Taylor Swift’s feminist manifesto: "Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born"

Swift has come a long way

Published May 18, 2015 6:34PM (EDT)

Taylor Swift has had an evolving relationship with feminism over the years, morphing from a fresh-faced country star who refused to even utter the word to an outspoken champion of the cause (with a fearsome girl posse to boot).

And in a recent interview with Maxim -- where she tops this year's Hot 100 list -- Swift showed once again just how far she has come, speaking candidly about what the idea means to her. As she put it, "Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it's just basically another word for equality.”

She continued:

"Honestly, I didn’t have an accurate definition of feminism when I was younger. I didn’t quite see all the ways that feminism is vital to growing up in the world we live in. I think that when I used to say, 'Oh, feminism’s not really on my radar,' it was because when I was just seen as a kid, I wasn’t as threatening. I didn’t see myself being held back until I was a woman. Or the double standards in headlines, the double standards in the way stories are told, the double standards in the way things are perceived. A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining."

Swift has been increasingly putting her money (and her music videos) where her mouth is; This Sunday, she released the video for her Katy Perry feud track “Bad Blood,” a star-studded girl-power action romp featuring Kendrick Lamar, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Jessica Alba, Cindy Crawford, Karlie Kloss, Cara Delevingne, feline namesakes Mariska Hargitay and Ellen Pompeo, and countless other female music, film and fashion icons. Hollywood may have trouble green-lighting a female-led action film, but Taylor Swift sure doesn't.

Watch below:


By Anna Silman

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Bad Blood Feminism Music Sexism Taylor Swift Video