Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss: Taylor Swift Edition

Le Anh Metzger, Staff Writer|January 14, 2022

Taylor Swift Speak Now Tour Hots Sydney, Australia

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss. A play on the saying “Live Laugh Love,” the alliterative meme swept the internet in 2021. TikTok users and Twitter posters alike began using the words “gaslight,” “gatekeep,” and “girlboss” to describe obscure niches from room decor to different Spiderman franchises to Taylor Swift albums (in case you’re wondering, folklore is gaslight, Reputation is gatekeep, and Lover is girlboss).

“The phrase is used to mock the stereotypical sentiments of the typical ‘empowered feminist,’ with each term holding a negative connotation in reference to female empowerment,” wrote Know Your Meme.

But let’s break down the three g’s even further. Gaslighting is a form of manipulation in which one person or group makes another question their own reality. Gatekeeping is “when someone takes it upon themselves to decide who does or does not have access or rights to a community or identity,” according to Urban Dictionary. For instance, if someone says they are a Taylor Swift fan, and another claims that they can’t be a Taylor Swift fan unless they know the lyrics to every song. Finally, “girlboss” is a somewhat controversial term that often describes toxic, powerful, white-feminist female CEOs. The “girlboss” feels like she has overcome sexism by climbing up the power-ladder.

While the meme seemingly makes light of gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing, In The Know argues that the meme is actually doing some real good, making it easier to identify issues of gaslighting, and destigmatizing calling out gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing.

So now that we have all that down, I’ve decided to do my own Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss sorting of Taylor Swift songs. The inspiration for this comes from @moonybug on Tik Tok, and while I did agree with many of her categorizations, I made some changes based on my own opinion. Please note that not every Taylor Swift song is included, as some fit none of the categories, or fit too many categories. Without further ado, let us begin.

Gaslight.

These are Taylor Swift songs where she creates a narrative that may or may not be true from the other, typically male, side of the story. Some key quintessential gaslight songs include “betty,” which is a song from the teenage boy’s perspective, trying to convince his girlfriend to take him back after he cheated on her. He claims “I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything, but I know I missed you.” There’s also “I Bet You Think About Me,” which is gaslighting the other person into believing that the speaker is on their mind all the time. In “Better Than Revenge,” the speaker paints herself as a victim to another girl who stole her boyfriend. The entirety of “You Belong With Me” is gaslighting her love into thinking that he belongs with her. Finally, in “Getaway Car,” the speaker paints a narrative towards her ex-lover about why their relationship didn’t work, stating that she used him as a getaway car from her old relationship, but she “didn’t mean it” and he “didn’t see it.” Some other Taylor Swift songs that I classify as Gaslight include:

Bad Blood
cowboy like me
right where you left me
Speak Now
Mr. Perfectly Fine
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (also a Girl Boss song)
Look What You Made Me Do
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Back To December
Picture To Burn
Teardrops on My Guitar
The Other Side Of The Door
Superstar
We Were Happy
I Wish You Would
How You Get The Girl
Starlight
Afterglow (opposite)
Mirrorball
Champagne Problems
Tis the Damn Season
tolerate it
Wonderland
The Lucky One
No Body No Crime (also girl boss)
Ivy
Blank Space
Forever and always

Gatekeep.

Taylor Swift songs that fall under the “Gatekeep” category are songs where the speaker is so in love with her subject that she doesn’t want anyone else to have him. For instance, in “Call It What You Want,” the speaker describes how her “baby’s fit like a daydream / walking with his head down / I’m the one he’s walking too.” In fact, she wants it known that he is her man so much that she states: “I want to wear his initial / On a chain round my neck.” Additionally, the speaker in the song “august” mourns how her summer fling is not hers to keep; “You back beneath the sun / Wishin’ I could write my name on it.” In “Don’t Blame Me,” the speaker develops a metaphor for her lover, saying: “my drug is my baby / I’d be using for the rest of my life.” In the song “Tim McGraw,” the speaker makes it clear with the lines “When you think TIm McGraw / I hope you think of me;” she does not want him thinking about anyone else when he thinks about Tim McGraw. In “Paper Rings,” the speaker is so in love with her man and so ready to commit that she would even “marry you with paper rings.” Finally, in the song “Dress,” the speaker emphasizes that she “doesn’t want you like a best friend” and “you made your mark on me, golden tattoo.” Some other songs that I classified as “Gatekeep” include:

Love Story
The Way I Loved You
King Of My Heart
the lakes
Lover
Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
London Boy
Daylight
Stay Stay Stay
Message In A Bottle
End Game
Gorgeous
New Year’s Day
Mine
Enchanted
Ours
Our Song
Mary’s Song
Style
I’m Only Me When I’m with You
Today was a Fairytale
The Best Day
Untouchable
Sparks Fly
Everything Has Changed
Holy Ground
You Are In Love
This Love
I Know Places
… Ready For It
Delicate
Gorgeous
Dancing With our Hands Tied
I Think He Knows
Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince
It’s Nice to Have a Friend
Seven
Invisible String
Peace
Gold Rush
Fearless
Cornelia Street
Stay Beautiful
Hey Stephen
Wildest Dreams
Willow

Girlboss.

Finally, “Girlboss” Taylor Swift songs are songs where she is either happy and living life to the fullest, or where she is taking some form of empowerment. For instance, in “Me!” Swift rejoices at how “I’m the only one of me / Baby, that’s the fun of me,” and is just very happy to be herself. In “Welcome To New York,” Swift expresses her joy of a fresh start in New York, singing about how she feels that the city has “been waitin’ for” her and “it’s a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, beat forevermore.” Then, in “Shake It Off,” the speaker demonstrates her girlboss skill of not letting the haters get to her: “the hater’s gonna shake… I’m just gonna shake it off.” Swift continues this sentiment of independence in the song “I Forgot That You Existed,” where she exclaims that she can’t even remember her haters. And in “closure,” Swift continues to revel in her independence, saying “I don’t need your / closure.” Finally, the epitome of “girlboss” comes when Swift calls out the sexism in the music industry, singing “If I was a man / Then I’d be the man … / They wouldn’t shake their heads and question how much of this I deserve.” The other songs I classified as “Girlboss” include: