Saturday, November 2, 2024

Ladies First Discusses Taylor Swift Being a Millennial Icon

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Today on Ladies First; Kori and our Taylor consider Taylor Swift’s cultural power and influence over the past decade. We argue that Taylor Swift was the first true Millennial “Diva” Icon (in the good way), even before Lady Gaga, and whose artistry and support has empowered queer millennials for just as long. Swift’s career is a fascinating case study of the changing public perceptions of powerful women and acceptable misogyny.

Further Reading:

  • Taylor. “Women in Music Videos: Taylor Swift’s Metamorphosis Into Filmmaker.” The Fandomentals (2019)
  • Taylor. “The Silencing of Taylor Swift: Censorship Resounds Through the Patriarchy.” The Fandomentals (2019)
  • Taylor. “How Untouchable is Art?: Taylor Swift, Sexism, & Streaming.” The Fandomentals (2020)
  • Taylor. “9 Times Big Machine Interfered With Taylor Swift’s Artistry.” The Fandomentals (2021)

Sources:

  • Ardnt, Dan. “Comrade Britney: The Popstar’s Leftist Turn Should Surprise No One.” The Fandomentals (2020)
  • Berlatsky, Noah. “Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun catalog battle is about more than just music.” NBC News (2019)
  • Boone, John. “Megan Fox and Diablo Cody Interview Each Other for ‘Jennifer’s Body’ 10 Year Anniversary (Exclusive).” Yahoo! (2019)
  • Box, Bobby. “Why Do Gay Men Idolize Female Pop Stars?.” In Magazine (2019)
  • Bridgeforth, Julius. “Taylor Swift and Acceptable Misogyny.” Medium (2018)
  • Brownworth, Victoria A. “Op-ed: In Defense of Taylor Swift and Why the Hate Is Just Plain Sexist.” Pride (2014)
  • Caramanica, Jon; Coscarelli, Joe; Pareles, Jon; Sisario, Ben; Zoladz, Lindsay. “Taylor Swift Remade ‘Fearless’ as ‘Taylor’s Version.’ Let’s Discuss.” The New York Times (2021)
  • Chiu, Melody. “Taylor Swift Files Counter Suit Against Radio Host Who Allegedly Groped Her.” People (2015)
  • Conover, Adam. “Adam Ruins Everything – Why Musicians are Forced to Sell Out.” truTV (2019)
  • Demere, Anne Catherine. “Taylor Swift Faces Alleged Assaulter In Trial, Suddenly We Aren’t Feminists Anymore.” HuffPost (2017)
  • Diu, Nisha Lilia. “Taylor Swift interview: ‘I won’t do sexy shoots’.” The Telegraph (2011)
  • Editorial. “The Guardian view on Taylor Swift’s fight for her rights: empowering a new generation of artists.” The Guardian (2019)
  • Edwards, Gavin. “2008’s Country Lolita: Taylor Swift.” Rolling Stone (2008)
  • Exposito, Suzy. “Evanescence’s Amy Lee finds a new voice in ‘The Bitter Truth’.” LA Times (2021)
  • Farah, Safy-Hallan. “What Should We Call Girl Pain?.” Tumblr (2013)
  • Gabler, Jay. “Jessica Hopper on Minnesota, local scenes, and music journalism in the Rookie era.” The Current (2014)
  • Grady, Constance. “The bubblegum misogyny of 2000s pop culture.” Vox (2021)
  • Hiatt, Brian. “Taylor Swift in Wonderland.” Rolling Stone (2012)
  • Hudson, Kathryn. “ELLE Interview: Taylor Swift.” ELLE (2012)
  • iHeart Radio. “WATCH: Taylor Swift Makes Pride Speech During Chicago Concert.” iHeart Radio (2018)
  • Kori, Rebecca, Taylor. “Exploring Queer Spaces in the Music Industry.” The Fandomentals (2020)
  • Kori, Taylor. “Music Video Thunderdome: Taylor Swift.” The Fandomentals (2020)
  • Keyes, O.K. “Gotta Get Down With Friday: Rebecca, Resistance, And Resilience.” The Fandomentals (2016)
  • Leon, Melissa. “Haim: We’re a Band. Not a ‘Girl Band.’” The Daily Beast (2014)
  • Li, Shirley. “The Old Taylor Swift Never Left.” The Atlantic (2021)
  • Lipshutz, Jason. “Billboard Woman of the Decade Taylor Swift: ‘I Do Want My Music to Live On’.” Billboard (2019)
  • Lowe, Zane. “Taylor Swift’s Songwriting Process on ‘evermore’.” Apple Music (2020) (t. 19:30-21:22)
  • Mayfield, Geoff. “Taylor Swift’s Masters: What Shamrock Gets for $300 Million, Why It Matters, and What’s Next.” Variety (2020)
