Taylor Swift has asked an important question: Do we all want to be Sєxy babes?
As the internet scrutinizes the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero,’ Olivia Petter examines what one of her most popular lines says about modern beauty standards
‘Midnights’ is Swift’s new album and in it, she reflects on beauty and femininity
(Taylor Swift/Getty/The Independent)
Read in SpanishDo you feel like everyone is Sєxy? And you’re just a monster on a hill? If you’ve never considered the answer to those questions, you’re clearly out of step with Taylor Swift , who sings those words on her new album Of Hers, Midnights .
Every time the 32-year-old artist releases new material, her confessional lyrics are scrutinized and questioned by fans to the point of parody. Sometimes a lamp is just a lamp. But sometimes a scarf is a relic of a toxic relationship with a famous actor who may or may not still be at her sister’s house. Over the years, Swift began to capitalize on this: she would often drop subtle hints and allusions to her songs before her release in an attempt to get the detective work going. As a result, her music has become a set of clues to decipher. Her listeners, Agatha Christie wannabes, are ready for the read.
‘Anti-Hero’, the first single from the album , is a meditation on self-loathing and responsibility for your behavior. In just a few days, the song’s “Sєxy baby” lyrics have spawned several viral Twitter threads . Die-hard Swift fans (or “Swifties” as they call themselves) tried to puzzle out its meaning.
Some have suggested that the lyrics are a reference to a fifth season episode of the sitcom 30 Rock , in which Liz Lemon, a character played by Tina Fey, confronts her hyperSєxualized employee named Abby, who wears her hair in a bun. pigtails and speaks in a soft baby voice. “You can drop the Sєxy babe charade,” Liz tells him. Abby replies, “The whole H๏τ babe thing isn’t a sham. I’m a very Sєxy girl.”
The more interesting theory, though, is that Swift is talking about an aesthetic, one that perfectly encapsulates the absurdity of modern beauty standards. You may not be familiar with “H๏τ babe” in those specific terms, but you will almost certainly recognize the look she describes. While it varies, the core components of the aesthetic are big eyes, smooth skin, high cheekbones, and a naturally pouting expression that won’t go away.
Often the look itself is accompanied by a lovely, high-pitched voice that is as captivating as it is seductive. The consensus is that this is someone whose physical beauty transcends conventional ideals because her defining characteristic is that she captures a strange dicH๏τomy between youth and wisdom. The Sєxy babe has characteristics of innocence and experience, giving her unparalleled Sєxual power in a society that constantly asks women to be two opposite things at once.
It’s something Swift has spoken about herself in relation to having had an eating disorder. “If you’re skinny enough, then you don’t have that ʙuтт that everyone wants,” she says in her lauded 2020 Netflix documentary , Miss Americana . “But if you’re heavy enough to have a ʙuтт, your stomach isn’t flat enough. Everything is impossible, ***”.
In 2018, Vice attached the term “H๏τ babe” to several public figures, including Ariana Grande , Lana Del Rey , and Love Island ‘s Megan Barton-Hanson . However, it has since become a more finished concept, a highly manipulated aesthetic that has emerged as a consequence of social media and the rise of plastic surgery among young women .
Consider the “Instagram Face,” a term coined by writer Jia Tolentino in a 2019 New Yorker article. “ It ‘s a young face, of course, with poreless skin and plump high cheekbones,” she writes. “She looks at you sheepishly but blankly, like she’s taken half a Klonopin, and considers asking you on a private jet to Coachella.” Points of reference included Kim Kardashian , Bella Hadid , and Emily Ratajkowski . A high-end New York stylist told Tolentino that the look itself is “like a…tiger…Sєxy baby.”
Most celebrities are reluctant to talk openly about any cosmetic surgery they’ve had. It took Kylie Jenner years to admit that her plump lips were the result of fillers rather than lip liner, for example. The intended intent, it seems, is to suggest that this rather unnatural aesthetic is entirely natural. Be beautiful without trying, and so on. Of course, we don’t know if any of the aforementioned women have had any treatment beyond what they’ve admitted to, but few can deny the uncanny similarities between all of her faces.
All of this is to say that when Swift sings that sometimes she feels like everyone is Sєxy, it’s unlikely to be a simple pop culture reference point, especially when you consider the following line: “I’m a monster.” on the hill, too big to hang out.” Perhaps the artist speaks to her own insecurities, making him a real monster who can’t handle the impossibility of contemporary beauty ideals.
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Or perhaps it offers her fans a glimpse of what it feels like to be a woman in the public eye today, one who constantly struggles between trying to fit in and at the same time standing out. This idea is vaguely suggested in the music video for ‘Anti-Hero’, in which a giant Swift tries to get into dinner with normal-sized people.
Whatever message Swift tries to send, it’s one that invites listeners into the intricacies of her mind and offers them the chance to see themselves there, too. Vulnerability equals music success, and it’s no wonder ‘Anti-Hero’ quickly became a fan favorite. In the song, Swift examines what it really means to be under constant scrutiny, not just from others, but from oneself, and how exasperating it can be to control one’s actions and appearances. The conclusion of the song is that it’s okay to be inconsistent and make mistakes, that we don’t all have to be Sєxy babes. And maybe it’s much more interesting to be that monster on the hill.
