Liv Mayer

David Kirby

IDS 2455

May 6th, 2023

Taylor Swift:

The Political and Musical Activist that No One Expected

Taylor Swift is a global icon and one of the most successful musicians of our time. Born on
December 13, 1989, in Pennsylvania, Swift has captured the hearts of millions with her heartfelt
lyrics, catchy melodies, and relatable persona. First introduced to the world in 2006 at the age of
fifteen when her debut album, Taylor Swift was released by Big Machine Records, she has a
career spanning almost two decades. Swift has consistently reinvented herself with each album,
displaying her versatility as an artist and songwriter. Her music has earned her countless
accolades, including numerous Grammy Awards, and her impact on the music industry has been
unparalleled. Whether you are a die-hard fan or a casual listener, there is no denying the
influence and talent of Taylor Swift. In addition to her impressive musical career, Taylor Swift
has also been a vocal advocate for various causes and social issues. She has used her platform to
speak out on issues ranging from LGBTQ+ rights to feminism and has taken action to support
organizations and individuals in need. Swift's activism was particularly evident during the 2018
midterm elections, when she encouraged her fans to vote and endorsed political candidates who
aligned with her values. Her efforts were credited with a significant increase in voter registration
and turnout, especially among young people. Swift's commitment to activism and social justice
has not only helped raise awareness on critical issues but has also inspired her fans to become
more engaged and informed citizens. Taylor Swift's activism for artists' rights, political
engagement, and thoughtful public commentary make her a significant figure in modern culture,
and examining each of these aspects of her career will reveal her impact on politics, the music
industry, and social discourse.

Taylor Swift's reluctance to become openly political prior to 2018 can be attributed to several
factors, including her upbringing in conservative middle America, the influence of her industry
peers and mentors, as well as the expectations placed on her as a female artist. Growing up in a
small town in Pennsylvania, Swift was raised in a conservative family with traditional values.
This upbringing likely contributed to her initially staying away from politics and focusing solely
on her music. Additionally, Swift began her career in the country music industry, which is
traditionally conservative and values traditional gender roles. As a young woman in this industry,
she may have felt pressure to conform to these norms and avoid taking political stances that
could potentially alienate fans. Moreover, Swift's early success was largely dependent on the
support of industry executives and radio stations, many of whom were men. The music industry
has long been criticized for its patriarchal structures and for promoting male artists over female
ones. As a result, female artists like Swift may have felt that they needed to be careful not to
ruffle any feathers or risk damaging their careers. However, as Swift has grown in her career and
personal life, she has become more confident in using her platform to speak out on issues that
she is passionate about. Since the early 2010s Swift has used her wealth and platform to engage
in philanthropy and activism less publicly by donating to various LGBTQ+ organizations,
schools, and libraries.

Taylor Swift's political engagement and activism became more visible in the lead-up to
the 2018 midterm elections, when she broke her longstanding silence on political issues to
endorse Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee. In a lengthy Instagram post,
Swift criticized Republican senatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn for her record on LGBTQ
rights and women's issues and urged her fans to register to vote and get involved in the political
process. Swift's endorsement was significant in part because of her previous reluctance to engage
in politics. However, she has since become more vocal on a range of social and political issues,
using her platform to advocate for issues like LGBTQ rights, racial justice, and climate change.
These themes are also reflected in her music, particularly on her album Lover, which features
songs that explore themes of love, acceptance, and social change. Swift's political and social
activism is also the subject of the 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana. In the film, Swift
reflects on her own political awakening and her decision to speak out on issues that matter to her,
even in the face of criticism and backlash. The documentary also explores the ways in which
Swift's public image has been shaped by the media and her own experiences with body shaming
and sexism. Through both her music and her public statements, Taylor Swift has emerged as a
powerful advocate for social and political change, using her influence to encourage her fans to
get involved in issues that matter to them. Her decision to endorse two Democratic candidates in
her home state of Tennessee in 2018 was seen as a major shift for her, and since then she has
continued to use her platform to promote social and political causes that she supports. This shift
is likely a result of her growing awareness of her own privilege and the power of her voice, as
well as a desire to use her platform to make a positive impact. However, there are critics that
believe that this visual political activism was a way to attract attention between album releases in
order to remain socially relevant. Personally, I would like to believe that the political climate
post-2016 became far too hard to ignore and Taylor Swift could no longer hold her tongue on
issues that affect the nation while she had the power to encourage young people to vote at such a
crucial time.

