Love Story is told in the past tense from “Juliet’s” point of view. She recounts the story of love between herself and the hero “Romeo”. There are a few ways that one can enact Tania Modleski’s theory of feminist readings within mass media.
“That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles: And my daddy said, ‘Stay away from Juliet’” – As Modleski states, many societal “evils” lurk behind seemingly harmless romance plots. As with here, the world is being portrayed as controlled by men, and the women, Juliet, is subject to the whims of other men.
“And I was crying on the staircase: Begging you, please, don’t go” – The notion of the hysterical women is pervasive in all forms of media. Here the author, Taylor Swift, describes a weak female, drowned in love, crying and begging for the hero to stay and comfort her.
“Romeo save me: They’re trying to tell me how to feel” – Juliet continues to request a man, Romeo, to act for her.
For many, these first instances of men controlling the world and her being subject to their whims might be considered sexist and perpetuating gender norms and stereotypes. However, the mood changes.
“I got tired of waiting: Wondering if you were ever coming around: My faith in you was fading” – Juliet is sick of allowing men to make the decisions for her, rebels against it and finds Romeo herself.
“I talked to your dad: Go pick out a white dress” – At the end of the story, Romeo has discussed her marriage with the dad, and they’ve agreed it would be okay for her to marry Romeo. This could be another critique of controlling men. However, Juliet is eventually given the choice of whether she wants to marry him at all.
There are many critiques of societal norms pervading the tale which are elements of the feminist portrayal. The female author writes of these from the female point of view, casting them in negative light. She then continues to enact feminism with Juliets rebellion against the controlling men.