Taylor wins the pronoun game. I’m not even going to try to untangle the speaker/recipient/changing characters in this song. It was written so convoluted that I haven’t even seen a satisfactory answer to this yet. Instead, I took lyric snippets from other songs featuring the same word, to get a feeling about Taylor’s sentiment and even subject. Don’t get overwhelmed with the length of this post. The word I’m trying to point-out from Question… lyrics is highlighted.
f—ing politics and gender-roles
Politics:
Now this could simply mean the Ku$hners, TFG, Republicans, conservative viewpoints.
But let’s let the lyrics of other songs help us decipher the meaning. Just to be consistent.
Cardigan
Did Taylor use the word “sequin” to mean shiny? Sequin is known to sparkle, and add ornamentation and flair.
The sequin says, “pay attention to me” and symbolizes a light-hearted good-time gal vibe.
But I also like some fan interpretations that Taylor is ‘aging’ her subject with the phrase “sequin smile.” This is a teen wearing metal braces (are those still a thing now that Invisalign is on the scene?). She is describing a teen coming into their own in one of Cardigan’s many layers.
She immediately contrasts the sequin with the more serious and dark black lipstick.
Taylor is layering meaning into these short phrases. Taylor might be pointing out that people are complex, and can be light and fun, wearing sparkly, party sequin and have a darker more mysterious side, topping off their look with black lipstick. She could be talking about two completely different people, one light and sparkly and one serious and deep. Taylor could be contrasting her different eras, 1989 was light and poppy and Reputation was brooding and secretive. I think they all work, and considering this is a folklore song, where honesty and fiction were woven together in intricate puzzles, I think she intended all meanings.
Sensual politics is a phrase that gets the same layered treatment as the previous line. We have playful sexy ‘cat and mouse’ flirting and relationship drama that both teens and adults engage in. Then, there is the airy feeling of attraction mixed with the heavier skirting the line of remaining politically correct or ethical [Talk about contrasts! Using ethical and political in the same sentence. But you know what I mean]. Love can be played like a complicated political battle. And like the last phrase, this one too, is used as a callback to Taylor’s own eras. Lover had a seductive, sultry side and a political message. False God is a perfect example of this dichotomy, there is religious imagery to describe a (lesbian) sexual encounter. But also, Cruel Summer with the moaning noises and “shape of your body” sit along side You Need to Calm Down with it’s name-drop of the GLAAD organization that advocates for the LGBTQQAA community.
It’s amazing how eloquently Taylor can pack so many meanings into just a few words! She says “when you are young, they assume you know nothing” to simultaneously address every different layered meaning she just set out in the contrasting phrases. Teens are both fun and moody. Adults think teens are too fickle, playful, and risky, when it comes to dating. But they pull the exact same precarious mating rituals themselves. One person can convey exuberance while feeling dreary inside. Taylor can be a popular good-time gal with model friends in 1989 then go dark and reclaim the snake side of herself in Reputation. Taylor is starry-eyed, romantic, and dramatic, but she’s also grounded, astute, and agreeable. And she always knew (she was gay).
It was one drink after another, f—ing politics and gender-roles
We already discussed how Taylor drinks to alleviate her anxiety. And being seen as queer triggers that anxiety. “Fucking politics and gender roles,” following the procedure of letting other lyrics paint the picture of the this song’s overall meaning, might be pointing out a contrast just like in Cardigan. Taylor is talking about feeling torn between her sexuality and desires and being politically correct, seen as a the ideal woman. It’s another dichotomy for her. She’s gay, anxious, and drunk, yet she is hyper-feminine, confident, and palatable to the masses. It’s a struggle for Taylor to be authentic to who she is, but also appeal to a wide swath of people to further her career. More than the specific event Question… brings up, it’s this contradiction that is the true subject of the song, as we’re seeing over and over in every lyrical example.
Catty Remarks