Taylor Swift dropped the music video for her song “The Man” off of Lover bright and early Thursday morning (February 27), after teasing it with a clip that showed what appeared to be a man looking out an office window.
Many fans surmised that the man was actually Swift—and they were right. Throughout the video, she portrays a male version of herself, Tyler Swift, a character walking through life with all the benefits afforded to men.
The song is one of Swift’s most overtly feminist hits, with lyrics that dissect the double standards women face in the world—and in the music industry. Take the opening lines, for example: “I would be complex / I would be cool / They’d say I played the field before / I found someone to commit to / And that would be okay / For me to do / Every conquest I had made / Would make me more of a boss to you.”
Swift also directed the video, but this isn’t the first time she’s taken charge behind the camera. She co-directed the video for “Lover” and went solo for her holiday release, “Christmas Tree Farm.” It’s a pretty straightforward interpretation of the song, showing Taylor as Tyler being an angry boss but still receiving praise, manspreading, and smoking a cigar on the subway as if he owns the place.
