The most influential woman in the world is 34 years old. She is tall, blonde and wears scarlet lipstick. In his hands: a guitar, not a weapon. His ammunition: notes and words. Its power is built on friendship, sisterhood, harmony.
And God it’s disturbing!
In the United States, conservative politicians see her in their soup and fear that she will encourage her millions of fans, the Swifties, to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the next election.
It must be said that Taylor Swift’s aura is even stronger – if that’s possible – this week. Partly thanks to her historic victory last Sunday at the Grammy Awards, where she shattered a record by winning the Grammy for Album of the Year for the fourth time for Midnights. A record which, until now, was held by three men: Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.
PHOTO RICHARD A. BROOKS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Two Swifties take a photo in front of the Tokyo Dome shortly before the start of the first leg of Tokyo’s Asian tourEras TourWednesday.
The day after the Grammys, the singer-songwriter flew to Japan, a trip that not only fascinates nerds who follow his plane on radar. Swift’s tour in Asia, which will last a month (!), is moving the crowds. “When I listen to her songs, I feel full of energy and it gives me self-confidence,” a young Japanese Swiftie, Hikari Oka, told Agence France-Presse.
This weekend, all eyes will be on Las Vegas, where the superstar is finally expected to attend the Super Bowl where her lover, Travis Kelce, and his team, the Kansas City Chiefs, will defend their NFL championship title.
As always, his presence alone will have an impact on the number of women who watch the match as well as on the advertisements aimed at them. And because Taylor is not a spectator like the others, the cameras should show her several times during the match. Poor Usher! His presence at the halftime show is completely hidden.
Quebec is not immune to the Taylor Swift tidal wave. His tour will not stop here and this non-visit has had repercussions even in political life: his name was mentioned several times during the press conference announcing the repair of the roof of the Olympic Stadium. One of the arguments justifying work estimated at more than 870 million dollars: a possible concert by the singer…
PHOTO JULIO CORTEZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift after the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory against the Baltimore Ravens on January 28
A subject of study
There are at least four universities around the world that offer a course dedicated to Taylor Swift. Last November, the USA Today hired journalist Bryan West to “cover” Taylor Swift. Personality of the year 2023 according to the magazine Timethe singer was named the fifth most powerful woman on the planet the same year by the magazine Forbesbehind the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, the Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.
“All these powerful women are really powerful women,” a marketing expert told the magazine. But they won’t be able to change the world in the same way as Taylor Swift. »
It’s true that the singer’s impact is felt everywhere: in the music industry, but also in the cinema industry, where the film of her tour, The Eras Tour, attracts crowds. Influence in the world of fashion too: the designer who designed her red jacket bearing the image of the Chiefs has signed an agreement with the NFL.
It is said that his tour revived the post-pandemic economy!
Wherever Taylor Swift travels, she generates such significant economic benefits that leaders – like Justin Trudeau on : Swifties will be able to see their idol in Toronto and Vancouver).
We are looking for other women who, in recent history, have had as much impact. Lady Di? Oprah? Michelle Obama? In memory, the Taylor Swift phenomenon is incomparable.
Swiftian feminism
Pop icon, female icon and… feminist icon. It’s inevitable. I spoke about it with the author of the essay Pop feminism, published by Éditions du Stir-Mage in 2021. “Her feminism lacks diversity and intersectionality, but how could it be otherwise,” notes Sandrine Galand. She is what she is. »
The author, who also teaches literature at the college level, recalls that Taylor Swift lifted the veil very early on the double standards in the music industry. “She regained her power by re-recording her songs in a world where those who own the rights and make the money are men,” she says. Her fans have kindly nicknamed her Capitalist Queen.
Another interesting facet of the phenomenon, according to Sandrine Galand: “Swift has reappropriated the joy of being a girl, what we call the girlhood in English – the transition from girl to woman. She herself represents this tall, somewhat awkward, clumsy girl. »
As for his music, it is transgenerational. We find young girls of 18, 19, 20 years old among his fans as well as women in their forties. And we don’t know who introduced the other to music.
Sandrine Galand, author of the essay Pop feminism
According to the author, the lyrics of Taylor Swift’s songs – at first glance rather harmless love songs – are “a tool to talk about many other things, such as the betrayal that the artist felt when her company record company sold the rights to his songs.
“Fans’ reading of her lyrics also allows other communities – queers, for example, who gave birth to the Gaylor theory which basically says that Swift is queer herself – to experience her lyrics and make them our own,” continues Galand.
Are conservatives right to fear the power of Taylor Swift?
Yes, absolutely. There’s nothing we can do about it: hateful people will continue to hate, hate and hate Taylor Swift. Who will always answer them by singing: Shake it Off.
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