Taylor Swift has become a goddess for working women in their 30s whose love lives are on the wane.
Taylor’s fans, the “Swifties,” have created a cult-like reverence for the singer. If you’re not there, you’re the enemy. If you’re not there, you’re missing out.
Known to be one of the most vicious fan groups, online Swifties won’t think twice before sending you death threats, doxing your friends and family, or attempting to hack into your social media accounts.
One reporter has even been publicly accused by Swifties of being a pedophile for having the audacity to criticize Taylor’s current world tour.
When I asked my friends why they booked whole days off with the slim hope of snagging tickets to the hugely popular Eras shows, the replies were as follows:
“Your songs are so catchy.”
“She seems to represent the millennial female experience so well.”
“I don’t even really like them. ‘I got tickets because of FOMO.’
Really, people – in some cities – spend upwards of $1,000 on a ticket for a woman they don’t make such a fuss about? Maybe following the crowd actually makes life easier.
Taylor Swift has become a goddess for working women in their 30s whose love lives are on the wane. Taylor’s fans, the “Swifties,” have created a cult-like reverence for the singer. If you’re not there, you’re the enemy. If you’re not there, you’re missing out.
Known to be one of the most vicious fan groups, online Swifties won’t think twice before sending you death threats, doxing your friends and family, or attempting to hack into your social media accounts.
I’m probably making myself an open target by saying I just don’t get it.
As a 25-year-old, I’m the best demographic to be a die-hard fan.
I too have had a lot of failed relationships and horrible ex-boyfriends. I don’t mind catchy songs and like Taylor I love cats.
But when it comes to Swift, I never got it. And as her fanbase grows more confused as the media flock to her page, posting breathless comments about how she’s single-handedly fending off the US recession with a tour expected to gross a record-breaking $1.4 billion, or how her crowds of fans have literally caused “earthquakes” in stadiums (fact check: these tremors are common during major stadium tours and sports games), I can’t help but think that this idolization of Taylor Swift is neither healthy — nor deserved.
To me, Taylor Swift is just fine. And there will be many more like her. But somehow the universe is in a collective trance and is unable to admit it.
If you read the New York Times this week, you will have seen a dance critic who has called Taylor’s moves “simple and unoriginal,” “stiff and awkward,” “imprecise and physically non-binding,” yet concludes that this parade of awkwardness it is “powerful” and “extraordinarily effective”.
I’m probably making myself an open target by saying I just don’t get it. But when it comes to Swift, I never got it. To me, Taylor Swift is just fine. And there will be many more like her. But somehow the universe is in a collective trance and is unable to admit it.
Now, of course, you don’t have to be a fan of Taylor to appreciate what she’s obviously talented at.
The songwriting of the few songs she rewrites and repeats over and over again for each “new” album is superb indeed.
Your texts are understandable up to a certain point. (Even if, after their umpteenth failed relationship, they do raise the question of which member of the couple is the toxic narcissist.)
She plays guitar, piano, ukulele and banjo. She treats her staff very well – she reportedly paid out six-figure bonuses to the tour crew earlier this month – and is known for her generosity.
She probably also volunteers at the soup kitchen on the weekends and spends thousands of dollars a month sponsoring orphans. She is perfect! She is God!
But that’s the main reason I have such a dislike for her; Taylor Swift is a beautifully thought out marketing ploy. She is a character and she is not real.
It’s genuinely awesome — this undeniably female commercial success story, worth a whopping $740 million and up, and she’s never had a stint in rehab or a prescription pill problem.
Is that why she doesn’t let me feel anything? The lack of courage, the ingredient that made me obsess over Miley Cyrus or admire Britney Spears.
Taylor was a teenager made for teenagers — and it worked. So much so that she’s now 33 and still clearly geared up to appeal to high-sugar youth who are so devoted to her that they’d spend her month’s salary — or, rather, her parents’ salary — on a ticket to her shows.
She’s harmless, largely genderless, and unashamedly reserved – so, yes, perhaps she reflects the general experience of modern young women.
Taylor Swift is a beautifully thought out marketing ploy. She is a character and she is not real. It’s genuinely awesome — this undeniably female commercial success story, worth a whopping $740 million and up, and she’s never had a stint in rehab or a prescription pill problem. Is that why she doesn’t let me feel anything? The lack of courage.
There must be more to her, but I’m not sure we’ll ever see it.
The seemingly atypical love affair with accused racist and stage nut Matt Healy? The infamous Kanye scandal?
Come on girl, show us the dirt!
Until then, I console myself by imagining her stripping off a perfect blonde wig backstage to reveal a femme fatale bob while she hurls cigarette ash at one of her cats and cackles that she’s with the get away from all the trouble.
On the other hand, if their ardent fans and uncritical critics went behind the scenes and spied such a sight, they would probably find a way to describe their own enthusiasm as powerful and inspiring and rush to buy more tour tickets.