Episode 3: Taylor Swift Psyops

How did Taylor Swift’s pop superstardom become fodder for far-right political conspiracy theories? Grab your red string and follow along the conflicting narratives that first (baselessly) claimed her as a covert Nazi and more recently, a left-wing Super Bowl psyop with Travis Kelce. Swiftie sociologist Brian Donovan unravels why her celebrity makes her a prime target in culture war politics and how it compares to the Easter egg hunts she creates for the fandom. Then, media psychologist Leah Dajches takes on the stigmatization of Gaylor Swifties, challenging the idea that they’re just unhinged conspiracy theorists.

Read the episode 3 transcript.

guests:

Brian Donovan (PhD. Northwestern University) is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas. Donovan’s work primarily focuses on gender and American culture. He has published three books, the latest of which—American Gold Digger: Marriage, Money, and Law from the Ziegfeld Follies to Anna Nicole Smith—analyzes the role of the “gold digger” stereotype in American law and popular culture. Donovan’s current book project, Swiftie: Anatomy of a Fandom, uses in-depth interviews with swifties to explore the meaning-making and joy-producing activities of Taylor Swift fans. Donovan also teaches an undergraduate class titled “The Sociology of Taylor Swift,” and he is currently the faculty advisor for the university’s Swift Society club. Donovan’s insights on Taylor Swift and her fans have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Daily Beast, MSNBC, USA Today, Business Insider, and the Christian Science Monitor, and with extended profiles in the Kansas City Star and the Kansas Alumni Magazine. Donovan has a Swift-focused TikTok account.

Leah Dajches (Ph.D., University of Arizona, 2022) is an Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University. Her research examines popular culture and media as accessible, everyday contexts for empowering vulnerable populations (e.g., adolescents) and marginalized communities (e.g., LGBTQ+, BIPOC). More specifically, her work identifies forms of communication-related empowerment that demonstrate how individuals can engage with popular media in beneficial ways – namely, in relation to their mental and sexual health, identity processing/acceptance, civic/political engagement, and general social welfare. Leah’s work is multidisciplinary and multimethodological in nature and emphasizes the importance of public scholarship and community engagement as a critical factor in enacting individual and social change. Her research has been published in top-tier journals such as Health Communication, Journal of Adolescent Research, Journal of Children and Media, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, and Psychology of Popular Media, among others. 

sources:

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• Weisman, Jonathan.Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and a MAGA Meltdown.The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2024.