Taylor Swift has spoken about the pervasive nature of misogyny and the importance of embracing feminism in an interview with Maxim.
The pop star, who picked up eight prizes at last night’s Billboard music awards, told the magazine (which declared her number one in its “Hot 100” poll) that negative attitudes towards women are “ingrained” from birth, adding that the double standards between men and women became apparent to her as she grew up.
“Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born,” she said. “So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it’s just basically another word for equality.”
“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.”
The singer also talked about how it was only when she reached adulthood that people’s attitudes toward her changed and the messages of feminism began to make sense.
“I didn’t have an accurate definition of feminism when I was younger,” she said. “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.
Swift has spoken about the importance of feminism before, telling the Guardian in 2014 that she thought a lot of young women were having a “feminist awakening”.
She is the latest high-profile celebrity to address the importance of feminism after Harry Potter star Emma Watson and Hunger Games actor Jennifer Lawrence also discussed the movement.
