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Abstract

Taylor Swift’s twelfth album (TS12), Life of a Showgirl, broke multiple records in charting and sales (Sisario), however, early online discourse focused less on the album’s commercial success and more on Swift herself as a public figure in the current sociopolitical landscape. While some critiques were typical, discursive of Swift’s lyricism and composition, as well as the expectations set by Swift’s marketing of the album, others questioned what the album says about Swift’s sociopolitical positionality. More specifically, discourse questioned how the album contributes to, or detracts from, Swift’s role as a starticipant; a celebrity who contributes to the success of progressive social movements (Cook and Joseph 80). Some have gone so far as to accuse the album, its marketing, and its merchandising as dog-whistling towards fascist and imperialist ideologies, occasionally aligning Swift with the rise of neo-nazism (Snapes). Many long-time Swifties have countered that this critique represents a cyclic trend of all dialogues about the artist’s work, and her broader role in society, one that is rooted in misogyny and the perceived acceleration of cringe culture. Less discussed, however, is Swift’s own response to her album’s reception- that all reactions are merely a reflection of the self and society, and that it is in fact the goal of entertainers to be “a mirror” that casts said reflection back (Perez). This article explores talking points in online critiques of Swift’s TS12 era as a mirrorball, with a focus on what its reflections say about social movements, media, and activism at this moment in history, as opposed to what they say about Swift herself.

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