Out of all the songs on Taylor Swift’s ‘Lover’ album, ‘The Man’ is the most outwardly feminist. Swift doesn’t mince words as she sings about male privilege, specifically throwing shade directly at men in Hollywood who are given a pass for the same behavior that’s weaponized against her.
Today, Swift released the official music video for ‘The Man,’ and the star of the narrative is, fittingly, a man. But what many viewers don’t realize until the credits roll is that the man is actually Swift — in full drag.
The entire four-minute video is an Easter-egg hunt of sorts — you’ll pick up on the not-so-subtle symbolism, including shade directed at label exec Scooter Braun, Kanye West, and Leonardo DiCaprio on a yacht in Saint Tropez — but you have to watch until the very end for the real shock factor.
When the music stops, the video cuts to a hyper-lapse of Swift showing her full transformation through layers and layers of thick prosthetics. After she spends what is likely hours in the hair-and-makeup chair — and covers her blazing blue eyes with dark colored contacts — Swift is completely unrecognizable with her new masculine nose and jawline, airbrushed bushy brows, and scarily-realistic facial hair.
Not only does Swift fully commit to morphing herself into a male character (or a few specific men throughout the story arch), she also gives herself due credit for the entire creative production. Importantly, the video attributes ‘Taylor Swift’ — bolded and capitalized — as the star, director, writer, and owner of the ‘The Man.’ Because that’s how he’d do it.
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