Yes, the persona in “You Belong With Me” shows pride but I feel that this is thinly veiled disguise for an underlying current of feminine passivity and disempowerment. The song is peppered with lyrics such as “How could you not know?” and “Been here all along, so why can’t you see?” and these carry multiple tones. The first of which is mild frustration toward the man of her dreams who has yet to notice her; this translates to the female taking up a position of passivity since her only medium of action is to wait instead of taking the initiative to develop the relationship she so wishes. The other tone implied is one of insecurity at being unable to capture the attention of her crush which I feel contradicts the claim for her confidence. The man has inadvertently achieved dominance, though a relatively subtle kind, by capturing a girl’s interest which led to her current circumstances of passivity and frustration. Thus I find this particular song represents and perpetuates the notion of single women as passive creatures whose only option is to wait for their desired partner.

I also found it interesting that “You Belong With Me” would depict relationships, both potential and in progress, not so much as one founded on mutual attraction but one in which the girl must serve the man’s needs. This is most evident when Taylor sings, “your girlfriend, she’s upset… ‘Cause she doesn’t get your humour like I do” which shows that the source of their disagreement lies in her inability to appreciate him, rather than the man’s inability to accommodate his partner’s wish. This puts the man in empowerment over the woman because it is she who has to adapt to his traits, in this case his sense of humour in order to ensure the success of their relationship. Hence this song does promote inequality in romantic relationships whereby the woman has to put in more effort while playing down her own desires so as to keep the man satisfied and the relationship a success.

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