Best feminist artists

In a world where so many female artists distance themselves from the polarizing notion of feminism (or misdefine it), these songstresses have some to embrace the term. The ambiguities and debates that exist within feminist communities about what makes someone a real/good/true feminist can make some people reject the term.

Beyonce- Who runs the world? According to Beyonce’s perfect world; girls do! This Amazonian powerhouse performer seems to be the embodiment of girl power. From independent women soundtracks of the 90s to her girl empowerment anthems of today. In her surprise 2013 album, Beyonce, the Queen took the world by storm with her track ‘Flawless’. The song features Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, writer of such books like Americanah and We All Should Be Feminists.

"I've always considered myself a feminist, although I was always afraid of that word because people put so much on it," Beyonce says. "When honestly, it's very simple. It's just a person that believes in equality for men and women. Men and women balance each other out, and we have to get to a point where we are comfortable with appreciating each other."

Nicki Minaj- As an artist who was first known for capitalizing on her sexuality and assets, Nicki Minaj doesn’t seem like a likely candidate for a strong feminist artist.  How can a woman who so seemingly sells her body to garner record sales understand the plight of being a woman in a misogynistic world? However, being a female MC, Minaj knows exactly how hard it is to be taken seriously in the male dominated genre. She knows just how hard it can be to be taken seriously when you are an ultra-feminine MC (I mean, she calls herself Barbie… what is more girly than that?)  Besides he strong ability to dominate in the male-powered genre, what really caught my attention was her stance on female sexuality.

Now this could be a blog post AAAALLL on its own, but I loved that the rapper said she demands orgasms. "I demand that I climax. I think women should demand that. I have a friend who's never had an orgasm in her life. In her life! That hurts my heart. It's cuckoo to me. We always have orgasm interventions where we, like, show her how to do stuff. We'll straddle each other, saying, 'You gotta get on him like that and do it like this.' She says she's a pleaser. I'm a pleaser, but it's fifty-fifty."

Her comment shows the inequality that happens in the bedroom.

Lily Allen- With campy girl-power anthems like “Hard out Here”, Lily Allen has criticised the music industry for being "sneering" towards women. "I know that I get talked to in label meetings and by executives like a woman. It's demoralizing and sneering, and we [women] apparently don't have an opinion. It's done in a way to make you feel ashamed, whether they know they're doing it or not. There are women in the room, in those meetings, and no-one says, 'Don't talk to her like that.' That's the only way I feel like it's going to change, when people start saying, 'You can't fucking do that!'" 

 
The singer said in a recent interview with Shortlist that she does not think feminism should be an issue in 2014, stating that "everyone is equal" in the modern world.

She still identifies as a feminist but she is surprised gender equality has not yet been reached.

Lorde- For a teenage girl, she sure understands how to be a bad ass woman. The 17-year-old pop star has openly indentified herself as a feminist “I’m speaking for a bunch of girls when I say that the idea that feminism is completely natural and shouldn’t even be something that people find mildly surprising, it’s just a part of being a girl...”

It's heartening to see a pop star ready to openly discuss feminism and sex-positivity, and do it all with an unassuming air.

Taylor Swift- It is surprising to me that T-Swifty’s stance on feminism was even debatable. The powerhouse is a great example of a woman who knows her own strength, isn’t afraid of public opinion, and doesn’t feel the need to self-objectify in her music videos. In a recent interview with The Guardian the ‘Bad Blood’ singer discussed her recent awakening on the social matter.

 
“As a teenager, I didn’t understand that saying you’re a feminist is just saying that you hope women and men will have equal rights and equal opportunities. What it seemed to me, the way it was phrased in culture, society, was that you hate men. And now, I think a lot of girls have had a feminist awakening because they understand what the word means. For so long it’s been made to seem like something where you’d picket against the opposite sex, whereas it’s not about that at all. Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realize that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so.”

Swift has previously skirted around labeling herself a feminist, but now we know that's probably because she wasn't so clear on what it really means to be a feminist.