Taylor Swift’s Lover album was met with a…less than enthusiastic response from the Swifties. Though Lover performed well on the charts, it was, and still is, one of Swift’s most criticized albums. The release of Lover included tracks such as “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” “The Man,” and “You Need To Calm Down” all of which marked Swift’s first time publicly contributing to political discourse. Critics have argued that Lover’s incoherent storyline and lack of the overall sonic consistency of her previous albums have contributed to its shortcomings. But, was Lover doing too much? Or was it a cleverly veiled tactic employed by Swift to allow the messages of these songs to be brought into a larger audience?

The concept of concealing an unspoken societal issue is brought forth by “The Man.” At the time of its release, it was one of the earliest (but not the first) songs addressing sexism and femininity versus masculinity in mainstream media. We are introduced to the fourth track to an electropop synth beat following a feeling of numbness to pain and loss, an ever electric summer anthem, and the dreamlike quality of “The Archer.” The audience can only hope that the fourth track brings a fun upbeat song with lyrics describing another feeling of love. And a fun beat there is, but a feeling tied to love? Not quite. We are introduced to none other than “The Man,” a fun song with an almost tongue-in-cheek quality in the lyrics. It is not until the music video or actually reading and dissecting the lyrics does the audience realize that perhaps behind the production lies commentary on toxic masculinity, feminism, and societal double standards.

We often hear “men don’t cry,” an example of toxic masculinity which refers to certain societal ideas that are often harmful to everyone, including men. Toxic masculinity is further perpetuated by terms like “alpha male” or “man-spreading” (it should be just, leg spreading, in general). Alternatively, it is all the behaviors that make women “unladylike” but are just accepted as…normal behavior for a man. 

This playlist is an exploration of some of the times female artists claimed part of the space dominated by men. Whether it be through Ellie Goulding’s dichotomic nature, Billie Eilish’s creative direction, or Kesha’s response to #MeToo, female artists have been, and will continue to find their voice. 

We begin our journey with 1989’s “Blank Space,” a cult-classic for some of the die-hard Swifties. But for Taylor Swift, and her foray into public commentary, it was her testing out the waters. “Style” may not be outright in its message, like “The Man,” but it still addresses the double standards present in society. Most notably, “long list of ex-lovers” and “but I’ve got a blank space baby, and I’ll write your name” address refer to the media’s marking of Swift as a “serial dater.” Swift has publicly disapproved of this label many times, often remarking that she feels that she went on a normal amount of dates for a woman in their early 20s and even stating that a man in her position would not be criticized as much and might even be applauded for his behavior. The “Blank Space” music video also uses the feminist satirical humor that is much more prevalent in “The Man” but sees Swift rejecting the stereotypes placed on her by the media and consequently critiques gender inequality. Though Swift prefaces the music video with her satirical intentions, the audience simply cannot ignore the questions Swift brings up about the clear gender inequality women have to face.

Ellie Goulding, a popular UK artist, was brought on stage by Taylor during the 1989 World Tour at a show in Austin, Texas. Though the connection between Ellie and toxic masculinity may not be entirely obvious, it is once the artist’s background is revealed. In an interview with Allure magazine Ellie reveals that she was forced to face the effects of a patriarchal society when her father chose to walk out. She says that she finds it frustrating that women can’t do or wear what they want while men can, and sometimes may even be applauded. Though her songs may not reflect her frustration, Goulding herself represents an underlying meaning. Most of her releases are heavy on pop; the melodies are entirely accessible by the untrained layperson and the lyrics are almost too catchy, yet to understand the actual meaning of the lyrics, one must first know Goulding. In this release, hear the repetition of the lyrics (“love me like you do”...)and reflect on the ease of memorizing the lyrics and the melody. As listeners, in songs with fewer words, the meaning is often overlooked, because what do you mean “a catchy song may have a meaning?” The inclusion of Goulding on this playlist was not random; in fact, this double layered phenomenon of a happy, colorful veil masked over a darker, deeper meaning is reflected in the construction of…

…”The Man.” which features an upbeat synth electropop sound behind lyrics that actually carry weight, something that might go unnoticed by the casual listener. Listen for the brightness of the production and the flashy harmonies paired with the deep cutting lyrics. Then listen to how Swift delivers these lyrics, often in a joking, sarcastic manner that may go unnoticed for the casual listener. 

The fourth track, Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” from her debut studio album, tackles toxic masculinity from a different perspective. Like Swift in the music video for “The Man” she places herself into a role that is most commonly reserved in rock or hip hop for a man that boasts of their power and dominance while using women to get what they want without repercussions. “Bad guy” is produced similarly to “The Man” and shares similar 80s electropop characteristics. Though slightly varied, both songs have a driving beat that is then added to as the song progresses. In Eilish’s minimalistic listen for the synth bass and kick drum and compare it to Swift’s more high pitched synth beat. 

From the minimalistic production style of “bad guy” we then transition to HAIM, a collaborator and long-time friend of Swift’s who also employ feminist themes throughout their releases. This specific release “Man from the Magazine” from their third album is inspired from Este Haim’s encounter with the media, much like where Swift originally drew inspiration from in her releases. In an interview with The Independent Este recounts an incident early on in their career that involved a journalist commentating on Este’s facial expressions while performing, which is common practice for male artists. They directly address this journalist as “man from the magazine” in the first verse and further chronicle later incidents in which their skills and talent were questioned presumably because of gender. Listen specifically for lyrics in the second verse that imply that the writer felt their talent was undermined, which almost mirrors Swift’s lyric “when everyone believes ya, what’s that like?”

From one friend to another, our sixth song comes from Hailee Steinfeld who has a decade long friendship with Taylor Swift and is no stranger to including messaging within a heavy pop song. “Most Girls” is yet another addition that follows an electropop production that even more closely mirrors (or I suppose, precedes) that of “The Man.” Listen for the driving synth beat below the harmonies that are perhaps more held back than those of “The Man.” Interestingly, instead of questioning what it might mean to live a similar life to that of a man, Hailee instead uplifts female voices and embraces the individuality of femininity, something that Taylor Swift briefly highlights at the end of the “The Man” music video. Listen for the descriptions of different types of girls and what Hailee implores them to do in the chorus. 

We then conclude with “The Man (Live from Paris)” which strips away Joel Little’s production and instead leaves us graced with the sheer power of Taylor and her trusty little guitar. When the electropop beat is taken away we are instead met with the pure, raw, anger that Taylor embodied while writing the song. Gone is the teasing lilt of the first release and in its place we are met with lyrics that carry more emotionally charged and occasionally emphasized with an almost accented chord. The Live from Paris album offers a pared down version of the produced album, but also provides input on crowd reception. Listen carefully for the sudden increase in volume from the crowd on the line “just like Leo - in Saint Tropez” and then attempt to argue that the regular layperson cannot relate to Swift’s experiences - you can’t. 

As the cheers from the crowd settle from Live from Paris so should doubts that political conversations can’t find a space in the music industry. As our journey has sonically brought us through the glittery pop-bible of 1989 to the upbeat 80s synth beats in Lover to the soothing folk-pop production of “Man in the Magazine” and back again, we are once again faced with the question, has music brought these otherwise controversial topics and opinions into the general public? And do they have a space here? The short, undrawn-out answer is yes – without these lyrical masterpieces we would not be able to live in a world where topics such as toxic masculinity and societal double standards are commonly discussed in popular culture. Perhaps there’s no better place to attack these issues than a space that's dominated by the man.