In honor of Taylor Swift’s historical third Album of the Year win at The Grammys this past weekend, let’s look at some of her most empowering song lyrics. I have been a huge Taylor Swift fan from the beginning of her career, through her Kanye-Kim drama, and remain one now during her ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’ phase. I rarely listen to music other than Taylor Swift. Yes, I am that dedicated of a fan. When Taylor won her award this year, my older sister and I jumped out of our seats and actually started crying. Both of us were in our Taylor Swift cardigan, of course. To me, Taylor Swift is a feminist icon, lyrical mastermind, and role model. Taylor Swift has faced misogyny and sexism her whole career but still manages to create music that empowers anyone who listens to them. Let’s take a look:
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“If a man talks sh*t then I owe him nothing, I don’t regret it one bit ‘cause he had it coming” (I Did Something Bad).
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“I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man” (The Man).
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“When all you wanted was to be wanted. Wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now. Back then I swore I was going to marry him someday, but I realized some bigger dreams of mine” (Fifteen).
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“Never be so polite you forget your power. Never wield such power you forget to be polite” (Marjorie).
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“The lights are so bright, but they never blind me” (Welcome To New York).
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“Don’t you worry your pretty little mind, people throw rocks at things that shine” (Ours).
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“Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean. Someday, I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me, and all you’re ever gonna be is mean” (Mean).
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“Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake I shake it off, I shake it off” (Shake It Off).
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“Baby doll, when it comes to a lover, I promise that you’ll never find another like me” (ME!).
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“When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors, took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer. Everybody here was someone else before and you can want who you want. Boys and boys and girls and girls” (Welcome To New York).