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editor's note

on september 10, us time, taylor swift, a famous american singer (taylor swift is the nickname of taylor by chinese fans), endorsed harris on social media, saying that she watched the presidential debate between harris and trump and expressed that she "will vote for harris and waltz in the 2024 presidential election."

what will happen when feminist taylor meets the "toxic masculinity" alliance represented by trump? is trump's "exaggerated hyper-masculinity" pushing female voters to the democratic party? when superstars get involved in politics, how will the "culture war" profoundly affect american society? phoenix reference explains it for you.

key points

1. before taylor swift made her political stance public, she was considered "miss america" ​​by the american conservative party and "goddess" by the far-right men. the reason why country music is considered a cultural symbol of the right-wing conservative party has its own historical origins.

2. between the conservative base of country music and the liberal audience of urban pop music with a larger market, taylor has firmly chosen the latter in both her musical transformation and ideological statement. after taylor publicly supported the democratic party and liberal political tendencies in 2018, she was called a "traitor" by the extreme right.

3. after the presidential debate on september 10, taylor announced her support for harris. data shows that voter registration activities in 2024 have increased significantly under her influence. especially in key swing states such as florida and arizona, the turnout of young voters has increased by 6% and 8% respectively. the votes in these states are crucial to determining the outcome of the general election.

4. republican pollsters pointed out that trump's "exaggerated hyper-masculinity" has pushed many female voters to the democratic party, while men tend to support the republican party. taylor's confrontation with the "conservative masculinity" alliance (trump, vance, musk) is a dramatic microcosm of the political divide in the united states.

author | dr. h, political communication, london school of economics and political science

editor | song dongze, huang shuqi, zhang xiaowen

in a tweet announcing her support for harris's run for us president, taylor shared a photo with her pet cat and called herself the "childless cat lady" at the end of the post, satirizing republican vice presidential candidate vance's previous remarks about family and fertility.

if women choose to keep cats, this behavior is often interpreted by conservatives as a kind of "replacement", as if their lives are incomplete without a partner and family. therefore, the label "cat lady" has become a mockery and criticism of their lifestyle. taylor's three cats are not only her family, but also the source of inspiration for her creation.

▎taylor appeared on the cover of time magazine with his cat. source: time

before taylor swift publicly commented on the us election and other political events, she was once considered a goddess by trump supporters, white supremacists, and even neo-nazis.this misunderstanding is closely related to the history and audience of american country music.

the criticism and criticism she faced after publicly supporting the democratic party and liberal progressive ideas further reflected the differences and even divisions between the two parties in american society in terms of ideology and on many issues.taking advantage of the controversy caused by taylor's social media post supporting harris, the author analyzes how the country music category has become a symbol of traditional american right-wing culture, as well as the discourse confrontation and controversy between taylor, a well-known female singer of the new generation and a cultural symbol of "miss america", and the male chauvinism alliance (vance, musk and trump).

country music tied to right-wing politics, the misunderstood taylor swift

before taylor swift made her political stance public, she was the "miss americana" in the eyes of american conservatives and the "goddess" in the eyes of american far-right men.: born in pennsylvania, lives in tennessee (one of the whitest and most christian states), sings country music, is a tall, blonde, all-white person, dresses conservatively, has no piercings, and occasionally gets into minor scandals due to music videos being accused of racism.

in the 2016 us presidential election, taylor encouraged her fans to go out and vote, but she did not reveal who she voted for. at the time, the most popular question on google search engines was "who did taylor vote for?"precisely because taylor has been slow to make a statement, giving the outside world room for interpretation, her silence is seen as support for trump and the far-right movement.

▎on the day of the 2016 us presidential election, taylor posted a photo of himself queuing outside a polling station, captioning "today is the day, go vote." image source: tennessee daily

the reason why country music is considered a cultural symbol of the right-wing conservative party has its own historical origins.

long ago, the record industry that produces country music defined this music as "hillbilly music" and also associated it with a so-called decadent and backward culture. negative speculation about country music creators and country music listeners even continues to this day:country music creators and listeners hold conservative political and social beliefs and are inherently sexist, racist, militant chauvinist, and christian fundamentalist.

