Whether or not you’re a Taylor Swift fan, there’s no denying that the artist has had a massive impact on the world of culture and entertainment. Last year, Swift was named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, and she’s currently one of the top-followed accounts on Instagram with 283 million followers. Swift’s Eras Tour has also made headlines for being the first-ever tour to gross $1 billion, while also reportedly generating billions more for local economies around the world. Now, new research from the University of Vermont suggests that Swift’s influence extends far past the realm of entertainment and into the world of disordered eating. According to the study, published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, Swift’s candidness around her own body-image struggles has had a positive influence on fans, helping to reduce the stigma of eating disorders and promote a supportive environment for Swifties.
These findings may sound obvious (isn’t candidness around health always a good thing?), but past research has actually found the opposite to be true when it comes to celebrities and their fans. In a 2016 study published in the Journal of Eating Disorders, researchers found that internet searches for “pro-eating disorder terms” would spike after a high-profile celebrity disclosed their own eating disorder. A 2005 study in the British Journal of Health Psychology also found that younger teenage girls (many of whom are now adult fans of Swift) were more likely to have negative views of their own bodies if they had a parasocial relationship with a celebrity.
Despite these previous findings, researchers—who analyzed roughly 200 posts on Reddit and TikTok—found Swift to be a uniquely “positive role model,” especially as she’s become more outspoken about her own struggles. In recent years, for example, Swift’s 2022 song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” includes references to disordered eating and thinking patterns, while her 2023 music video “Anti-Hero” features Swift stepping on a scale that reads “fat” (an image that sparked criticism of “anti-fat bias” and led Swift’s team to remove it from certain versions of the video). But Swift’s first—and arguably most notable—disclosure was in her 2020 documentary “Miss Americana,” where she revealed that she had long struggled with disordered eating before seeking help. “You don’t ever say to yourself, ‘Look, I’ve got an eating disorder,’” Swift says in the documentary. “But you know you’re making a list of everything you put in your mouth that day, and you know that’s probably not right.”
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Inside the Swift study
To find out, Pope and her co-author Kelsey Rose, MPH, RD, clinical assistant professor at University of Vermont, dissected and analyzed more than 8,000 comments on 200 social media posts since 2019, all related to Taylor Swift and body image. Pope and Rose looked through comments on TikTok (where they searched “Taylor Swift body image” and read comments on the top 100 videos) and on Reddit (where they searched “body image” and “eating disorder” and read through comments within the r/TaylorSwift fan community). Pope tells Well+Good that she was most surprised by how often commenters mentioned the positive impact Swift had on them, especially in how they take care of and view their bodies. (Of course, it’s also important to recognize the limitations of this study: The comments were limited to those written in English with no identifiable demographics, so it’s possible that people of varying genders, races, ages, and backgrounds may not be as receptive to Swift’s body-image comments).
Abstract
While Swift is becoming an increasingly popular topic to discuss in academia, the conversation is mainly focused on Swift’s lyrical prowess or her impact on the economy. That’s why some experts are so intrigued by the findings of this study, including Meghan Gillen, PhD, psychology professor at Penn State Abington who specializes in body image and eating behavior. Gillen tells Well+Good that this study is one of the first of its kind specifically centered on Swift’s positive impact on body image. “Most studies [are focused] on the negative influence of celebrities on people,” Gillen tells Well+Good, “so I was super excited to see this study.”
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What about other celebs?
Understandably, the findings of this study don’t necessarily mean that the results would be similar with anyone else. “The context is different for each celebrity,” Gillen says. “Maybe someone who is a bit more controversial might be less positively received.”
Conclusion
These findings overall prove the immense power that pop culture can have in shaping behavior and beliefs, Pope says. That means those in the public eye have a responsibility to be aware of what messaging they’re putting out into the world—and fans have a responsibility to consider who they’re choosing to idolize.
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline at 1-866-662-1235 for immediate support, or go to allianceforeatingdisorders.com or anad.org/get-help for more resources.
References:
- Pope, Lizzy, and Kelsey L Rose. “”It’s All Just F*cking Impossible:” The influence of Taylor Swift on fans’ body image, disordered eating, and rejection of diet culture.” Social science & medicine (1982) vol. 355 (2024): 117100. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117100
- Lewis, Stephen P et al. “Pro-eating disorder search patterns: the possible influence of celebrity eating disorder stories in the media.” Journal of eating disorders vol. 4 5. 3 Mar. 2016, doi:10.1186/s40337-016-0094-2
- Maltby, John et al. “Intense-personal celebrity worship and body image: evidence of a link among female adolescents.” British journal of health psychology vol. 10,Pt 1 (2005): 17-32. doi:10.1348/135910704X15257
