Taylor Alisson Swift is a renowned American pop singer and songwriter. She is among the female artists with a huge following in the United States and beyond, thanks to her enormous and supposedly charming catalogue of songs. In her analysis of Taylor Swift’s personal life and musical career, Wilkinson (441) defines her as “the hardest working and zaniest girl in showbiz.” Wilkinson’s idealization of Taylor Swift paints a picture of a hard-working musician whose fame has been amassed through tears and sweat. Born on December 13, 1989, in West Reading, Pennsylvania, the 34-year-old is among the few female artists whose fame has barely dwindled throughout their career. She is as famous today as she was when she began her musical endeavor at the age of 14. Unlike many artists, Swift has managed to dodge the temptations of taking a political side, a course considered deleterious for artists and celebrities of her caliber because political inclinations are known for notoriously dividing one’s fandom. However, her 2018 political unmasking is the greatest length Swift has gone to expose her political inclination. s
Taylor Swift is widely known for her decision to abstain from making as prominent an appearance in the political arena as in her music career. Unlike her peers who weigh in on major elections and current events, Swift remained conspicuously silent. She is known for leaving it upon her fans to project their ideologies onto her music and persona. To a great extent, such is one of Taylor Swift’s attributes that has lured millions of fans who love and adore her as a person and what she does. However, in the lead-up to the 2018 U.S. midterm elections, Swift shattered her perfectly tucked reputation with a passionate Instagram post. In the post, Swift explicitly condemned systemic racism and endorsed Democratic Tennessee candidates. In part, her Instagram post read, “I always have, and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for human rights I believe we all deserve as a country” (Henderson 1). She declares, “Running for Senate in Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn” (Henderson 1). This political disclosure shook Swift’s fandom. Even Donald Trump, the former president, declared that after the political commitments, he liked Swift’s songs 25% less (Durkin 2).
Based on this context and regarding Taylor’s music and songwriting career, this research aims to respond to this question: how did Taylor Swift’s 2018 political disclosure affect her fandom, and how did it potentially negatively impact how her fans view and interpret her music? To perform this exploration, this study will analyze Taylor’s performance and how she has won a huge following ahead of her peers. This focus will help uncover the true impact her political comments may have had on her personal life and career as a previously adored and revered female pop and country music artist cum songwriter.
In an attempt to understand how Taylor’s fanbase viewed her as a person and as a prolific artist and songwriter, there is nowhere better to look than the scholarly work of Maryn Wilkinson. In her work, Wilkinson (441) expresses her admiration for how Taylor Swift could juggle between two different genres when her peers were fumbling. She specifically cites Swift’s transition from country music to the genre of pop, noting that she does it so smoothly that she becomes more adored and wins the hearts of more fans than comparable artists. This is how Wilkinson describes Taylor Swift’s multi-genre prowess as a female artist: “She became one of the biggest female pop stars in the world, and managed to hold on to much of her original fan base, as well as expand her appeal” (Wilkinson 441). She comments on Swift’s transition between country and pop music genres.
In her work, Wilkinson adds that Taylor’s music is characterized by significant storytelling. For example, some songs, such as “So in High School” and “You Belong with Me,” are artists’ recounts of Swift’s real-life experiences as depicted in her “diary-entry style lyrics.” In the scholarly work, Wilkinson asserts that this approach to music consistently helped Swift amass a huge fanbase because she “fans’ intimate access to her ‘real’ self, working her ‘celebrity-as-commodity’ star text.” From Wilkinson’s perspective on Taylor Swift, a conclusion can be drawn that fans love her because of the “realism” in her craft and who she is personally.
In the scholarly article “Celebrity, Music, and Public Persona: A Case Study of Taylor Swift,” Elaina K. M. Junes dives deeper into Taylor Swift’s personal life and how her music and celebrity status influence her public persona. According to Junes (24), Taylor Swift is an outspoken character. She is known for reflecting on typical society through her public conduct and the lyrics of her songs. For example, her music and public persona criticize the predetermined standards attributed to women in society. Junes asserts, “In many instances throughout the song and video, these patterns are exaggerated to get the message across, but the message itself stays the same: women battle cultural and societal stereotypes and double standards in all aspects of their lives” (Junes 24).
This observation by Junes is not further from the truth. Any ardent fan of Taylor Swift can tell she is mostly the victim of male double standards. As an artist who barely speaks about her life outside her musical performance, whether such depictions align with her personal life is a debatable subject. What is less debatable is the observation that Swift does not shy away from highlighting key societal issues in her songs, albeit evading any political connotations and implications, at least when she made a public post in 2018 disclosing her political position and inclination. Undoubtedly, and as is typical of any political sentiment, the comments adversely divided her fandom.
