Taylor Swift, Objectification, and the Subtle Art of Feminism
Taylor Swift's song "Bejeweled" from her album "Midnights" alludes to fairy tales and her past work to communicate her feminist ideals, as well as the control of sexism in her life and career. I will be exploring various scholarly sources to analyze her career and her song "Bejeweled", in addition to the social implications of her song on young women. I will explore works such as "Cinderella" and "Bluebeard" in order to make a comprehensive analysis of her song, in addition to her songwriting techniques and production styles of Jack Antanoff. Taylor Swift challenges societal norms and subverts her audience's expectations with her song "Bejeweled" by trying out a different, risky production style, and uses her past to show her independence and resentment of pressures for her to be submissive and "good".
Throughout Taylor Swift's incredibly accomplished career, she encountered endless criticism for her relationships with various men, as well as her music. As a role model for young women, she has had to adapt her personality and values to appease the general public. In the beginning of her career, she started as a country singer, and later shifted to pop music. As stated by Maryn Wilkinson, a writer focusing on popular culture and critical theory, especially issues around feminist film theory, rock and country stars are perceived to be more ‘authentic’ than their pop music counterparts, because their image is imbued with a sense of labor”. The authenticity she was initially characterized by became a source of artistic power; her writing was based on an honest recounting of her own life experiences. After she shifted into pop music, she successfully kept this aspect of herself and her identity, working to make music that empowered her and responded to the hate she received throughout her career. Her career can be broken into three different aspects that Sianne Ngai speaks about: “zany, cute, and interesting”. Initially, these categories were referred to with regard to capitalism, but they can be related to Taylor Swift's career. “Cute” relates to audience consumption, “interesting” causes circulation, and “zany” speaks to production. Swift's ability to explore these different categories and find success in each one guided her through her career shift into popular music. More specifically, her ability to balance the authenticity in her performances and writing from country music, to her marketability, and ability to transition through different “eras” of her career kept audiences entertained and excited by her and her music.
She effectively communicates her feminist ideals through her songwriting using allusions to various fairy tales, imagery, and metaphors. To begin, her lyrics go "Baby love, I think I've been a little too kind", which show how being kind is seen as a sign of femininity, and passiveness. In her documentary "Miss Americana'', she alludes to trying to always be known as "good" in the beginning of her career. As a rising country artist in Tennessee, she was surrounded by a conservative audience, and carried the expectations of being liked by everyone. She furthers this notion of passiveness, and its correlation to weakness, by saying "Didn't notice you walking all over my peace of mind…Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five". Her not noticing "you", the man being addressed in this song taking advantage of her shows how as a woman, she needs to be on her guard, and how she is not prioritized by men, highlighting the unequal power dynamic typically shown between men and women. She retaliates, by saying "And by the way, I'm going out tonight", which is a form of resistance and allows her to exercise her freedom.
Then, she introduces the chorus, stating "Best believe I'm still bejeweled". This sentence implies a sense of surprise and empowerment, comparing herself to a jewel, a prize, and embracing her own self worth. She says "When I walk in the room / I can still make the whole place shimmer", which shows the power she holds when she walks into a room, and her own independence and strength. When she “meets the band…They ask, "Do you have a man?" / I can still say, "I don't remember" This shows the empowerment she has through her own music, and owning the rights to it; she re-recorded her discography and released it under the name "Taylor's Version", which shows her independence as a female artist. Then she says “Familiarity breeds contempt”, which shows the dullness of the typical female lifestyle. She alludes to “Bluebeard” with “Don't put me in the basement / When I want the penthouse of your heart”. This demonstrates being high up both in power, but also in her confidence. By saying she has “Diamonds in [her] eyes / I polish up real, I polish up real nice / Nice” she states the importance of aesthetics and appearance in women's lives, and how others treat her. Her worth shifts from her appearance to her character, abilities, and career.
In the second verse, she follows with “Baby boy, I think I've been too good of a girl”. Again, she repeats the motif of being “good", and refers to him as “baby boy”, which is demeaning, and how many men treated her within the music industry. Being “too good” is something that within her formative years she would not see as possible. She follows with “Did all the extra credit, then got graded on a curve”, which alludes to her complications with her record label and former management; the rights to her music were given away, and she did not have ownership or control over her own music, causing her to re-release all of her music under her own name. The disparity between her control over her own career and the men controlling her shows the power imbalance she suffered from. However, she says “I think it's time to teach some lessons…I can reclaim the land”, which shows how she is ready to empower herself and show the world. Her past, when she “made [him her] world”, changes. She says “And I miss you / But I miss sparkling”, which demonstrates how she has her own priorities now. However, the innate concept of comparing herself to a jewel shows her sense of self worth, and the objectification she has experienced throughout her career.
