I went to my first, but definitely not last, T Swift concert last night. I'm not ashamed to admit the 1989 Tour was a life changing experience. Having been too cool to go to any concerts with 60,000 other people in the past, I now bow down to whoever came up with the concept of arena rock. Despite sitting 50 feet above the ground and literally a football field away from the stage, we had a great view of the flashing lights and video projections. But this isn't a review of the concert. (For that, go here.)
Taylor performing a rocking version of Trouble
My friend, a fellow 1987 baby, and I were probably the oldest non-mothers in our section. We were surrounded by mother-daughter pairings, with the occasional Dadbod in sight. Double fisting Bud Lights and Brooklyn Lager, we felt like alcoholics in a sea of tweens. I was pretty surprised at how young many of the daughters seemed; for every 1989 there were at least two 1999s, and maybe even a few 2009s.
This concert reminded me of the last mother-daughter laden venture I went to: Katy Perry's Prismatic Tour at the Barclay's Center in 2014. There were a lot of girls with their moms at both concerts, but the 1989 tour seemed to skew younger. I shouldn't be surprised. After all, most agree that Taylor projects a more wholesome image than Katy, and therefore makes a better role model. Where Taylor sports a Christine Baranski pageboy hair cut and sequenced dressed, Katy waltzes into SuperBowl Halftime shows on a robo-cat with a flame-adored dress. Katy Perry is five years older than Tay, and their experiences show it. Where the tabloids focus on Taylor's laundry list of boyfriends, they focus on Katy's messy divorce from Russell Brand.
As a deep fan of both Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, and now having seen them both live, I can conclude that I would rather bring a ten year old girl to see Katy than Taylor. Because she's less wholesome, Katy Perry is the more feminist artist.
First, barely any of Taylor's songs pass the Bechdel test. As I listened to nineteen Tswift songs during her show, I noticed that only three songs are straight up not about a guy: Shake it Off, the horrendous Welcome to New York, and Bad Blood, inspired by Katy Perry's alleged theft of a back-up singer. Katy Perry's last concert of about 19 songs, in contrast, featured many non-guy oriented songs including Roar, Firework, Last Friday Night, California Gurls, and This is How We Do. As far as I know, none of Katy's songs is a revenge song about other women either. Listening to Taylor Swift alone, you'd think that a girl's emotional life only revolves around her feelings about men and rivalry with other women.
The same trend exists when you look at Katy and Taylor's top hits. Taylor's biggest hits are about failed relationships with men or longing for a guy from afar: You Belong With Me, a classic tale of unrequited love; Love Story, where the guy proposes and the girl ends up happily ever after; Blank Space, about Tay's serial monogamy, and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, reportedly about her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. Two of Katy's biggest hits, Roar and Firework, are about pure, unadulterated girl power. Two more, This Is How We Do and Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.), are about having fun with friends. In contrast, Taylor's only arguable feminist anthem is Shake It Off.
I can't deny that the majority of Katy Perry's songs are about relationships. But even when she sings about dudes, her lyrics give women agency. For example, while Part of Me is clearly about a failed relationship, it's also about the aftermath and getting in touch with oneself. Wide Awake is similarly self-examining. "I wish I knew then/What I know now/Wouldn't dive in/ Wouldn't bow down." Katy's learned her lesson and will take control of her life going forward. Taylor's songs are often about about a shy, demure girl responding to forces out of her control. You Belong With Me is literally about her far-away admiration of a dude. Taylor's heroines are also too often "saved" by dudes: Everything Has Changed, White Horse, Love Story. Though she's defiant in We Are Never Getting Back Together, there's nothing more to the song. Ok you're not going to work things out with Jake, but what are you going to do now? The message is avoid the bad boys because they will mess you up.
Finally, Katy doesn't apologize for partying because women drink and hook up, and that doesn't make them bad people. Compare Katy Perry's Last Friday Night to Tay's only "party" song, 22. Last Friday Night celebrates excess with no regrets. "There's a stranger in my bed/there's a pounding in my head," but oh well because I'm an adult. 22, by contrast, makes it seem like the entire goal of going out is to meet a cute guy. "We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time/It's miserable and magical," the song starts up on a high note. But then, "It feels like one of those nights/You look like bad news/I gotta have you/I gotta have you." Sigh.
Maybe moms want to bring their daughters to Taylor Swift because that will keep her innocent for a while longer. But any mothers who value strength more than innocence should choose Katy Perry.