#swiftdom

[theladwhoisweird]

You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me... I'M TALKING ABOUT THE SWIFTDOM. @taylorswift

Good thing, I still managed to escape. There's an escape in escaping...

[iwanderthroughthesenights]

Ok imma need aspiring prince consort Travis Kelce to maybe chill a little cos I'm scared that the intensity will scare our Queen away lol. He seems objectively good all around but at the end of the day Miss Swift has the last word (as she should of course).

And since we're on the topic: Tay is who i'm here for of course so I will always root for Taylor x happiness. One could say I view all of her flings/boyfriends as suitors and/or aspiring prince consorts for our Crown Princess/Queen of Swiftdom. Joe is the only one who actually earned the title of Prince Consort cos he was around for more than six years (yes I know CH was around for over a year but nope he didn't earn it, we all know that).

All jokes aside though, I'm just really happy that she seems to be at a very balanced and healthy place in both her professional and her personal life, and I hope things keep getting even better for her and she finds everything she wishes for.

[dreamaboutwhathappens]

what a year the past seven months have been

[youareinlove]

we should make a list of the craziest things that happened on the eras tour

are we going to crowdsource the list or what

[dacuslucy]

today i was so brave and did Not jump into swiftie drama and get my head bitten off by trolls

YAY!!!! VERY PROUD!!!!!! what was the drama...........

[theoldtaylors]

heres my ranking btw

[iwasgoingdownwithit]

The Sarah from tss discourse is so crazy because like personally I don’t enjoy her writing style and never have but I like seeing what Taylor is wearing so I just… don’t read what she writes? Like it’s not hard?

[longreads]

Imperial Eras: A Taylor Swift Studies Reading List

“This reading list collects pieces from the last decade that use Taylor Swift as a muse, a conduit, a springboard, or a punching bag in service of the authors’ own journeys. They demonstrate how, as Taylor’s Swiftdom grows, so too do the opportunities to use her as a lens through which we can project any number of issues—gender, race, identity, authenticity—and witness the prismatic results, a “kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats,” an easter egg waiting to be unwrapped. She’s a mirrorball, after all, reflecting every version of ourselves.“

Today at Longreads, Jill Spivey Caddell takes a deep dive into the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift Studies. 

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I love reading your realizations about TTPD! I think that just bc of the dense and emotionally challenging content matter in TTPD it can be harder for people to just drop in and out of casual convo about it (which is why discussions seems to be more lively around more surface level interpretations/muse talk/current events in swiftdom). Not that people don’t want to talk about the deep stuff, but it is harder for the whole dash to be cooking the same sauce at the same time bc some days I might just be too sleepy to delve into the psychoanalysis of exorsizing traumatic demons 😅. I find it helpful when people reblog their own related posts when a new interesting one pops up (and that’s also the best part of tumblr; the zombie like resurgence of older discussion material).

I do also think, fwiw, that there is a lot of hesitancy to discuss certain topics among fans who were on here when Taylor was. It’s not good or bad, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with airing on the side of respect. I feel like sometimes the culture on here tends to rely on euphamisms or censoring ourselves bc we’re worried that others might think we’re crossing a boundary. (Especially if we are trying to take our cues from people who have been here a long time - which could be a good thing!) And the tumblr culture of passive aggression and vague posting can end up being a strong persuasion against posting something that might be more “risky”.

I’m always trying to figure out where my boundaries are wrt what I will get into on my blog, and I often feel like my instincts are not quite in line with the majority of swifties I really really respect. So I keep my thoughts to myself… but maybe it’s okay to push a little further into more interesting subjects and there’s ways to do that and still be respectful. maybe Taylor herself changed the “rules” when she made it clear that she is not on tumblr (at least using her real name) anymore. I think that action sort of reestablished this space as a fan-only space and not a mutual relationship, which might change the approach to discussion, and maybe it’s okay for different blogs to have different personal boundaries. I would probably post differently if Taylor followed me, but she doesn’t, and idk if I would want her to 🤷🏼‍♀️ .

I think it’s okay to talk about art in a deep way and include public knowledge of the artist, and to connect it to my own life and even it’s okay to be wrong (not ok to spread lies maliciously though). Taylor releases art, not an autobiographical testimony (even if TTPD purposefully invokes and validates that!)… I honestly think it sometimes does a disservice to her artistry when we self-sensor our commentary. Art should be talked about!!! Idk I think I’ll always be navigating that dilemma as long as Im active on my swiftie blog (and, I think she will always continue to wrestle with her end of that bargain in her art for as long as she chooses to be in the public eye). And! I adore the space you’ve carved out here and the perspectives and opinions you share about Taylor’s ouevre!

Anon thanks for your very thoughtful insight!

I do get that TTPD is dense and I feel like I should get better at tagging so that people can skip it on their dash if they're not interested or something because my thoughts are often equally dense lmao.

