After years of being criticized for dating too many men, writing simplistic songs about love, and having no self-awareness, Taylor Swift has come out as a feminist and spoken forcefully against the gender-based hostility she has faced. As a result, she has increasingly been identified by women as a symbol of female empowerment. Her treatment has exposed sexism in our society – and the media. In the last year, Swift has developed as a feminist and revealed the double standards that the media and the music industry seem to impose on women.

In her early career, Swift was often criticized by feminist and progressive organizations, blogs, and magazines such as Jezebel, Slate, and Bust for failing to identify as a feminist. However, she has recently developed a greater understanding of what the term means. She attributes this new awareness to her close friend Lena Dunham, creator of “Girls,” the popular HBO series that showcases the lives of young women. Becoming friends with Dunham and learning about her beliefs and values helped Swift realize that she had been supporting feminist ideals without explicitly saying so.

In recent interviews, Swift has defined feminism in basic, understandable terms. Rather than describe feminism in an anti-male way, she refers to its true definition: the belief that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities. As Swift explains it, feminism is not synonymous with man-hating, but rather with gender equality.

The artist has also exposed the unfair double standards in the way male and female songwriters are evaluated. Not surprisingly, she is offended by certain “jokes” made about her by the media, such as, “Watch out guys – she’ll write a song about you.” The singer confronts these headlines by pointing out that such sentiments stem from sexism in the music industry. She has noted that no one makes those sorts of comments about male singer-songwriters who write about their love lives, like Ed Sheeran or John Mayer. In Swift’s words, “if a man shares his feelings in writing, he’s brave. If a woman shares her feelings in writing, she’s over-sharing, or she’s over-emotional, or she might be crazy.”

The difference in the way people think about music based on the gender of the artist was proven in 2010 with the release of Swift’s “Speak Now” and Bruno Mars’s “Doo-Wops and Hooligans.” Both albums were reviewed by Rolling Stone, which is one of the most respected publications in American music. Swift’s album received the higher ranking, yet in reading the reviews, Swift’s work seems less significant.

The author who reviewed “Speak Now” focused on how, based on the song titles, you could make a guess at what chick flicks Swift had been watching. On the other hand, the review Mars received contained the line, “It’s the year’s finest pop debut: 10 near-perfect songs that move from power ballads to bedroom anthems … and deliver pleasure without pretension.” Although Swift released an overall better album, she received critique pointedly based on her gender, whereas Mars was praised for his love songs and made to sound like a more serious artist. Furthermore, only 9 of the 14 songs on Swift’s album were about love, compared with 7 of the 10 on Mars’s. Rolling Stone’s review wasn’t the first trivialization of Swift’s work. Her second album, “Fearless,” was also reviewed by Rolling Stone with comments like, “she mostly sticks to her favorite topic – boys, boys, boys – in songs filed neatly under ‘lovestruck’ or ‘pissed off.’”

These comments suggest that the normal human emotions of anger or love somehow don’t matter or aren’t meaningful when expressed by a young woman. In addition, the Rolling Stone review of Swift’s pop debut, “1989” claimed that she has “way too many feelings” and is “oversharing.” These demeaning statements reduce Swift’s work to an image of a blonde airhead who serial-dates for inspiration.

The manner in which the media has covered Swift’s romantic life also reveals gender bias. There has been endless reporting on how she’s “dating too many guys.” However, since 2008, she’s been linked to just five men. On the other hand, her ex Harry Styles has been linked to seven women in the past three years, and yet this has not generated significant publicity. Swift even penned a song called “Blank Space,” written from the satirical point of view of the man-eating, serial-dater she is portrayed as in the media. In the music video, she dramatically cries mascara tears and smashes an ex’s car. The hit pop track is Swift’s funny take on what is actually a serious issue.

As the artist explained in an interview for National Public Radio, females’ relationships are “tallied up in ways that they aren’t for men.” This speaks to the way female sexuality is often shamed in society, whereas men are praised for having many relationships.

Inequality in the treatment of genders is a prevalent issue in the music industry. This imbalance not only damages the musicians but also female fans who are told to keep their emotions to themselves or be accused of sounding dramatic, disgruntled, or complaining. As sex educator and feminist advocate Laci Green explains, the criticism Swift receives conveys a message to her young fans that it is shameful for females to discuss their experiences and relationships.

Taylor Swift is not an anomaly when it comes to women being minimized in their profession. From Iggy Azalea to Solange Knowles, our society and the media often question the validity of female songwriters. People are generally more reluctant to give credit to women in industries traditionally dominated by men. Swift once told Time magazine that she feels “discouraged” by the amount of work women have to do just to prove that they have skills and can do their own work.

Recently I presented a speech at a speech and debate tournament that chronicled Taylor Swift’s background and increasing significance in the music industry. I chose Swift because she has proven to be a powerhouse in an era where success in the music industry is incredibly difficult to achieve. Although she is clearly a talented and capable artist, the judges marginalized my topic as trivial. Having my presentation dismissed as a “fangirly tribute” not worthy of discussion speaks to the way Swift’s influence is minimized.

With greater awareness of the double standards our society and the media have for women in various industries, I am hopeful that these sexist stereotypes will begin to diminish.