Taylor Swift's endorsement and advocacy for voter registration did have a significant
impact on both the 2018 midterms and the 2020 election. In the 2018 midterms, Swift endorsed
two Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee and encouraged her fans to register to
vote. According to Vote.org, there was a significant increase in voter registration in Tennessee
after Swift's endorsement, with over 65,000 people registering to vote in the state in the 24 hours
after her Instagram post. Similarly, in the 2020 election, Swift continued to use her platform to
encourage voter registration and participation. She endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden and
his running mate Kamala Harris and urged her fans to vote in the election. According to
Vote.org, there was a surge in voter registration after Swift's endorsement, with over 166,000
people registering to vote in the 48 hours after her tweet endorsing Biden and Harris. Overall,
Swift's advocacy for voter registration and participation has had a significant impact on
increasing civic engagement among her fans and the general public.

Taylor Swift’s activism and newfound political voice shown through in her music, most
especially from her album Lover. In her song "The Man" Swift constructs a feminist anthem that
critiques the double standards that women face in society. In the chorus, Swift sings: "I'm so sick
of running as fast as I can/ Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man/ And I'm so sick of
them coming at me again/ 'Cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man.” These lyrics highlight the
ways in which women are held to different standards than men and are often unfairly judged and
criticized for their actions. The song "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince" is a political
allegory that explores themes of power, corruption, and resistance. In the chorus, Swift sings:
"American stories burning before me/ I'm feeling helpless, the damsels are depressed/ Boys will
be boys then, where are the wise men?/ Darling, I'm scared." These lyrics touch on the political
turmoil and unrest that many Americans were feeling in the lead-up to the 2020 election. The
reference to "boys will be boys" is a nod to the toxic masculinity that pervades many aspects of
American culture, while the line "where are the wise men" suggests a need for moral leadership
and guidance. "You Need To Calm Down" is a pro-LGBTQ+ anthem that celebrates diversity
and calls out those who are intolerant or discriminatory. In the chorus, Swift sings: “You need to
calm down, you're being too loud/ And I'm just like, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh/ You're
being too loud." These lyrics urge those who are hostile towards the LGBTQ+ community to
calm down and stop spreading hate. The song also features a number of references to LGBTQ+
culture, including a verse that highlights the importance of Pride celebrations. Finally, "Only The
Young" was featured in Swift's 2020 documentary Miss Americana and is a call to action for
young people to get involved in politics and social change. In the chorus, Swift sings: "Only the
young, only the young/ Only the young, only the young/ Only the young can run, can run/ So
run, run, run." These lyrics urge young people to use their energy and passion to effect change in
the world. The song also references specific political events, such as the 2018 midterm elections
and the March For Our Lives protests against gun violence. Overall, these songs demonstrate
how Taylor Swift uses her music to engage with political and social issues, often weaving
personal experiences and broader cultural themes into her lyrics. Through her music, Swift
encourages her fans to think critically about the world around them and to take action to effect
positive change.

Taylor Swift became a fierce defender of artists' rights in the music industry. In 2014, Taylor
Swift made headlines when she removed her entire catalog from the popular streaming service
Spotify. At the time, Swift argued that the streaming model undervalued the work of artists and
did not compensate them fairly for their music. As she explained in the Wall Street Journal, this
move was made because Swift believed that “It’s my opinion that music should not be free, and
my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album’s
price point is. I hope they don’t underestimate themselves or undervalue their art.” At the time,
streaming services did not want to adequately compensate artists for their work. With the
increase in streaming over buying albums, this created a problem where streaming services
served to profit unfairly off artists. She expressed concern that streaming services could
potentially undercut sales of physical albums and digital downloads, which were then a major
source of revenue for musicians. While Swift's decision was met with criticism from some fans
and industry figures, it also sparked a larger conversation about the economics of streaming and
the role of technology in shaping the music industry. When she finally added her music back to
streaming, she made sure to negotiate for better compensation for artists. In the years since, Swift
has continued to advocate for better compensation and control for artists in the streaming age,
even as she has also begun to embrace streaming as a platform for her own work. In her nature,
Taylor Swift took streaming to a new level and has used it to further her career.

In 2019, Swift’s fight for artist’s rights continued when she famously called out music
industry executives and private equity firms for buying up the rights to artists' music without
their consent, effectively taking ownership of their creative output. She did this through re-
recording her own music in a way to protest the inequality and reclaim her work. Taylor Swift's
decision to re-record her music is a strategic move that allows her to regain control over her
master recordings and ultimately earn more money from her music. In 2019, Swift's former
record label, Big Machine Label Group, was sold to Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings, giving
Braun ownership of Swift's entire catalog up until her departure from the label in 2018. This
acquisition caused Swift to lose control over her original master recordings, which are the
original versions of her songs. In response, Swift announced her plans to re-record her entire
catalog, starting with her 2008 album Fearless. By doing so, Swift will have ownership over the
new recordings, giving her control over how her music is licensed, distributed, and monetized.
This move is not only significant for Swift as an artist but also for the music industry as a whole,
as it highlights the issue of ownership and control in the industry and could potentially pave the
way for more artists to take similar action. Swift has been a vocal critic of this practice, known as
"music catalog sales," and has used her platform to raise awareness about the issue. Her
advocacy has not gone unnoticed, as she has inspired other artists to speak out about their own
experiences with the music industry and to demand fair compensation for their work. As a result
of Swift's efforts, the conversation around artists' rights and ownership has been elevated, and
positive changes may be on the horizon.

