3. She Identifies As A Feminist, Thanks To Lena Dunham
For all of her anthems about female empowerment and the importance of being true to oneself, Taylor has resisted being called a feminist for a long time. Unfortunately, the term has become demonized by mens rights activists resentful manchildren. In an interview with The Daily Beast in 2012, Taylor dodged the label entirely, stating, I don't really think about things as guys versus girls. I never have. I was raised by parents who brought me up to think if you work as hard as guys, you can go far in life. But fast forward to today, and Taylor has now come to embrace the 'feminist' label, thanks to her good friend Lena Dunham (writer and director of HBOs Girls). In a recent interview with The Guardian, Taylor had the following to say: As a teenager, I didnt understand that saying youre a feminist is just saying that you hope women and men will have equal rights and equal opportunities. What it seemed to me, the way it was phrased in culture, society, was that you hate men... Becoming friends with Lena without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for has made me realize that Ive been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so. Its a positive progression, especially since Taylor is a role model for so many young, would-be feminists.
Kevin is an AP English Language teacher and freelance writer from Queens, NY. His focus is on American pop culture and American issues. He wrote a weekly column for Complex called "Throwback Thursdays," which spotlighted video games and trends from previous console generations. Kevin has also been published in VIBE, Salon, PopMatters, Joystiq, and Racialicious. Follow him on Twitter to learn more.
