“I'm so sick of running as fast as I can wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man,” words from Taylor A. Swift herself in the song “The Man” (Swift & Little, 2019). During her lifetime, she has been looking forward to continue growing in the music industry, but also as a businesswoman. Since the beginning of her career as a singer and writer, she has received attacks and shame from other people in the same industry, especially men, and has been called a snake, a liar, and a traitor. Everything just for her to disappear from the public view for years because she was getting blamed for something she did not do. Now she is becoming the best version of herself, breaking records, and getting to the level of big legends, like Michael Jackson, Madonna, and The Beatles, according to the Billboards: Greatest of All Time Artists (Billboard, 2024). Which results in us seeing Taylor Swift as not just a phenomenon in the music industry but in society. She has performed different music genres, created masterpieces for music and contemporary literature, and she has left a big mark in feminism and other movements.
Taylor Swift achieved going from country music, to pop, to folk songs, to synth-pop, all while getting recognition from the Recording Academy (the Grammys). Most artists are great in their own genres, but always stick to one single genre, while Taylor Swift has torn down her walls to create masterpieces that are now stuck to everyone’s hearts and minds. She has inspired many people all around the world; therefore, these people have created many artistic pieces based on her sensational work. In 2022, New York University decided to give Taylor Swift an honorary doctorate in fine arts, for her great impact in art, poetry, and literature. This opportunity coming from such an esteemed academic institution is a big movement for Swift because it lets her grow and achieve more of her goals of leaving an attribution to society and contemporary literature. Now she makes concerts that cause earthquakes, not just in people’s souls but also in planet Earth. Finally, we can say she has created masterpieces, not just for music, but also for contemporary literature while experimenting with different music genres (McGlone, 2023).
In 2019, Taylor Swift announced her seventh album called “Lover”, with her new producer after getting all her albums stolen by her old one. For the first time in her career, she was able to create an album talking about her political ideas and standings. The midterm elections were underway while Swift was working on the album, and for the first time ever she spoke in favor of women’s and the LGBTQ+ community’s rights. In the documentary, Ms. Americana, Swift defended them going against Senator Marsha Blackburn who wanted to eliminate laws that protect women from harassment and implement a law attacking any establishment owned by gay couples or people who appeared to be one (Wilson, 2020). Swift decided to address her political statements in specifically two songs: “The Man” and “You Need to Calm Down”. The first one supporting womanhood, while the other song was addressed to those who suffer from harassment and defending the LGBTQ+ community. During this election, she made a social media post for young people to register to vote, which resulted 65,000 people registering in the first 24 hours, making an impact on the numbers of voters in the United States of America. A couple of years later, in 2023, she became Time’s Person of The Year. This meaning that her impact in society has been powerful and noticeable worldwide. By and by, Taylor Swift has one of the most beautiful talents, which—apart from writing and composing—has been in the right side of history by defending and supporting minority groups (Lansky, 2023).
After all, apart from suffering in many ways, Taylor A. Swift kept growing in the music industry and as a businesswoman. She let herself take over many genres and this is a perfect example of not being afraid of who you could be. In addition, when she decided to become political, she did it in a big way and left a big mark while supporting woman rights and other minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community. As this inspired many people all around the world, her mark is noticeable and clear. With this being said, we can conclude that Taylor Swift is not just a phenomenon in the music industry, but in society.
References:
Billboard. (2024). Greatest of All Time Artists. Billboard.
Lansky, S. (2023, December 6). Person of The Year: Taylor Swift. Retrieved from Time:
Lyon, L. R. (2019, September 17). Shifting Personas: A Case Study of Taylor Swift. Retrieved
from A University of Kentucky Web Site: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ltt_etds/33/
McGlone, P. (2023, November 30). 2023 on Screen: The Year of Barbenheimer, Taylor Swift,
and Tech. Retrieved from NYU: https://www.nyu.edu/about/newspublications/news/2023/november/2023-on-screen--the-year-of-barbenheimer--taylor-swift--and-tech.html
Swift, T., & Little, J. (2019). The Man [Recorded by T. Swift]. New York City, New York, United
States of America.
The Editors. (2022, November 16). Desperately Seeking Taylor Swift. Retrieved from JSTOR
Wilson, L. (2020). Miss Americana. Netflix.
