Cowboy Carter, Beyonce’s new country album has taken social media by storm, with instant hits like her formidable rendition of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and her collaborations with Miley Cyrus and Post Malone, amongst many others. Meanwhile, Ariana Grande recently ended her 4 year hiatus from releasing music with Eternal Sunshine. The album was unexpectedly well received, with several charting songs, like “we can’t be friends (wait for your love),” which is currently growing in popularity.

These are two fabulous albums that I will be streaming all year, and while it seems natural to celebrate the success of two female artists stepping out of their comfort zones, unfortunately that never seems to be the case. With the lineup of female albums set to be released this year, there is bound to be incredible female success in the music industry, but it’s disheartening to know that the focus of the entire internet will just be who is doing better than others. For instance, despite the fact that they attended each other’s movie premieres with the hope of uniting fans and publicly displaying their support for each other, people have been relentlessly comparing Beyonce and Taylor Swift’s record-breaking tours. Instead of celebrating their unprecedented successes, fans invest all their energy toward invalidating the achievements of their favorite artist’s friends.

This culture of unnecessary competitiveness between female icons has been around for as long as women have been able to be successful in male-dominated fields, and it was especially prevalent as my generation grew up. Nicki vs. Miley, Demi vs. Selena, Katy vs. Taylor, and Paris vs. Lindsay are just among the first few I can think of off the top of my head. Fans who were raised during a time where this culture was normalized and expected are now carrying it on, even against the wishes and requests of the very artists they are claiming to support and idolize.

This mindset is beyond harmful for women in the music industry and beyond. By alienating powerful women by denigrating those who approach their success, we make it more and more difficult for those who are breaking into industries to make it, preventing diversification of all fields. It’s always so empowering to hear a female celebrity giving a thank-you speech and acknowledge the women who came before her and made whatever industry she has just been awarded in more accessible for people like her. In a world where women are already inhibited by lower pay, more difficulty getting hired, judgement based on stereotypes, and less representation in so many industries, the last thing we need is to gatekeep success and ridicule women by comparing them to their peers.

Dolly Parton, who was featured several times on Cowboy Carter, promoted Beyonce’s version of “Jolene” on her social media with nothing but admiration, respect, and dignity. She has set such an empowering example for women everywhere, even going so far as to say that she hopes that Beyonce can do with “Jolene” what Whitney Houston did with “I Will Always Love You.” Parton doesn’t see their takes on her songs as threatening, but rather as flattering, and she takes absolutely no offense that their versions of her songs could be more popular than her own; in fact, she encourages it. Parton’s example of an incredible woman who can step back and let other women, especially Black women, shine, while cheering them on from the sidelines is something that I believe all women should aspire to replicate. After all, this ain’t the year 2000.

Reactions to the news that Margot Robbie was not nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Barbie ranged from outrage to fervent celebration to indifference. The response I heard the most was in the latter category and often was accompanied by comments like “who cares” and “she’ll be fine.” Of course, there are far more grave conflicts going on in the world, especially affecting women, but I don’t think that should minimize the backlash that the Oscars are receiving for their nomination choices. On that note, the Barbie snubs date farther back than the Oscars. This pattern of disrespect and snubbing began at the Golden Globes in January.

At the 2024 Golden Globes, hosted by the now-notorious Jo Koy, Barbie was nominated for six awards, and rightfully so. As the highest grossing film of the year, inspiring a “Barbenheimer” craze, a renaissance of hot pink fashion, and renewed love of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, I think it’s safe to say that the film commanded a bit of respect. That didn’t stop Koy, however, from including it in his collection of problematic jokes. As he put it, compared to Oppenheimer, which was “based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning book,” Barbie “is [based] on a plastic doll with big boobies.” This sparked rampant controversy from people accusing Koy of missing the point of the movie. While, to me, his comment seems absurd, to so many others, Koy simply voiced how they’ve felt about the film on a larger platform. Based on the public’s reaction to this joke, however, the irony of a feminist movie being nominated for an elite award only to be belittled at the very ceremony meant to honor it is not lost on most.

The next disappointment in the wave of award show controversies associated with the film occurred at the Critics Choice Awards when the comedic ballad “I’m Just Ken,” performed by Ryan Gosling, won Best Song over Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” Fans were outraged that Eilish’s song, which is played during the movie’s climax and is a profound commentary on a woman’s role in society, lost to Gosling’s song, taking this as proof that women’s hard work will still be overlooked for male mediocrity. Even Gosling seemed perplexed and embarrassed as he accepted the award, which people took as further evidence that he knew he didn’t deserve to win.

By the time that the Oscars nominations were announced, their multiple snubs of the women of Barbie seemed like the final straw. Not only was Margot Robbie not nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Greta Gerwig was not up for Directing. Considering that Barbie was the highest grossing film directed by a woman in history, it seems a little unreasonable that Gerwig wasn’t recognized at all for this feat by the Oscars.

