When Taylor Swift released Lover last August following a triad of singles, fans immediately lauded track four, an upbeat, feminist track entitled ‘The Man’. When it failed to be released as a single, it was frankly a travesty – but Taylor always has a trick up her sleeve, and as usual didn’t disappoint with its eventual release.
In the video, we follow Swift (in heavy prosthetics as the character of ‘The Man’) freely doing all the things that women are criticised, or men fail to be criticised for. Falling short only of a cameo by Leonardo DiCaprio (who she name drops in reference to his concerning string of young girlfriends), she takes inspiration from his The Wolf of Wall Street character and parties, womanises, and terrorises her way through everyday life as ‘Tyler Swift’.
It’s important to recognise that, for men, we perceive this as typical laddish behaviour, but when Swift has done the same (dared to date more than one man in a short period of time, drank publicly, and had an opinion on current affairs) she was consistently attacked by mainstream media. This didn’t just fall to gossip magazines or right-wing media either- the idea of Taylor Swift as a ‘slut’ or a ‘bitch’ became commonplace on social media, and even a joke amongst her fans.
None of these same labels have been applied to, for example, DiCaprio, George Clooney, not even Hugh Hefner. More than a poppy 3 minutes of pandered commentary on double standards, this is a story Taylor Swift knows all too well. Recently embroiled in legal drama with former manager Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun over the masters of her previous records, this was yet another loss for someone who seemed to have finally found happiness. It wouldn’t be the new Swift without a tongue-in-cheek reference to this in the video, especially when singing about how men can do as they please. In the subway station, a missing poster, and a ‘no scooters allowed sign’ are graffitied with the names of Swift’s albums up until reputation– none of which she currently owns the rights to. Whilst it’s amusing, it’s also a sad reminder that in a 2020 world practically run by Taylor Swift, she can’t even own her art.
Other scenes, such as one where Swift as ‘The Man’ picks up his daughter and is immediately awarded ‘greatest dad ever’ while the mothers celebrate his single contribution to parenting, and when Swift runs through a secret hallway in his house that seems to be a constant stream of high fives on his equivalent of a walk of shame, highlight how men may be celebrated for doing what women cope with every day. The ending of the video reveals Taylor as both the real and the fictional director of the video, ironically telling ‘The Man’ (who is revealed to be voiced by Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson) that he needs to play the role ‘sexier’ and ‘more likeable’. Women in the music industry and media as a whole have always been seen to need an underlying sexuality, a commodifying factor that justifies their presence in the industry and appeals to the typical male viewer. Only recently have they been allowed to exist beyond pleasure for men, and Swift’s parody of the double standards of society serves to remind us that we aren’t quite out of the woods yet.
The experience Taylor Swift has faced whilst in the limelight from a young age isn’t the first, or the last, or the worst. As a prime example of how media can manipulate society’s view of a person who seems to try not to put a toe out of line, Swift seemed unable to do anything right. Until she finally stopped caring what people thought. ‘The Man’ is the culmination of Swift’s recent rise in intersectional feminist activism, and a welcome one as she takes back the reins on the hell-chariot that was her reputation.
LIZZIE WRIGHT