Taylor Swift has been a focal point through which many cultural, social, and political debates are mediated. It’s very fascinating to see fan culture evolve, especially around Swift and her cult of personality. It is even more interesting to see how inconsistencies of her words in comparison to her actions are obfuscated by her most devout, and by their insistence that she could do no wrong.
Her fans, ‘Swifties’, as they like to call themselves, have seen the pendulum swing from mass overwhelming support and tense hostility. This is seen from the cultural moment that was the Eras Tour, to the hostility pronounced by the Reputation era where she was essentially persona non grata for a better part of 2 years.
Although an examination of stan culture, parasocial relationships and celebrity fascination won’t be the subject of this article, I would like to note that I do understand the defensiveness to which Swifties carry themselves with. Taylor Swift is very good at what she does, she is a consummate artist and she has been subject to a large array of misogyny. It also does not help that our cultural zeitgeist inherently undervalues the market interests which predominantly consist of women and girls. When people connect with music, this usually evolves into a vested interest in the artists themselves. This is further punctuated by the way Swift interacts with her fanbase both outside and within her music – her songs feel like esoteric missives for her most dedicated and devoted. Therefore, and by nature, many people conflate critiques of artistry as a critique of their personal character.
This is all to say that I hope readers, especially any Swifties, approach this article with good faith.
~ ♡ ~
Advocacy and social justice have transmuted into a commodifiable aesthetic brand to pile on top of the other quantifiable markers of identity we’ve created and perpetuated: trad wife, clean girl, mob wife, pink pilates princesses, coquette girls… if I continue listing, I may never stop.
Sure, we don’t see this specific brand of micro-trendy individualism when it relates to mega-celebrities and this is mostly pertinent to the realm of social media and online behaviour. However, this isn’t to say that celebrities, and their simultaneous brands, are immune to this type of hollow engagement. On the contrary, celebrities often leverage and posture social justice rhetoric and political advocacy in perhaps a more elevated, subtle and strategic way. We see them emulate activist scripts rather than actually performing them. Egomania is nothing new when it comes to celebrities and corporations co-opting progressivism, which is significantly easier than authentic engagement with meaningful political discourse. That being said, this is the way I view Taylor Swift’s advocacy; vacuous, self-congratulatory, and tawdry. Most times, it is simply holographic.
The Lover album of Swift’s career marked a celebratory era of love in all its various forms and manifestations. This included both platonic and (heteronormative) romantic love as well as Queer love and was one of the very first times in Swift’s career that she has been outspoken for LGBT+ advocacy. From heart-shaped sparkles and rainbow tassels to her inclusion of Queer and trans celebrities in the ‘You Need to Calm Down’ music video, it was no doubt clear that Swift has taken a clear stance.
An ancillary to this era was her Miss Americana documentary, which explored topics such as her sexual assault trial, her desire to be more politically active (especially when it comes to Feminism and racial politics), and her LGBT+ allyship. The promotional single for this documentary, ‘Only the Young’, celebrates the political agency of American youth.
However, post 2019 and her Lover era, Swift has mostly defaulted into her long-standing policy of political silence.
Not only were LGBT+ allyship, Feminism, racial politics, and youth advocacy centred around this commercially successful period of her career but in the subsequent years, with the onslaught of anti-trans bills sweeping through the country, the overturning of Roe v Wade and the erosion of abortion rights, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Palestine and the hostility towards students and university encampments… Swift has been largely silent.
In my most cynical moments, I can only view the Lover era as a throwaway chapter of her career in order to generate further pecuniary traction and ingratiate Queer audiences and push back against critiques regarding her lack of political vocality, however short-lived it was.
~ ♡ ~
Swift’s recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, features a myriad of songs detailing her relationship with the media, her fans, and her romantic partners. A song that stood out to me was ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ which explores the constant scrutiny of her personal life, with many fans interpreting this particular song to be a direct hit towards Swift’s fan base for the onslaught of criticisms she faced in the spring of 2023 and her contentious relationship with singer, Matty Healy of The 1975.
Source: Genius Lyrics
Ensuing criticisms stemmed from his controversial podcast, The Adam Friedland Show, among other ‘problematic’ performance aspects of his career, where he joked about the brutalisation of Black women, and made particularly offensive imitations of rapper, Ice Spice, calling her “[a] chubby Chinese lady” and “Inuit Spice Girl.” This podcast was recorded and released in February 2023 and was pulled from Spotify and Apple.
To give some context, Healy’s persona as a ‘provocateur’ rings true in some cases; he is very outspoken in his liberalist logic and often uses controversy and satire as a tool to incite discourse. Whatever his intentions were with that infamous podcast episode, one thing is for certain: his statements have offended a lot of people. I won’t go into an in-depth discussion of intersectionality, identity politics, and the implications of ‘punching down’, as it pertains to Healy, but it is important to note how black women are already systemically degraded in a myriad of ways. This type of incendiary commentary can be harmful without adequate self-awareness and reflexivity.
There is a discussion to be had about the way audiences and media engage with female celebrities and the way they are condemned for the transgressions of their male partners. It is vitriolic, it is misogynistic and often unwarranted. A large portion of her fan base has praised Swift for pushing back against the unfavourable narratives regarding her relationship with Healy.
But honestly… I don’t think this song is the serve they think it is. It vindicates Swift from any form of accountability and is very dismissive.
I’ll be the first to admit that I took this relationship as a goddamn betrayal. It was probably the first major instance where I had to contend with Swift’s whiteness head-on. To be able to negotiate your allyship and your politics is a privilege. One that many others cannot do. It is our identity. It is our reality. It is our lives.
This is not to say that Swift has no right to maintain boundaries with her audience and the media as it pertains to her personal life – she sure doesn’t owe anyone good behaviour. However, in turn, the audience doesn’t owe her blind devotion. Audiences are allowed to call an artist out on their hypocrisy and fickleness. When your politics do not reflect in your behaviour – yes, including the people you align yourself with – then your fan base and the media are entitled to hold you accountable to the standards you have set yourself with (ahem… Lover era allyship). It is easy enough to whittle at the edges of valid criticism until it becomes little more than “bitching and moaning” – hollow ‘hatred’ from faceless netizens. But, when your art is so intrinsically connected to your life, you cannot be exempt from the court of public opinion or scrutiny, and it is an unreasonable expectation to be shielded from any and all forms of criticism.
Is she allowed to have a messy fling (although according to the album, it’s less of a fling and more of a 10-year relationship) with a person after getting out of a long-term relationship? Yeah, sure. However, as a public figure, with the type of influence Swift has, we need to reconcile the fact that although she is a person, she has also built a platform of advocacy. We cannot view Swift’s actions in a vacuum because she is also a profitable brand. Swift is no longer just a person the way we are just people because she has made her life a commodity to be consumed and scrutinised. This is the deal every artist makes for fame and fortune and is a social contract Swift signed long ago when she built her career.
How can we uphold our own moral integrity and consistent political principles as individuals when we cannot even acknowledge and hold those with influence and wealth to account?
Michelle studies a Bachelor of Arts/Law. She loves white chocolate, Taylor Swift, and has a penchant towards anything so long as it’s pink! She joined Blitz because who wouldn’t want to be part of an unhinged media community that’s as obsessed with pop culture as she is? Fun fact: She got eras tickets (this is her peak) 
