When I was young, like 10 or 11, I was probably the biggest Taylor Swift fan alive (I know that’s a bold claim, but I stand by it). Now, those who are blinded by the current Taylor Renaissance might not remember what it used to be like for Swifties in the old days. It was a dark time. She’s a cultural icon, musical genius now, but back then, Taylor Swift was a young artist whose only fans were preteen girls. People would say to my face that she dated too many men, her music was too repetitive, and in the words of a few middle school boys, she was stupid.
In 2012, I dragged my (very supportive) dad to the Red tour and had one of the best nights of my life up to that point. The next year, I was into emo music, and if you had asked, I would have said that Taylor Swift was stupid, and denied ever liking her music. Looking back, I’m disappointed that I let other people’s opinions matter so much to me. Still, I wonder what changed from then to now. In 2013, Taylor Swift was so hated that I pretended to never have known any of her songs, and now she’s widely recognized as one of the best musicians to ever live. Of course, a lot of the change has to do with her own persistence to take back her legacy as well as a cultural shift away from slut shaming women, but I also think the change involved the fundamental shift of her fan base.
Historically, the interests of teenage girls have been written off as bad, brainless content not worth anyone’s time. Taylor Swift’s fan base used to be primarily made up of teenage girls but now, 10 years later, those girls have grown up into young women who have purchasing power and social influence. Those young women have learned how to think for themselves and can’t be talked over quite so easily anymore. Now, instead of a silly pop star, Taylor Swift is a serious artist and her fans make headlines about causing literal earthquakes. She’s still singing the same songs, nothing changed except for the average age of her fans.
Other artists have had similar arcs. Harry Styles started off as a part of One Direction, the butt of many jokes in the 2010s. Now, many members of the band have had major success with Harry Styles being a huge name in music. There are so many examples, romance movies are just as stupid as action movies but are regarded so much less seriously. Cheerleaders aren’t considered real athletes, etc.
So, I’m writing in defense of Swifties, in defense of a younger version of me. The same songs that I used to be made fun of for singing along to are now verified bops that are still topping charts. Swifties always had good taste, but femininity has always had to fight harder to be taken seriously.
