Dear Reader: The Rise of the Middle-Aged Swiftie

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Welcome, dear reader, to, well, Dear Reader — a new bi-weekly series highlighting personal essays and in-depth reports from writers in our very own Taypedia community.

With Dear Reader, we hope to not only give you a glimpse into the inner world of the interesting and diverse community that is Swifties, but also offer well-researched deep dives into Taylor Swift’s career, artistry, and fandom that you just can’t get anywhere else.

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The Rise of the Middle-Aged Swiftie

By: Virginia Williams

It’s been 17 years since my 6-year-old daughter came home from elementary school and said, “Mommy, you have to listen to this singer—I really like her!” The singer in question? A teenage Taylor Swift. Swift was new on the music scene, and some of us (it’s me, hi) were convinced Taylor was going to be a passing childhood fad, like Barbies and Disney Princesses. Instead, we now find ourselves singing and dancing along to Taylor with GenZ (and younger) Swifties. How did this happen to the slightly cynical MTV generation raised on the likes of Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, the Ramones, and glam rockers, among other genres? 

A 2023 study of Swift fans found that 21% of us are GenX (23% are Baby Boomers), and though I cringe at the term, we are known as “Senior Swifties.” So what’s so appealing about Taylor Swift for us GenXers? I interviewed some academics and other GenX Swift fans to find out.

Dr. Michele Ramsey, of Penn State University, is a fairly recent convert to Swift-dom. This fall she’ll teach a brand-new class titled “Taylor Swift, Gender, and Communication.” Introduced to Swift by her 9-year-old “bonus niece” (and her millennial mom) she enjoyed the music, but on hearing “All Too Well” she “realized that my niece knew the meaning of the word patriarchy”. That’s probably, in part, because her mother is a faculty member, but she still knows a word and what it means at nine that I didn’t know until I was in college. I think and hope that Taylor Swift is helping rear a generation to be comfortable showing vulnerability and kindness, but also saying NO to oppression and discrimination.”