Conclusions and Futures

According to my students, “Taylor Swift is the best and we love her. She makes our lives better. Facts.” And Swift’s future as an entertainer is assured; we will continue to enjoy her output and engage in critical thinking about it. That said, it’s important to look at her popularity through a broader lens and to acknowledge the criticism. Why has she become so renowned, and why has she become a lightning rod for hate?

I suspect the answer lies in what women like, misogyny, and women’s economic freedom. First, when women enjoy something and are vocal about their enjoyment, it is often heavily criticized. As theorist Luce Irigaray noted, “men’s culture is regularly valorized and women’s culture devalorized” (qtd. in Mitchell & Reid-Walsh, 1995, p. 38). We can think back to the Twilight craze of the early 2000s, in which women were investing their time, attention, and money into the book and movie series. This was often something to be derided and made fun of, and while I personally felt uncomfortable with middle-aged women lusting after young male actors, I also felt uncomfortable with how people derided the women who were engaged in this fandom. Anytime a group of women become passionate or excited about something they are perceived as crazy. Why do people hate what women like? Why do we automatically consider it to be lower in importance?

Of course, a lot of this has to do with misogyny. It’s the same sort of sentiment behind the criticism “You run like a girl.” When skills, ideas, forms of entertainment, or hobbies are feminized, they are considered to be less important and not worth our time or study. Men can go to football games and scream and cry, and they are seen as devoted fans without being labeled as crazy. They often refer to the team they are watching as “we,” even though they are not actually playing the sport. “We are going to the super bowl!!!” And they purchase jerseys of their favorite player. For many of these people to turn around and act like the women who attend Swift’s concerts and purchase merchandise are overly invested is hypocritical. Is that not the same level of support and admiration? If someone goes to her concerts and screams the lyrics, buys merch, and talks to friends and family about new music releases, it is characterized as extreme idolization that must be questioned. We have a problem with devaluing women and what they like, and behind it is the idea that women don’t know much, that they can’t be trusted to pick good songs or movies, and that what they like is automatically immature. All of these attitudes are dehumanizing.

Lastly, despite centuries of oppressive practices due to misogyny and male-dominated cultures, women have gained more economic freedom than ever before, starting with changes to U.S. law and culture in the 1960s due to the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Movement. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act passed in 1978, and then women were finally able to maintain careers and employment without state-sanctioned discrimination due to marriage and motherhood. Further, women were able to obtain credit cards and bank accounts in their own names in 1974 regardless of marital status, meaning they could control the money they earned and build wealth and stability. When women have their own money to spend, they can spend it on the things they like, such as Swift’s albums and concerts. It’s no surprise that The Eras Tour made Swift a billionaire, as we vote with our dollars. When women have a chance to earn their own money and then spend it on what they appreciate, we see success for female artists and creators. Swift produces content and entertainment that is not only fun and catchy for many audiences, but it speaks to women’s lived experiences. This is also true of artists like Beyoncé, television franchises like The Real Housewives, or Kristin Hannah novels, which also make great movies and TV series. Women want to see themselves portrayed in the art and entertainment they consume, and for the first time in history, they have been able to make that art successful through the power of money.

What conclusions can we make from this? Broadly, as long as women have economic freedom, the things they love will continue to thrive. It also tells us that woman-oriented art—output that focuses on centering women’s lives, experiences, and ideas—will continue to flourish. Writing and appealing to audiences of women is smart, and hopefully, this power in terms of art will translate into power for women in other tangible ways. Might we see more women in political offices? Could large entertainment companies prioritize what women like and create more content based on that? Will women’s professional sports finally get the investment and fandom that they deserve? While all of this is embedded in capitalism, I find hope in seeing that women’s perspectives might one day be not only valuable, but valued. Perhaps the economic power that women wield in identifying and lifting up their favorite female entertainers will someday translate into the idea that women themselves are valuable, that what they produce is applicable to all human beings, and that what women offer can change the world. Swift has given us many gifts in terms of her music, but she’s also given us a pristine and well-planned blueprint for valuing women.

References

Mitchell, C., & Reid‐Walsh, J. (1995). And I want to thank you Barbie: Barbie as a site for cultural interrogation. The Review of Education/Pedagogy/Cultural Studies, 17(2), 143-155.