  • Mea, Kisty. “The Generation of Nostalgia.” Kisty.net (2011)
  • Myles, Eileen. “The Leader You Want When The World Ends.” Buzzfeed (2016)
  • O’Connor, Roison. “Taylor Swift defends Hayley Kiyoko after fans ‘misinterpret’ comments about her music.” Independent (2018)
  • Raab, Scott. “Why Taylor Swift Welcomed You to New York.” Esquire (2014)
  • Resnikoff, Paul. “Spotify Executive Calls Artist ‘Entitled’ for Requesting Payment of One Penny Per Stream.” Digital Music News (2021)
  • Rosenthal, Abigail. “Why did I hate Taylor Swift so much?.” Chron (2021)
  • Scaggs, Austin. “The Unabridged Taylor Swift.” Rolling Stone (2008)
  • Schwartz, Drew. “Inside Country Radio’s Hidden, Sexist Policies That Keep Female Artists Off the Air.” Vice (2020)
  • Schillaci, Sophie. “Teen Choice Awards 2011: Taylor Swift Nabs Ultimate Choice Award.” The Hollywood Reporter (2011)
  • Serrano, Monica; Santamariña, Oscar A. “The songs that defined Aretha Franklin’s record-breaking career.” National Geographic (2021)
  • Shewfelt, Raechel. “How Taylor Swift surprised ‘Miss Americana’ director: ‘I knew there were a lot of misconceptions about this person’.” Yahoo! (2020)
  • SiriusXM’s Morning Mash Up. “Taylor Swift on The Morning Mash Up (August 26th 2019).” SiriusXM (2019)
  • Snapes, Laura. “Olivia Rodrigo: I’m really proud to sing about emotions frowned on as bitchy and moaning.” The Irish Times (2021)
  • Stern, Marlow. “Punk Rock-Feminist Pioneer Kathleen Hanna On Her SXSW Doc & More.” The Daily Beast (2013)
  • Swift, Taylor. “Countdown to the 2015 Billboard Music Awards.” Billboard (2015) (t. 15:03-15:25)
  • Swift, Taylor. “For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story.” The Wall Street Journal (2014)
  • Tucker, Ken. “CMT Awards meet the MySpace generation.” Reuters/Billboard (2007)
  • UPROXX. “No Longer Silenced, JoJo And Her Powerhouse Voice Are Back.” UPROXX STUDIO — YouTube (2020)
  • Van Meter, Jonathan. “Taylor Swift: The Single Life.” Vogue (2012)
  • Vargas, Jencita. “Big Machine Bans Taylor Swift From Performing Her Own Songs, Then Lies About It.” Variety Beat (2019)
  • Vogue Australia. “Watch: Taylor Swift for Vogue Australia November 2015.” Vogue Australia (2015)
  • Walters, Barbra. “Taylor Swift Barbra Walters Interview.” ABC News (2014) (t.2:43-3:08)
  • Watts, Cindy. “3 years after ‘Tomato-gate,’ there are even fewer women on country radio.” The Tennessean (2018)
  • Willman, Chris. “John Fogerty on the Taylor Swift Imbroglio: ‘I Know Exactly How It Feels’.” Variety (2019)
  • Willman, Chris. “Taylor Swift’s road to fame.” Entertainment Weekly (2008)

Credits:

  • Created/Written/Hosted by Kori and Taylor  
  • Sound Design/Music/Production by Kori 
  • Research by Taylor 
  • Graphic Design by Kori 
  • Produced by The Fandomentals Network

Have strong thoughts about this piece you need to share? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind you’re wanting to talk about with fellow Fandomentals? Head on over to our Community server to join in the conversation!

Authors

  • Taylor

    Taylor is a writer who will always jump at the chance to blur genres. So obviously she can't pick just one to fangirl over. Though if she had to choose, she would narrow it down to science fiction and fantasy. Currently, she is most interested in women-centric stories and the depiction of trauma in media. She is also an aspiring YA novelist and aspiring Taylor Swift scholar.

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  • Kori is an entertainment writer and Managing Editor at the Fandomentals. In her spare time, she is a fragrance and watch enthusiast, lover of Eurovision, and Yanni devotee. Find her on Instagram at @fmkori

    View all posts

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