This is only in: Taylor Swift is somehow important

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I have always preferred my cultural icons in the distance: puzzling, complex, impossible to know in a way that creates eternal mysticism.

Writers like JD Salinger who write an influential novel and a few slim collections of short stories before they disappeared so completely that nobody knew where he was or whether he was alive for a long time.

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Or musical originals such as Dylan, Mitchell and Gould, who offer even relaxing insights into their lives and their art without giving away everything.

I fascinates Taylor Swift as she does gazillions of other earthlings.

Not only because she sold hundreds of millions of records, fills stadiums and can claim a fan army that she loves with the kind of loyalty that is normally reserved for messianic cults.

But because she seems to be my fans more as mysterious and uninventible.

To understand what exactly that is, I needed expert aid.

Raylan Higgins is chairman of the Anthropology department at Saint Mary's University of Halifax. In the next January he will teach a free and open course entitled ” What's going on with Taylor Swift?

Our E -Mail exchange this week was shortened and processed for space and clarity.

Why should I take care of Taylor Swift??

Swift is powerful and influential to an extent that is rare. So she is a very unique person. That alone counts as interesting for this anthropologist. And yes, she is a woman with a lot of power and influence, which is even more unusual. And it seems to be at least part of this power and influence forever. She is an advocate of causes that many young people consider particularly important.

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Their economic effects are also worth paying attention to attention. It influences economies in a way that clearly leads to interesting conversations and studies. And to be clear, I don't say that all effects are positive. Toronto apparently temporarily moved courted people to hotel rooms while their concerts started there. And probably only for this period. It is a bit curious to think about it.

How does she compare with other pop icons??

The more interesting question or at least what you have to precede is a pop icon, and should we take care of better understanding this concept? Anthropology forces us to ask what we mean by pop icon? Did Icon be a very specific concept that is too generalized to be really famous, but elements of his older meaning still play a role in the way people like Swift refer to the public? The term symbol was once referred to holy objects. Do we consider Swift for holy? Some people probably do it.

And if you think of what people think, it is also an essential part of my motivation to teach this course. Swift has a significant impact on people, as with individuals, and I have observed this among girls, young women and even women in the 40s and 50s. Swift is often referred to by such people as “bathroomass”, not as an icon. So there is another interesting question. Why does one person call her a pop icon and another describes you as swimming? And to what extent is it a bad one? I hope that your bad guys understand better anthropologically.

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Does the fact that it is so accessible does it have something to do with its popularity and influence?

One thing I would say is that it is difficult to know what we know about a celebrity from any time. The same applies to political leaders. When I hear that people “I love Obama” or “I love Trump”, my answer is never to tell them whether they should or not. My answer is to ask how all in the world you believe that you know. All people always carry out their identity. It is a crucial anthropological understanding that all people affect cultural existence. To be clear, that doesn't make us all wrong, it literally makes us human.

But for famous people in art or politics, there are additional complexity layers as two examples. On the one hand, they must appear in the more conventional sense of the term as in an actual level. On the other hand, they have to cope with their daily performance as humans more carefully. You are under more examination. Were (Glenn) Gould's eccentricities all “real” or partly an action? On the one hand, we could say we will never know. On the other hand, the answer must be, because so much social life is performance.

So we don't know that much about the people you have listed, including Swift. To think differently is somehow silly. Does Swift appear more responsive than Gould? Secure. But this part of your performance (or his). Here, too, there are at least two answers to this question. I would say it seems to be clear that the fans really connect with Swift. But the people I read about Swift explain that girls and women refer to their songs.

I sent you this tiny desk concert link. The first song she plays/sings is the man who is a feminist manifesto. It basically imagines how it would be treated if she were a man. As a feminist anthropologist, who has examined the gender inequality in different places, including North America, it makes sense for me, of course, that women and girls appreciate and are interested in Swift, precisely because these girls and women live in such a sexist world.

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Why did you decide to offer the course?

I am an anthropologist and a mantra of our discipline is that basically everything counts. Therefore, it is not unusual for an anthropologist to happen something in the world that arouses his interest and decides that it will be a new focus. This happened with Swift and my decision to rank a course on you. I observed media reporting on the Eras tour and saw the effects of this tour and from Swift more generally, we say during the US election and, Wham: Why not a course that examines Swift's influence and strength? It is undoubtedly sociological and culturally significant.

Are you a Swiftie?

Before I can answer this question, we have to put another job: What is a Swiftie? What do we mean as a society when we use this term? And why don't all fans of music artists have names that are specific to the artist? It is more than a little unusual in this regard. I am pretty sure that Dylanites never really got into the validity like Swifties, and there was simply no Elvistonier. Again why? First of all, I start examining such questions. In fact, I will spend the next few months to learn and examine. I can get the understanding that I win in this process in January 2026.

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Although I don't know exactly whether one day I could be a Swiftie, I can now say that I respect your music. But I don't love her music and rarely listen to her. Nevertheless, I would argue that they are simply musically and maybe otherwise closed if they see their little desk concert and are not impressed. She is a talented singer and songwriter who can play the Hiege from a guitar and a piano. You don't have to like your type of music to respect her as an artist.

Is your influence good or bad for society?

That is an interesting question. It represents global inequality as Elon Musk does. And global inequality only worsens, so that's not great. But I would rather have 100 Taylor Swift on planet Earth than an Elon Muschus.

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