Amy Schumer wants to join your squad. In fact, as Schumer made clear at Elle 's 2015 Women in Hollywood event on Monday night, not only she would really "join any squad that would have me as a member," she's just super excited that the term exists at all. "I think it's really interesting that this phrasing has popped up," Schumer told People about women using the word squad to talk about their friends. "Like all of a sudden, it's not just your friends any more. You're a squad. It kind of makes it sound more powerful. I'm all for it."
And, with that quote it, seems the summer of #squad and #squadgoals (as the Atlantic pointed out in July) has officially expanded into the fall. The magazine put the word into context, explaining that it takes female camaraderie to the next level. These women who don't just hang out together, but they also share the same values. Of course, it's not a word that just women are using, but it seemed to find its way into the lexicon thanks to Taylor Swift.
Swift spent her summer traveling the globe with her 1989 tour, but she was never far from her favorite girls. From Selena Gomez to the Haim sisters to Lena Dunham to Karlie Kloss, Swift surrounded herself with her #squad, who were there not only to lounge around in swan pool floaties with her, but to also defend their squad's honor. Back in 2014 when Diplo thought it would be funny to bodyshame Swift, Lorde was there to shut it down in one pretty epic mic drop tweet:
And that's the thing about a squad: it's your team of unwavering support. In the recent Vogue Australia cover story on Swift, the pop star says that her squad is her everything. "My friendship group is one of my favorite things about my life right now," she said. "Our friends really have each others' back. It's the first time in my life that I've had anything strong like that in the friendship department."
Swift probably isn't alone. There are a lot of women who never felt like they were part of the popular crowd, and the term squad calls back to when you're a kid getting picked last for kickball. But now you have nothing to worry about. Your friends — your squad — will always have your back. While the idea that friends will be there for you no matter what should seem like a given, for young girls who are too often used to being pitted against other women — whether it's for a job or for a man — this is a pretty amazing breakthrough.
Schumer, like Swift, is all about female friendships, and women supporting each other rather than looking at others like they're competition. The comedian's success is very much tied to the people in her life — and her talking about the importance of female friendship focuses on the need for female empowerment, which is easier to achieve when it's not done alone.
So while the word "Squad" seems overly cute and hashtaggable, know it's a very real thing. One you should take seriously before you're left to go it alone #squadless.
