The real Taylor Swift has denied being a feminist, but now she has a feminist doppelganger on Twitter who has mashed up many of the songstress' famous lyrics with quotes derived from feminist theory.
Clara Beyer, a rising senior at Brown University, is the mastermind behind this ever-increasingly popular Twitter account. @feministtswift has gone viral and currently has well over 76,000 followers. Beyer, a self-proclaimed feminist, is a fan of Swift's but says she sometimes wishes Swift would become a little more progressive with her lyrics. The driving force behind Beyer's brainchild occurred on June 11, when she posted this tweet on her personal Twitter: "Idea for a single purpose twitter: feminist Taylor Swift."
Soon after, Beyer's friends and classmates contacted her to make sure she followed through on her idea. Beyer first created the logo for the new account - a picture of Swift's face photoshopped onto Rosie the Riveter's head, a fitting representation, as Rosie has long served as a feminist icon. She then wrote a biography that parodied Swift's very own on her official Twitter page: "Happy. Free. Confused. Oppressed by the patriarchy. At the same time."
After these finishing touches, Beyer and her friend, Kevin Carty, began concocting the hilarious and wittiest of play-ons of Swift's famous lyrics. The very first tweet - "She wears short skirts / I wear T-shirts / Neither of us is asking for it" - a satire of the popular "You Belong With Me," was the impetus for what would become a viral phenomenon.
Despite having a multitude of female singers to choose from for her project, there is a reason why Beyer singled out Swift. "It says to me that I'm not the only one out there who is feeling this discomfort with Taylor Swift lyrics," Beyer said in a phone interview. Although the Twitter account makes for good laughs, Beyer began this humorous endeavor mainly as an initiative for "bringing more people into feminism and gender-critical conversations... And the easiest ways to do that are to engage them with things they're already into in their daily lives," such as Taylor Swift songs.
Some examples of the genius that is @feministtswift:
Cause I can't help it if I'm able to get pregnant / Can't help it if that means my bosses won't promote me
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 15, 2013
I knew you were trouble when you walked in / But victim blaming is horrible / You made the choice to violate my boundaries @sarahleothelion — FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 15, 2013
Drop everything now / Meet me in the pouring rain / Kiss me on the sidewalk / I'm comfortable expressing my sexual desire
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 15, 2013
"I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter / She is the best thing that's ever been mine" / Hold on, why am I a man's property? — FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
She wears high heels / I wear sneakers / We're each expressing our gender identities in ways that make us feel comfortable / Date me
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 14, 2013
Took a deep breath in the mirror / He didn't like it when I wore high heels / But I do / And he doesn't get a say in my decisions — FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 15, 2013
The stakes are high / The water's rough / But these reproductive choices are ours.
— FeministTaylorSwift (@feministtswift) June 13, 2013
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