--- description: Bruno Mars can write about ex-lovers. Why can't T-Swift? title: Watch Taylor Swift Shut Down 'Sexist' Music Critics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19306712921416e3/698761aacd1bba1c856f2b83/455949616.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Taylor Swift Shut Down 'Sexist' Music Critics  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 20, 2014 3:37 PM CUT  Taylor Swift poses at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Press Room at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada Taylor Swift poses at the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Press Room at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 19, 2014 in Las Vegas, NevadaSteve Granitz—WireImage  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Oct 20, 2014 3:37 PM CUT Taylor Swift, [a newly outspoken feminist](http://time.com/3165825/taylor-swift-feminist-lena-dunham/ "undefined"), is defending her decision to write about past relationships. During a Sunday appearance on the Australian radio show _Jules, Merrick & Sophie_, Swift pointed out that she is unfairly criticized for her lyrics, while men who write about exes are not: --- > “” --- And unlike some other pop stars ([we’re looking at you, Robin Thicke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz%5FEqawkmTg "undefined")), T-Swift says she tries to keep the identities of the people she’s writing about a secret. “I have a really strict personal policy that I never name names. And so anybody saying that a song is about a specific person is purely speculating.” So who knows who she’s really singing about in[ “Out of the Woods.”](http://time.com/3502753/taylor-swift-out-of-the-woods/ "undefined") (Though everyone’s still [pretty sure](http://www.billboard.com/articles/6281701/taylor-swift-out-of-the-woods-harry-styles-evidence "undefined") it’s about Harry Styles.) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3524641/taylor-swift-feminism-critics-sexist/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3524641/taylor-swift-feminism-critics-sexist/"},"headline":"Watch Taylor Swift Shut Down 'Sexist' Music Critics","datePublished":"2014-10-20T15:37:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:11.040Z","description":"Bruno Mars can write about ex-lovers. Why can't T-Swift?","url":"https://time.com/3524641/taylor-swift-feminism-critics-sexist/","keywords":["Living","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19306712921416e3/698761aacd1bba1c856f2b83/455949616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt19306712921416e3/698761aacd1bba1c856f2b83/455949616.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Press Room","caption":"2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival - Night 1 - Press Room","creditText":"Steve Granitz—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3524641/taylor-swift-feminism-critics-sexist/","name":"Watch Taylor Swift Shut Down 'Sexist' Music Critics"}}]}] ```