Young girls, famous artists, high schoolers and college students alike are coming to have a sort of feminist awakening, as Taylor Swift called it in her August interview with The Guardian. Fame and social media affected the idea that feminism means equality, not man-hating, to spread and further develop. Among many feminist artists who use their platforms to promote feminism and raise awareness of gender inequality are Swift and Miley Cyrus. These artists are very different, but through the press and websites such as Tumblr, where quick lines can be reblogged and passed on to thousands of people, they have both escalated the feminist movement to a new level.

Swift recently stepped into the role of a feminist artist when she learned the definition of feminism this past summer. Since then, she has made her voice heard, pointing out obvious cases of sexism against herself in the music industry.

“You’re gonna have people who are gonna say, ‘Oh, you know, like, she just writes songs about her ex-boyfriends,’” Swift said in an interview with 2Day FM. “And I think frankly that’s a very sexist angle to take. No one says that about Ed Sheeran. No one says it about Bruno Mars.”

Meanwhile, Cyrus proved to the world that she was no longer Hannah Montana when she dove into her role as a feminist artist by creating controversy. She performed risqué acts in concert that are the norm for many male artists.

“Guy rappers grab their crotch all fucking day and have hos around them, but no one talks about it,” Cyrus said in an interview with actress and Rookie editor-in-chief Tavi Gevinson. “If I grab my crotch and I have hot model bitches around me, I’m degrading women? I’m a woman — I should be able to have girls around me.”

Clearly, the two pop stars have their differences. Swift sings about broken hearts, while Cyrus twerks and does molly. Yet they still manage to openly promote feminism — Swift’s lyrics about past relationships detail the damage done to women, while Cyrus questions female sexuality by provoking her audiences. Too many female musicians are afraid of doing what Cyrus and Swift have done. In that way, they act as role models, not only for their fans, but also for other people in their industry.

Email Allison Stubblebine at [email protected].