That's actually a really interesting observation that perhaps some of the self-regulation comes from the fact that this actually used to be a platform Taylor engaged with and I hadn't considered that. I guess that may be one of the byproducts about being a latecomer to the online fandom (though not to tumblr or to Taylor's music-- e.g. I knew Taylor was on Tumblr but I was invested in other fandoms at the time so never really engaged in Swiftie tumblr until the pandemic because I can only handle one fixation at a time apparently lol) in that I don't don't know how much that has influenced fandom behaviour.

I count myself extremely fortunate for finding a small community here that has welcomed me so generously, so I largely don't see or experience negativity and have a mercifully curated fandom experience. But even at that, I feel the unease about the potential threat of, well, unpleasantness, and it's a weird sort of limbo to find yourself in when at the end of the day, you're just a person with a blog typing from the safety of your own little hovel like anyone else here.

And it's also such a fine line to straddle because on the one hand, you want to be respectful and not invasive, but on the other hand, the art is SO rich and SO revealing, and Taylor herself has spoken about how gratifying it is for her to be known, even the parts that would be considered unsavoury or unpleasant or prying, which I find incredibly brave. Obviously that doesn't mean people should be stalking her or making insinuations or presumptions or whatever, but I also absolutely agree with you that I think sometimes the policing (and I'm not talking about anyone in the community here, I'm talking about the internet in general) almost does a disservice to that wish of hers to be seen. I don't know if that makes any sense.

For instance, you all know how much I love TTPD with all my heart and think it's the quintessential thirtysomething album, because its themes and experiences are so, so, so common, if not in detail than certainly in emotion. The same can be said for her other albums. I have friends who have gone through the oven-microwave/wedding-no wedding/etc. experience and I wish they were Swifties because I feel like they'd be blasting this on a loop lol.

I can think of so many other examples, but the other day I was in the car with a friend and she started talking about something difficult she'd gone through last year in a way she's only beginning to really process now, and I had to resist the urge to say "there's a Taylor Swift song about that," but it was true-- what she was saying was just like, exactly what the song was about, with pretty remarkable parallels (and even wording). And all jokes aside about there being a song for everything, I was thankful that by being familiar with Taylor's work, I actually felt like I had an even better understanding and way to be supportive of my friend in her sharing this. And what I mean by this all is, what a gift it is that there is this art that delves into these very human experiences: not just the difficult, the sorrowful, the painful, but also the joyful and life-affirming. I'd have to imagine that's part of why Taylor feels it's so important to share her work: not just so that she's known, but that others can feel seen in return. Nobody is alone out there when you know that someone else has been there or can understand you. And why the good feels so good after going through the bad.

(Actually now that I think of it, I was at another friend's house the other day and we also had a completely different conversation that was exactly in line with "Robin" which is another example of the breadth of Taylor's songwriting and reflections on life.)

So while I absolutely understand being sick of rehashing the same old things all the time, to me the reason why I'm constantly thinking of this music is BECAUSE it's so relatable. Having conversations with friends here sheds light on new things or forms new connections. Thinking about my own experiences or those of my loved ones connects even deeper. I don't want to make presumptions, but I would venture to guess Taylor would find that really wonderful too, as someone who spends her life distilling her own lived experience into something weirdly universal.

There's obviously a line fans shouldn't cross when talking about these things, but I guess it's trying to figure out that line. And personally I'm just always trying to be conscious of if I'm being annoying by talking about these things over and over again, even though I'm not coming from a place of like, obsession (much lol), but more like, new understanding or appreciation on each listen. I've said before that Taylor's music scratches the same kind of itch that prestige TV dramas do, in that they're not only entertaining on a surface level (to listen to), but the storytelling is so interconnected, and having knowledge of not only her discography but the experiences that informed it I think makes it even more poignant. So you can enjoy the music for what it is (which I absolutely do -- I'm not saying I do a critical analysis on each listen! Some days I just want to yell I LOVE YOU AIN'T THAT THE WORST THING YOU'VE EVER HEARD), but it's also not wrong to be impressed by and inspired by the layers underneath.

I suppose I'm lucky in that my platform is tiny and inconsequential so I have certain freedoms I know many blogs don't, and I probably don't need to tread as lightly as I feel like I do right now. Maybe I'll get braver in the new year if the mood strikes lol.

Thanks so much for the food for thought anon!

[dreamaboutwhathappens]

here's to all of us having at least one serious moment in the past year where we thought rep tv was coming. and to 2025!

[youareinlove]

i went to nashville n1 and n2 and i was so happy because phoebe was opening and boygenious reunion until certain someone showed their face...

🫢

[notyouraryang0dd3ss]

There is this YouTuber whose channel is called “swiftologist”. I find it very puzzling because even though he can be critical of TS (e.g, her billionaire status and how she got it), he is still supporting her financially and seems to genuinely love her as a person. I was curious about his perspectives on her latest album TTPD, especially on So Long, London (SLL) and But Daddy I Love Him (BDILH). But to my surprise, he is completely on board with everything.

