Taylor Swift admitted it took her a while to realise she is a feminist.

The 'I Knew You Were Trouble' singer distanced herself from being seen a certain way in the past, but she has now explained she simply misunderstood the meaning of the word, and now more closely associates herself with it.

She told The Guardian newspaper: ''As a teenager, I didn't understand that saying you're a feminist is just saying that you hope women and men will have equal rights and equal opportunities.

''What it seemed to me, the way it was phrased in culture, society, was that you hate men. And now, I think a lot of girls have had a feminist awakening because they understand what the word means.

''For so long it's been made to seem like something where you'd picket against the opposite sex, whereas it's not about that at all.''

Taylor has credited her friendship with 'Girls' star Lena Dunham with educating her, and making her realise she has been a feminist all along.

She explained: ''Becoming friends with Lena - without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for - has made me realise that I've been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so.''