Before I began dating my significant other, Taylor Swift wasn’t typically a topic of discussion and she never really crossed my mind. Now don’t get me wrong, I had a soft spot for her earlier music as I am a country music fan, but I knew next to nothing about her personal life. I didn’t know who she was dating, that she was a cat person, or even the fact that she was on a tour. Ultimately, I did not care. But then… everything changed. I had no idea how much information on her I would soon have floating around in my head at all times of the day. I now know her birthday, her lucky number, her cat’s name, the history of her love life, what she’s wearing at least a couple times a week etc… etc… I have never felt obsessed with a band or singer, it wasn’t my passion and this was a whole new world for me knowing so much about a person I had never met in real life.
My commentary on fan culture is a whole other ball of wax but if you’ve read my article on The Eras Tour Movie: Perspective of a Non-Swiftie then you know I think she is doing great things for the little girls and women that felt comfortable enough in theaters across the country to get up, and dance with their fellow Swifties. Her influence has given girls and women a safe space to be themselves at both her concerts and movies. Recently, there have been new developments happening such as how she is inadvertently impacting the demographic that is watching football. Although some look upon her appearances on screen during a football game as a distraction, her involvement has led to positive responses from people happy to share football Sundays with others. I truly do think she is making a wonderful impact on everyone and I admire Taylor Swift for that.
Perhaps it’s my attention on Taylor Swift now or how big she has recently been in the media from sports to music to film. But I know she is all over my social media, especially my TikTok for-you page. Recently the drama surrounding the response to her Grammys announcement has inundated my morning scrolls which leads us to the next couple of months… As someone who is dating a Swiftie who has all of her albums (including duplicated because now I know there are always several versions of each album) I have a feeling at some point I’ll be waiting outside a Target to get the newest one as soon as possible.
If you are in a similar situation I wish you the best of luck. It will be a bit wild as your significant other begins telling you a countdown as the days get closer and closer to the album drop. New merch will be dropping and with it, more Taylor Swift Lore that you will not hear the end, whether on TikTok or from your partner. It may be a bit of a wild ride but I always focus on how happy Taylor Swift makes my partner and the light that goes off when they talk about the endless conspiracy theories on when Taylor’s Version of Reputation will be dropping. Good luck to all of my fellow Swiftie lovers out there and I hope the early morning Target trip to get the album is worth the smile on your partner’s face.