For SLL, he has no problem with her airing out a person’s metal health information and making it about herself. Calling him a Turkey for being boring and bland. I was really baffled at how much hatred he has for this particular ex-boyfriend (Joe Alwyn) and I thought maybe JA did something bad that I wasn’t aware of. Turned out, he really hates JA because he think JA made his Queen suffered from boredom while she could have had so much fun given who she is. In the comment section, her fans are joking about how they expect cooked Turkey (Joe Alwyn) on the menu (TTPD) but they are served cooked Rat (Matty Healy) instead. It’s truly about her personal life (they call it Lore) more than her music to them.

In BDILH, he didn’t think it was about him because he didn’t call her out when she was dating the guy from 1975. He said OG fans “know” TS, so they knew the relationship wouldn’t last because Taylor would soon break up with that guy so they just let her have her funs while it lasted. But the new fans and the general public don’t “know” her so they make a big deal out of nothing, and dare to insinuate that a woman’s good name can be ruined by a man’s actions. First of all, unironically and proudly say you know a celebrity as a person is a clear sign of a parasocial relationship. He and another fan said that only people who “know” TS is capable of appreciate TTPD, very elitist of them in my opinion. Second of all, how can he (swiftologist) think a full-grown adult dating a racist is just a phase or fleeting fun is beyond me.

the first thing i thought of when i finished reading this ask is “is swiftologist white?” and then i checked and he’s white LOL

i find people who are like “i can be critical and acknowledge my fave’s problematic behavior/identity” and then go on to wholeheartedly support them are such clowns. you are only fooling yourself thinking you’re exercising critical thinking about your fave when you’re still going on to support them monetarily.

and it seems like swifties don’t even listen to her music for her music but for the “lore” (as you called it)? its so weird that they bond over their hatred for HER exes??? swiftdom is actually crazy because they are so deeply convinced they know this woman from her music and her overexposed relationships when people who have a normal detachment from this woman have legitimate critiques they interpret it as attacking their best friend without any plausibility. insanity

idgaf how much a celeb overshares about their life on social media or thru their music or thru interviews 99.9% you will never know them as human beings. you will never actually meet and befriend them and KNOW them. taylor swift has so thoroughly convinced her fanbase they do know her through her intentional lack of boundaries and cultivation of parasocial relationships that they will do anything to defend her.

“second of all, how can he…think dating a full blown racist as an adult is just a phase or fleeting fun is beyond me.”

it’s because he’s 1. white and 2. doesn’t impact him. this is near universal truth in standom but most ppl will find harm their faves caused to a more marginalized group negligible if the group isn’t them. and if you’re a swiftie, you still find that shit irrelevant even if it did directly impact you. this is what i mean about swifties being delusional in their politics because there is no way you can unironically yourself a leftist or feminist or ally and be a swiftie when youre simultaneously supporting a woman who is a racist white billionaire who weaponizes white female victimhood to attack people of color.

so yeah. fuck swiftologist and any other swiftie who identifies as anything further left than a moderate/neoliberal when ur supporting a women like taylor swift

[bisluthq]

I think Taylor’s movie if it ever happens will be super frontloaded at the box office. But it depends on what the plot is centered around. Personally I think there’s a wide enough berth of people who are just not interested in a coming of age or romance film by Taylor Swift on principle and even if she ends up producing a classic (doubt) I don’t see marketing for it convincing many of the general audience outside Swiftdom. Especially if the theming around promo is similar to the tone of the ATW short film run. Maybe she’ll do something outside her musical wheelhouse that isn’t centered on romantic connection but then I don’t think she’d produce a good like, mafia or horror film lol. She’s kind of damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t focus on what she’s known for. I think there’s also a skill level in screenwriting vs songwriting that I’ve yet to see from her music videos to indicate the screenplay dialogue would be stellar.

couldn’t have put it better myself, don’t have much to add, feel like THIS is adding more to the convo than I could currently.

[taylortruther]

i don’t lose sleep over anything this fandom thinks // realest thing you’ve ever said. rae for president of swiftdom

PLEASE it's not a democracy it's a swiftocracy

[cleanswiftietv13]

Merry Christmas Eve Taylor Swift & Swiftdom peasants jk

[hope-ur-ok]

—•🧡•🅓🅐🅜🅝•🔸•🅓🅞🅡🅞🅣🅗🅔🅐•🧡—

Rachel my dearest! The audio genius of the swiftdom and swiftierinas. We are so lucky to have you. Thank you for sharing the most high quality audios you can find. This has been such a fun journey with you during the eras. I love love love seeing you on the dash and miss you when you're not.

Happy love letters weekend! And happy last week of eras tour. In all levels except physical, we attended the eras tour together and I gave you a friendship bracelet 🥹 I adore you and your blog and wishing you a happy holidays ahead 🫶

Kree I literally love you so much!!! Someday I really hope we can meet and actually hang out because you are one of my favorite people on this website!! I hope you have such a good holiday season and a great year next year, cause you deserve the world <3