Swift’s political comments as part of her Instagram post would not go unnoticed. They were going to impact her audience, which has, for years, been united by the authenticity and outspokenness evident in Taylor Swift’s songs. Evidence leans towards a broken and divided fanbase. According to a Scholarly work by Simone Driessen, Swift’s Instagram post endorsed Democrats over their Republican counterparts. Driessen (95) reveals that the revelations would greatly impact the Senate race. Beyond the political influence, the author also suggests a potential disruption of the fandom. Among fans whose authentic and dynamic music had long united, many were forced to take sides. Those who supported the Democrat façade adored Swift and her music even more. Driessen (95) asserts that “many fans seemed to be supportive of Swift’s political stance and agreed with her.” The author reflects on the response of one ardent Swift fan, whose Reddit post read, “Finally, omg. She’s been so vague over the past, and FINALLY! She says it loud and clear. I’m so proud.” The scholarly work of Driessen reveals one dynamic: Taylor Swift’s political comments and sentiments compelled her Democrat fandom to love and adore her and her craft even more.
The same cannot be said for Taylor’s republican fanbase. To a great extent, this fanbase saw Swift’s comments as needless, harmful, and good for her millions of followers. Because of those specific comments, the Republican fandom immediately disliked Swift’s music. For example, Donald Trump, a Republican leader with a huge following, revealed that his admiration for Taylor’s music had declined by about 25% (Durkin 1). Durkin also asserts that Swift “developed a following among white supremacists, who held her up as the ideal of white femininity” and lost a following of anti-white supremacists. In one study, Christopher R. Fanick sought to study whether the post had any political implications and whether most of the fanbase’s political inclination affected Taylor Swift’s decision to engage in a political dialogue. The results revealed that “political party and gender are inextricably linked, given that women tend to be more Democratic, while men are more Republican” (Fanick 31). The study’s findings show that gender may have influenced Swift’s political stance. As such, her fandom was inevitably divided, as more women would likely support her engagement in political dialogue. At the same time, male fans were likely to reevaluate their support for the musician.
Without a doubt, Swift’s political dialogue depicted her metamorphosis from a country and pop artist to a poignant political influence. However, was it worth it? What would be the long-term impact on Swift’s personal life and music career? In an article posted on The Times after the social media post, Hale (1) asserted that Swift’s single Instagram post could single-handedly influence Tennessee politics. Hale himself is not moved by whether the national media viewed Swift’s involvement in political debate as strange, considering she was among the few celebrities who obtained. To Hale and other Tennesseans, the controversy “isn’t of great importance. For us, this is a local story.” Regardless of how Tennesseans may view it, Swift’s music fanbase will never see her the same. In her scholarly engagement with the debate, Daly concludes that “Swift’s former identity as an innocent, fragile country girl proved complicated” and that she has a volatile and divided fandom that is no longer attached to her craft as it used to be. When she took a political side, a significant fanbase was also forced to pick a side. Even though some stuck with her, some chose the other side. She made them do it.
In conclusion, Taylor Swift’s 2018 political unmasking on Instagram significantly impacted her massive fanbase, which had previously united around her authentic and relatable music. By endorsing Democratic candidates and condemning systemic racism, Swift shattered the apolitical image she had carefully cultivated. Her fans were forced to reevaluate their allegiances along partisan lines. Some, like former President Trump, felt alienated and claimed to like her songs 25% less. Undoubtedly, he became fractured because party affiliation and gender played major roles in determining whether fans embraced or rejected her new political identity. Though Swift demonstrated her power to shape political discourse, the cost was a breakage of the once cohesive community drawn together by her candid lyricism and widespread appeal across the cultural divide. Her willingness to take a side undoubtedly forced millions to pick one, forever altering how many experience and interpret Taylor Swift’s music.
Daly, Clare G. “Girl-Next-Door to Girlboss: Taylor Swift’s Online Evolution from Puerile Pop Star to Poignant Political Influence.” (2022).
Driessen, Simone. “Look What You Made Them Do: understanding fans’ affective responses to Taylor Swift’s political coming-out.” Celebrity Studies 13.1 (2022): 93–96.
Durkin, Erin. “‘She Just Ended Her Career’: Taylor Swift’s Political Post Sparks Praise and Fury.” The Guardian, The Guardian, October 9, 2018, www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/08/taylor-swift-instagram-post-endorsement-democrats-tennessee.
Fanick, Christopher R. “Call It What You Want”: The Impact of Fan Characteristics on Political Views.” 2019.
Hale, Christopher. “Why Taylor Swift’s Political Endorsements Could Be so Powerful in Tennessee.” Time, October 9, 2018, time.com/5419015/taylor-swift-instagram-endorsement-tennessee-democrat/.
Henderson, Taylor. “Voter Registrations Surge Following Taylor Swift’s Political Instagram.” Www.pride.com, 8 Oct. 2018, www.pride.com/politics/2018/10/09/voter-registrations-surge-following-Taylor-swifts-political-instagram#toggle-gdpr. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024
Junes, Elaina KM. Celebrity, Music, and Public Persona: A Case Study of Taylor Swift. Diss. Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2023.
Wilkinson, Maryn. “Taylor Swift: the hardest working, zaniest girl in show business….” Celebrity studies 10.3 (2019): 441-444.