I'm not a huge fan of her music except a couple songs, but I think she gets far more hate than she deserves. She's been famous for what, 10 years now (at least)? And she became famous during her teenage years/early 20s, no less. I can't imagine the stupid shit I would have done and said if I had achieved her level of fame at such a young age. I'm 26 and I still don't know how I feel about modern feminism. There's stuff I like and stuff I don't like, and stuff I'm still trying to figure out. I'm sure I'd pay lip service to it if I had the same public pressure she did, and then I'd inevitably do or say something that makes people question my devotion to feminism, when in reality I'm just trying to keep the peace, preserve my public image and figure it out for myself.

I also don't think the fact that she's had public feuds with a few female celebrities says anything about whether she is a "true lover of women" or not. People have feuds, that's ok. With celebrities we just see it more.

With respect to the "squad," I don't think it's fair to criticize her for needing a close-knit group of friends, even if she does take it overboard - imagine how isolating it must be to have her level of fame. It's lonely at the top. And so what if her squad consists primarily of thin beautiful white women? She is a thin beautiful white woman; like attracts like. It is a bit silly that she posits the squad as some sort of feminist statement ("omg, women can actually support each other?!") but, then again, you don't see a lot of that among celebrities. It is kind of nice to see a large group of friends, who do actually seem to like each other and support one another, in a notoriously competitive environment. Celebrity culture can be really nasty for women, I don't blame them for squadding it up.

I'm not sure her public image says much about real-world gender dynamics or AWALT. She is definitely not a "normal" person.