▎on june 10, 2007, taylor performed with guitar at the nashville music festival. banjo and guitar are representative instruments of american country music. image source x @taylor swift history

although many country music works also have their progressive connotations,in recent years, the cultural symbol of country music has once again been tied to right-wing politics because of trump's choices.

when trump makes his first trip to saudi arabia as president in may 2017, he will be accompanied by another american icon who will perform at the celebration of the two countries' alliance: country music star toby keith, who became a major figure among american conservatives with a series of jingoistic, post-9/11 classics that laud u.s. intervention in the middle east.

▎products on the us second-hand trading platform ebay: trump 2020 stickers, keywords: "country music, cowboys, anti-democratic party, car window stickers"

as some americans say, "hollywood supports the democratic party, and nashville (the country music capital) supports the republican party."

taylor's public political statements mobilized young voters

between the former conservative base of country music and the larger liberal audience of urban pop music, taylor's musical transformation and ideological statements have firmly chosen the latter.

although taylor did not officially open up about her political stance until around 2018, her transition from country to pop music began with the release of the album red in 2012. the use of the banjo, a classic country music instrument, has dropped significantly, replaced by more diverse content, such as pop music, electronic music, rock punk and other musical elements.

▎in the biographical documentary "miss americana" produced by netflix for taylor, taylor talked about her mental journey of deciding to speak out politically, including convincing her parents to support her political stance.

two years later, taylor began publicly identifying as a feminist. in a 2014 interview with the guardian, swift said that after years of avoiding the term, she now identified as a feminist: "i realised that i had always taken a feminist stance without really saying it".

in 2017, taylor was named one of time magazine's "silence breakers" after suing dj david mueller for molesting her, just before the broader #metoo movement took off.

▎in 2017, taylor appeared on the cover of time magazine. source: time

in the november 2018 midterm elections, taylor supported tennessee democratic senate candidate phil bredesen and house candidate jim cooper. taylor then mentioned that she would always support candidates who fight for human rights: "i believe in fighting for lgbtq rights. i think any discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is wrong. i think the systemic discrimination against people of color that we still see in this country is terrible, disgusting, and very common."

in the months following taylor's 2018 announcement supporting the democratic party, voter registrations doubled compared with expectations, according to vote.org.in certain areas, for example, michigan saw a significant increase in voter registration under her influence, with registration in michigan increasing by about 30% in the months after her support became public.

that same year, taylor said she supported women's abortion rights and accused trump of trying to undermine democracy, saying, "i really think he treats this like a dictatorship."

▎on september 16, 2024, trump posted on the "truth" media he operates, saying "i hate taylor swift!"

after swift publicly expressed her support for the democratic party and liberal political leanings in 2018, users of the extreme right-wing website 4chan called swift a "traitor."

taylor swift's support for the democratic party led to a significant increase in turnout among young voters in the 2020 election. according to cnn,swift's public support is closely tied to mobilizing young voters to get out the vote.

in the elections following taylor’s statement, turnout among voters aged 18 to 29 jumped to 50% from 44% in 2016. swift’s endorsement boosted voting among young voters, especially in key states like pennsylvania and wisconsin, where turnout among young voters increased by 5% and 7%, respectively.

▎as of october 2023, the percentage of respondents in the united states who consider themselves fans of taylor swift (by age). source: statista

taylor swift continued her political statements in 2024, calling for voter registration on social media. according to data from rock the vote, voter registration activities in 2024 increased significantly under her influence. for example, cities such as atlanta and los angeles saw an increase of about 20% in voter registration under swift's call. the registration growth rate in these areas is much higher than the national average, reflecting her mobilization effect on voters in specific areas.

according to a bloomberg analysis, young voter turnout reached 55% in 2024, a 5% increase from 2020. swift's mobilization calls and engagement activities in the months leading up to the election played a significant role in this increase.in particular, in key swing states such as florida and arizona, where votes are crucial in determining the outcome of the election, turnout among young voters increased by 6% and 8% respectively.

