Debbie Gibson explains why Taylor Swift would have had challenges in the 80’s

Being a female pop star has come a long way since the ’80s. Just ask Debbie Gibson.

Gibson, whose albums Out of the Blue and Electric Youth ruled the airwaves from 1987 to 1989, recently sat down with SheKnows to get nostalgic about the era and talk about how entertainment has changed over the past 25 years.

More: Debbie Gibson and Tiffany heading to Syfy

Being a female musician in the ’80s was a lot more of a struggle, said Gibson. The singer helped pave the way for some of today’s most popular artists by taking control of her own music, but she admits it wasn’t easy. “Being a female writer and producer, it was an uphill battle,” she said.

More: Debbie Gibson is battling Lyme disease

Gibson candidly speaks about how Taylor Swift’s career wouldn’t be what it is today had Swift been recording music in 1989 as opposed to being born that year. “Typically, women are puppets, especially young girls, and older males write and produce their music,” Gibson said of the time period.

More: Debbie Gibson and Tiffany duke it out ’80s style

She also talks about how music is coming full circle from the ’80s, and she reminisces about the time before reality TV and social media. “I feel like we’ve been saying ‘the ’80s are back’ for so long and they’re still here, and maybe they’re not going anywhere,” Gibson said, “which I think is fabulous.”

Debbie Gibson stars in a new movie entitled “The Music In Me” premiering on the UP Network Sunday April 12 at 7 pm EDT/6 PM PDT. The movie is all about a small town girl who has given up her dreams of musically performing only to rediscover her joy of singing and songwriting through her work in a failing church choir.