Taylor Swift has worked on many albums and tracks with Jack Antanoff in the past. She explores various genres and styles. Her work with Jack Antanoff is particularly remarkable not only because of his status as a producer, but also because she is able to “retain her highly personal and confessional writing style.” As I have explored the lyrical aspects of this piece, I'd like to discuss the production style and choices made by both her and Jack Antanoff.
At first glance, this piece has a very simple chord progression and melodic topline. However, this is accompanied by complex production aspects, which gives space for her writing. The piece goes through a simple chord progression in C major, a typical characteristic of her popular songs. A common criticism of her songs is this consistency. However, she follows a I-ii7-vi-Vsus4 progression for the most part. This is an interesting twist on the I-V-vi-iv progression she typically follows (along with many other pop artists). Also, in the last line of her verses, she adds a IVsus2 chord. This works really well to add a bit of complexity to the piece while still maintaining an overall easy to listen to progression.
The song opens with sparkly, intense chimes to imitate glitter and jewels, the main lyrical imagery in her song. In the first verse, a quiet snare in a marching band style, risers in the background, and an intense sub bass are all introduced. In order to emphasize certain lyrics, she adds unique harmonies and doubles her vocals.
The hard hitting hip-hop style drums, combined with the metallic synths in the music. Then at “diamonds in my eyes”, the fluttery chimes in the back work for tone painting, and use literal elements from the lyrics to further lyrical concepts. The crescendo and escalation of her vocals before the chorus work to create tension and build up to the main “moral” of the song. In the bridge, she adds more harmonies.
Antanoff syncopates the bass during the post chorus to create somewhat of an unequal sound, which makes the simple melody and chord progression feel more exciting.
In the second chorus, the synth goes into half time, which works like an “anti-drop”. Antanoff works with emptiness and silence to create contrast in the piece, while still delivering a sonically satisfying resolution. He then introduces a cow bell on the offbeat in the second post chorus, continuing the same theme in the previous post chorus.
The risers before the last chorus go up an octave, which creates even more excitement before the last chorus, in addition to the vocal harmonies. However, these high pitched noises added are balanced out by the intense bass and synths, in addition to her soft, low vocals. He avoids creating a muddy sound with the different lower parts of the song creatively. In the last chorus, the song becomes more full, with added instrumentation. The past motifs, including the synths and chimes, have more movement, as well as added harmonies. This works to give the listener an added sense of satisfaction.
A big turning point in Taylor Swift's career was her release of “Reputation”. After receiving enormous amounts of hate that caused Swift to stop releasing music, she returned with “Reputation”. As I reflect on my own experiences with Taylor Swift, I find myself confused. I vividly remember her music transporting me…when I was younger, I listened to “Love Story” in a princess costume with my sister, and I remember feeling like I was in my own fairy tale. Her allusions to Romeo and Juliet, as well as Cinderella in one of her most popular early songs “Love Story” reminds me of her ability to incorporate allusions to other pieces of literature into her own writing, and create a feeling of familiarity to communicate a story that's larger than herself. When I was 13, Taylor gave Girl Scouts free tickets to her “Reputation” tour. Not only did we go, but I had the time of my life! Surrounded by other young girls, and with my entire family, we all had a great time. This tour “is a perfect representation of her art. It melds together her persona, best-known music, and most importantly, her vision of herself, and it is a carefully presented showcase of all that she thinks is best about her art.” Despite this high praise, I did not consciously recognize this tour, or her music as an empowering act, but through Girl Scouts, intended to empower young girls, I subconsciously experienced this. Gina Arnold criticizes her, saying “it is very difficult to subsume your art in values that encourage young women to be beautiful, and helpless, and in thrall to heteronormative romance while simultaneously trying to show them that you are a powerful woman, with the same goals and aspirations as men.” This criticism, and particularly, her interest in receiving male validation, is an understandable one. However, when looking at her work through a broader lens like “second wave feminism”, we have to understand the calculated and intentional nature of her feminism. She finds a delicate balance, like she did between her identities as a country and pop singer, between being a feminist and being "likable". Furthermore, criticisms of her “white feminism” have been raised. Arnold states her actions are “clearly born out of a woman’s need to always be nice. It is, to be clear, a need that is often felt and acted upon, by white women. It is both their privilege, and their burden. Likeability is not required of men, and women of colour simply do not have time, or the arena, for it.”
On the other hand, when speaking to other “Swifties”, I realized that my love for her did not extend as far as some others. So, as I analyze why her fan base is so committed, I realize that despite the criticisms she received, her authenticity is very valuable. She inspires and uplifts young women, and her piece “Bejeweled” is a methodological, effective way for her to communicate this narrative.
Works Cited
Maryn Wilkinson (2019) ‘Taylor Swift: the hardest working, zaniest girl in show business…’, Celebrity Studies, 10:3, 441-444, DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2019.1630160
Gina Arnold (2021) I Don’t Give a Damn About Your Bad Reputation: Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Knowles, and Performance, Contemporary Music Review, 40:1, 27-40, DOI: 10.1080/07494467.2021.1945224