Additionally, this decision to re-record her work has taken her fame to the next level and
has allowed Taylor Swift to expand her reach and popularity. Taylor Swift has used the re-
recordings of her music to revisit old eras in her music and to release songs she wrote during
each album that did not make it onto the original release. Each album that she re-releases is her
version of the album, or rather “(Taylor’s Version)”. This strategy and way to regain ownership
of her work has further solidified her unstoppable army of fans and led to what is set to be the
highest grossing American tour. By re-recording her work, she not only regains complete
financial and creative control of the new versions, but she also devalues the versions that were
bought without her consent. This journey of hers adds to her role as an activist and public
intellectual as she is engaging in public discourse in which she is an expert in order to analyze
and comment on social, political, and financial issues.

As a public figure, Taylor Swift has received criticism from some for being a "white
feminist" and not being as inclusive as she portrays. The term "white feminism" refers to a type
of feminism that focuses on the struggles of white women without fully acknowledging and
addressing the intersecting struggles of women of color and other marginalized groups. One
example of this criticism is the lack of diversity in some of Swift's earlier music videos and
performances, which featured predominantly white casts. Additionally, some have pointed out
that Swift's brand of feminism often centers around her own experiences and struggles as a
wealthy, white woman, rather than being inclusive of a broader range of experiences. However,
it is worth noting that Swift has also taken steps to become more inclusive in recent years. For
example, in her music video for "You Need to Calm Down," she included a diverse cast of
LGBTQ+ celebrities and activists. She has also used her platform to advocate for marginalized
communities and spoken out against issues such as systemic racism and police brutality. Overall,
while some have criticized Taylor Swift for her past lack of inclusivity, it's important to
recognize that people can learn and grow, and Swift appears to be taking steps towards being a
more inclusive and intersectional feminist. In recent years, Taylor Swift has had an incredibly
diverse cast of dancers on her tours. I recently attended the Eras Tour and was incredibly
impressed with how diverse her dancers were. There were people of all races, genders, sizes, and
presumably sexual orientations. Each of these different dancers were able to showcase their own
talents. Swift’s ability to share the stage and appreciate her performers really displays her efforts
towards inclusivity and the action that she is taking, rather than just words. While this does not
negate all the possible harm from the past, it does show an effort to create diversity and
inclusivity.
 Another critique of Taylor Swift is the frequent use of her private jet has contributed to
her carbon footprint and the amount of CO2 emissions she produces. According to a report by
The Guardian in 2019, Swift's private jet flights produced an estimated 7,756 metric tons of CO2
in the year prior. This is equivalent to the emissions produced by about 1,600 cars in a year.
While it is important to acknowledge the impact that high levels of air travel can have on the
environment, it is also worth noting that individuals are not solely responsible for climate
change. This is not to say that she is not responsible for reducing her carbon footprint and
encouraging positive change. Large corporations and industries are major contributors to carbon
emissions, and systemic change is needed to address the issue of climate change on a global
scale. That said, it is important for individuals with a platform like Taylor Swift’s to use their
influence to raise awareness and advocate for solutions to combat climate change. Swift has
expressed concern about climate change in the past and has used her platform to promote
environmental causes, such as donating to wildlife and natural disaster relief efforts. However,
there is certainly room for her and others in the entertainment industry to continue to explore
ways to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage others to do the same.

No public intellection is without criticism or error. Taylor Swift is certainly not without
her faults, faults which are magnified in proportion and consequence due to the size of her
platform and the amount of her wealth. However, Taylor Swift can still be considered a public
intellectual due to her ability to use her platform and influence to comment on social, cultural,
and political issues. In her music, interviews, and other public appearances, she has spoken out
about a range of issues, including gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, political polarization, and
mental health. In her documentary Miss Americana, for example, Swift discussed her decision to
speak out on political issues, saying: "I feel really good about not feeling muzzled anymore, and
it was my own doing." She has also used her social media accounts to encourage her fans to vote
in elections and to support various causes. In addition to her advocacy work, Swift has been
recognized for her songwriting and storytelling abilities, which have helped shape popular
culture and influence public discussions on various topics.er music has been analyzed and
discussed by scholars and critics, and she has been invited to speak at universities and other
institutions on topics such as songwriting and creativity. Overall, Taylor Swift's ability to engage
with her audience and comment on critical issues, combined with her talents as a songwriter and
storyteller, make her a unique and influential public figure who can be considered a public
intellectual.
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