The track received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its feminist message. In the US, the song peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also entered the top 40 on charts in Australia, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
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