Taylor Is Maxim's Hottest Celebrity

It's the best time to be a Taylor Swift fan, and not just because her star-studded "Bad Blood" music video is so awesome. In the months since Swift released 1989, her latest album, she's been all over the place, and the newest spot you'll find her is definitely a little unexpected. For the first time ever, Swift is on the cover of a men's magazine, and not only is it great to see her on another cover, but the reason she's on the cover in the first place is amazing, too. It's official: Swift is number one on Maxim 's Hot List, and now that the magazine has restructured the way they do the annual list, she couldn't be a more perfect choice.

Normally, lists like this are something I hate. You know that old quote from Theodore Roosevelt, "comparison is the thief of joy"? It's repeated so often because it's so true, and what do we really gain by ranking women in order of their perceived "hotness"? But for 2015, Maxim is switching things up. Under the guidance of their new Editor-in-Chief, Kate Lanphear, the women who made the list were chosen based on their accomplishments, not on looks alone, and aside from Swift, no one else on the list was actually ranked. It's a bold move, but a smart one. Putting women in a lineup based on their attractiveness isn't just insulting, but it's boring.

And Swift couldn't possibly be a better cover girl for their restructure. 2014 and 2015 have been a huge feminist awakening for Swift, who has become outspoken about the misogyny she witnesses in the music industry. In fact, Swift took the opportunity to talk about feminism in her interview for the cover — in a men's magazine, guys! — which is a very positive thing in and of itself.

When I was just seen as a kid, I wasn’t as threatening. I didn’t see myself being held back until I was a woman. Or the double standards in headlines, the double standards in the way stories are told, the double standards in the way things are perceived. A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining. Misogyny is ingrained in people from the time they are born. So to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it’s just basically another word for equality.

And when it comes to the whole comparison thing? Swift has been all about her league of girlfriends and working hard to support other women who are successful in their careers lately, and it's a beautiful thing. In an interview with Time in November 2014, Swift said that "other women who are killing it should motivate you, thrill you, challenge you, and inspire you rather than threaten you and make you feel like you're immediately being compared to them." And covering this magazine just when it's attempting to prove exactly that drives that point home even further.

Swift on the Maxim cover is just as good as her stamping a seal of acceptance on the magazine, so it's good for Maxim— and it's good for the rest of us. When women are celebrated for their successes instead of their beauty, everybody wins. And Swift is right. Every woman on this list is a great source of motivation for the rest of us.

And personally? I'd way rather be inspired than made to feel inadequate about the way I look based on a list in a magazine.

Image: Maxim