Step 1:

I am using my independent study to reasearch sexism in the music industry, focusing on the career of Taylor Swift, and how she has evolved into the strong feminist that she is today. Throughout her career, she has been constantly belittled for many of the practices that men in the industry are idolized for, and repeatedly had her accomplishments falsely taken credit for.

Step 2: What do you need to know?

I want to look more into her battle for owning her own music,as well as times where she has talked openly about what it means to be a woman in the music industry. This includes speeches, interviews, her recent documentary, and even music videos. Some specifics I want to focus in on for my project are Kanye West’s claims that he made Swift famous, Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta taking away her masters, her award show speeches – in particular the 2019 Billboard Award Speech, and her recent single “The Man” and the documentary Miss Americana, both of which focus heavily on the role of women in society as well as the music industry. I will also need to research how she has evolved over the years, as people are constantly learning and she has not always been as outspoken and honest about her struggles as she currently is. Also, I plan to look more into how her writing and discography has been sexistly stereotyped for years, despite the fact that her subject matter is no different than anyone else’s in the pop genre. Her impact is incredibly huge and she is one of the most influential people in the music industry, and it is incredible how much of that she accomplished at such a young age.