When a friend reached out offering me tickets to the Taylor Swift Eras tour a few weeks ago, my reaction was perhaps not what you would expect. Sadly I'm not a Swiftie, and nor are the little girls in my family, so I haven’t had her music playing around the house or had them begging me to take them to see her. To be honest, the craziness of the Eras tour had passed me by entirely until I got that message.
As I had previously expressed to a friend over lunch, I saw Taylor as a 30-something year old woman acting like a teenager – and I just found it all very comfortable to watch. This was never something I had said out loud before, because I respect Taylor for her political stances – especially her outspokenness on access to abortions. Seeing so many men (especially those on the right) knock her, I never wanted to add to the negative discussion about her.
But as I chatted with my friend, who is also a woman of colour – and who agreed that there was very little diversity at the concert when she went herself – I began to think about the reality of why I hadn’t been swept up in the Eras excitement. I was able to say out loud that, as Black women, we are never afforded the opportunity to act like children – even when we are kids – so to see grown women across the country role play as high schoolers was just odd. I know those are harsh words, but that’s how I felt. Later that week, as I travelled to Wembley on the tube along with hundreds of her grown-up fans – just as I expected, predominantly white – dressed like they were going to their year 11 prom, I did my internal eye rolls.
But as I got into the arena and we took our seats, I could sense my cynicism slipping away – seeing the sheer size of the crowd, I couldn't help but be impressed by it. The actual joy on women and young people’s faces helped me get over myself, and I started to notice that there was something special taking place. As Swift took to the stage, it was even more evident. Eras is an incredible production, but Taylor is just unapologetically herself – and genuinely, if she wasn’t on the stage, she could have been one of the excited faces in the audience. I felt myself soften to her. The way she kept thanking her fans as they screamed in return back to her was just… magical.
I have been to a few big concerts and events in my time, but the level of fan engagement at a Taylor Swift concert was something I had never seen before. There wasn’t just love and appreciation for the artist in that arena, but there was real power. I kept thinking how incredible it was to see so many women and young women in that moment, celebrating and being celebrated in return by their idol. In all honesty, I think I spent a good hour of the show just looking around at the fans and taking in the atmosphere – so many of the girls around me did not miss a beat when it came to the music. They knew every word of every song, but they also all had a moment with each of them. Most artists are famous for one or two songs and it’s those people wait for, but with Taylor it seems all her music speaks to her fans. There was so much excitement for every song, which was something I loved seeing as the night went on.
Admittedly, I’m not a converted Swiftie, and my musical taste hasn’t changed after the concert – but I will admit that my view of Taylor and her fans has changed. Actually, what I was missing was the space and comfort Taylor had given women and girls to be who they are, and to love unapologetically. She is a successful and powerful woman who has allowed herself to live out her life as she wants, and not get consumed by an industry that has destroyed so many young women. She has chosen to be happy in the face of so much – and I, like many others, felt the urge to dismiss her. But that’s wrong and dangerous, which I now know.
The Eras Tour features two surprise songs at each date.
Just because society has not afforded me – or girls like me – the freedom to be happy and carefree, it does not mean we should deny that to others. Just yesterday, the incredible Malala Yousafzai shared about how when she was a teen and music was banned by the Taliban, she and her friends would go up into the mountains to illegally listen to Taylor Swift. After attending the Eras tour in London, she wrote: “One day I hope we will live in a world where every girl will be able to enjoy music and live out her wildest dreams.”
I had already changed my mind about Taylor, but reading Malala’s post reinforced what I had realised. What I – and so many others – need to be doing is working harder for a world where all women and girls are as joyful as Swifties. We need to be creating more safe spaces like Eras, and breaking down the social norms that are conditioning women and girls to believe they can’t be successful and powerful while enjoying life like a teenage girl.