On top of all of that, Ryan Gosling was still nominated for best Actor in a Supporting Role, suggesting that the Oscars only held a grudge against the women involved with Barbie. Further emphasizing the snub, Oppenheimer was nominated for and won almost every major award of the night. This includes Cilian Murphy for Actor in a Leading Role and Christopher Nolan for Directing. Oppenheimer has been paired with Barbie so much that they have come to be considered counterparts of some sort, so logically, if the Oscars celebrated one, they should have lauded the other as well.

The difference between the two films goes deeper than one being about a historical event and the other about female genitalia (whether Jo Koy accepts it or not). One was led and directed by men, while the other lifted up women, was directed by women, and starred women. In 2024, it is outrageous that they received such different critical acclaim despite the fact that Barbie was significantly more successful in both pop culture and the box office.

If you still think that this is a first-world issue that doesn’t need to be discussed, I urge you to reframe your thinking. Injustice in pop culture influences how the general public thinks and feels about broader issues like misogyny, and by excusing misogyny that is visible on the highest platform, we normalize the prejudices that are occuring within households and on much smaller scales. Of course, Margot Robbie will be alright, but that doesn’t mean we have to brush past the injustices she faces. If A-List women are still being told to stay silent and accept sexism in their workplace, then there doesn’t seem to be a chance for those who don’t have the power of the media and millions of dollars behind them. This issue is important, not despite the marginalized women who need a voice and justice, but because of them and for them. After all, what was Barbie made for?

As a loyal Steelers fan and, naturally, an avid hater of the Ravens, I was prepared to cheer on Kansas City in their Conference Championship versus the Ravens with confidence that my friends and family from Pittsburgh would be by my side, supporting the Chiefs with me. As game day approached, however, I started to notice that almost everyone I knew, from the boys I went to high school with to my little brother, was reposting and liking posts on Instagram in support of Baltimore. It made no sense to me, considering that these were all die-hard Steelers fans and that hating the Ravens is one of the pillars of Steelers culture itself. So what inspired all of these Ravens-haters to turn their backs on the bitter rivalry and root against the Chiefs instead? You guessed it: Taylor Swift.

In the midst of Swift’s record-breaking world tour, which boosts the economy of every country she visits, and her successful releases of both Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) within four months of each other, she also, as I’m sure you’re aware, began dating Chief’s tight end, Travis Kelce. Despite her recognition as Time magazine’s Person of the Year and her newly achieved status as a billionaire, a disproportionate amount of the attention she receives has been centered around her new relationship, lauding the couple as America’s Sweethearts and zealously analyzing every outfit she wears to his games. Every word he utters in reference to her and every expression that flashes across her face as she watches him from the stands is plastered on TVs and flooded all over social media.

The NFL has been the vanguard of this campaign to brand Swift as face of American football, posting about her incessantly and even going as far as to change their header on Twitter to a picture of her at one of Kelce’s games. While this media attention was game-changing for the NFL, resulting in a nearly 400% rise in Travis Kelce jersey sales and attracting a brand new audience of young, female, and international Swifties, it also created a new angle for scrutiny against Swift. Suddenly, the “Dads, Brads, and Chads” of football, as Swift referred to them, were also being bombarded with unsolicited Swift content, and of course, despite the fact that she actually had no part in the constant commercialization of her relationship, she was assigned the blame entirely for the disruption of their idea of what football should be.

Approaching this Championship game, the hatred towards Taylor Swift was immeasurable. The only other excuse people could think of for rooting against the Chief’s was the paltry “they always win,” but most people didn’t hesitate to declare that she was the reason they were supporting the Ravens. While the media attention undeniably got excessive and annoying, for me as well, I can’t help but propose that the true reason these men were angry wasn’t because a singer was being venerated by their favorite commentators and the NFL; it was because that singer was a woman.

Ever since Swift attended her first Chiefs’ game in September, the audience of American football has slowly begun growing, including more girls and women than ever. Chauvinistic fans have been plagued by footage of a woman enjoying their favorite sport while screaming and cheering in a way that is painfully overdramatic and unacceptable (except when Jason Kelce rips his shirt off in celebration of the same play). With even the mention of Swift, Kelce, or the Chiefs, complaints begin about how unreasonably long Swift is shown on screen during each game (an excruciating total of 25 seconds, on average).

The reality is that women are starting to discover yet another space that has been male-dominated since its creation, and defensive football fans see this broadening of horizons as an invasion. Swift, at the forefront of this movement, is in turn mocked and ridiculed for simply attending her boyfriend’s games and cheering him on. If anyone is to blame for the interruptions, it’s the NFL, which has earned a whopping $331.5 million off of its exploitation of Swift’s image, name, and relationship. The only thing Taylor Swift has done wrong is be impactful enough to generate so much money for the NFL that they’d do everything in their power to be associated with her. Her influence is strong enough to reguide the loyalty of millions of football fans who changed the team they were supporting simply because of her, raising the question of which one they care about more: loving football or ridiculing a woman who doesn’t know they exist. Hopefully, one day, all of the Dads, Brads, and Chads will be able to enjoy their football game despite knowing that there are women out there, watching the same game as them.