▎in the abc news/ipsos poll, about 81% of voters said taylor's support for harris would not affect how they vote. image source: the hill

feminist taylor vs. the "toxic masculinity" alliance

musk is one of the most famous people who supports trump so far. he is also regarded by some as a representative of "toxic masculinity" because of his stance on gender and power issues, as well as his private life style of having children outside of marriage with many different women. at the same time, his heroism and personality cult that emphasizes independence, strength and the ability to conquer nature or technology are consistent with "toxic masculinity".

▎after taylor made his statement, musk then said: "okay, taylor...you win, i will give you a child and protect your cat with my life." this frivolous statement caused controversy. image source x @elon musk

this year, musk also made sharp remarks against the democratic party because of his son's transgender, saying that the lgbtq+ rights movement made him "lose" his son. this is in stark contrast to taylor's active advocacy for lgbtq+ rights since 2019.

like musk, trump's deputy and republican vice presidential candidate vance is deeply skeptical of modern feminism and gender equality, or what the new right calls "gender ideology."

the sharp ideological clash between taylor and musk, vance and trump also reflects the collision between progressive liberal ideas (including feminism) and "toxic masculinity". it is a dramatic event and epitome of the current internal conflict in american politics.

within a year of the #metoo movement, the american psychological association defined the concept of "toxic masculinity" as men experiencing "masculine gender role pressures" due to "an overemphasis on personal achievement and control" and "emotional repression."

▎taylor's home state of pennsylvania has decided to designate 2023 as the "taylor swift era" in the state, with lawmakers passing the resolution on her 34th birthday to recognize her achievements.

conservatives attack this, arguing that toxic masculinity is a smear on the honor of "good men" thrown out by "fanatic feminists" (such as taylor swift in the eyes of conservatives). for conservatives, the concept of toxic masculinity overturns the virtues and lifestyles they cherish: strength, honor, responsibility and courage.

is trump's 'exaggerated hypermasculinity' driving female voters toward the democratic party?

trump has long focused on male-dominated blue-collar occupations in his speeches. in many of his economic speeches and state of the union addresses, he has focused on occupations such as manufacturing, mining and construction, while almost ignoring female-dominated, care-oriented "pink-collar" workers, such as nurses or health care assistants. in his job creation plans, trump also tends to focus on blue-collar areas, especially manufacturing, and he himself wears a hard hat or sits behind the driver's seat of a truck, presenting an image of a tough worker.

there is also a clear gendered pattern in how trump insults his male and female opponents: he tends to describe male opponents as weak, calling them "sniveling" or "short" and "lacking energy," while he often insults women by describing their appearance or describing them as hysterical, or belittling opponents with nicknames like "crazy nancy pelosi" or "sniveling chuck schumer." this overemphasis on a tough image may prompt the president to not only disagree with the other party, but even demonize it.

▎charles blow, a columnist for the new york times, once pointed out in an article that "misogyny has always been at the core of trump's identity, rise and political movement." image source: the guardian

vance also accused women in progressive and dissident groups of being "childless cat ladies."it implies the marginalization and stigmatization of women who "do not conform to social norms" (marriage, childbearing, belonging to a stable family structure) rooted in medieval and early modern europein medieval literature, evil women often transformed into cats, and cats could also transform into women due to demonic possession. in addition, cat owners were usually old, lonely or unmarried women, and their isolation from their neighbors was often suspected of being involved in secret evil activities. therefore, older, unmarried or childless women were seen as outsiders or threats to social order. vance's remarks reinforced this stereotype and discrimination against women.

at the same time, the trump era has also attracted some new republican female candidates. more than a third of non-incumbent republican female candidates in the 2020 election have prominently featured themselves with guns in their campaign materials. this suggests that as the republican party becomes more conservative and masculine, the female candidates who are able to successfully break through may be those who can cater to this more conservative, more masculine voter.

▎many people thought trump would choose a woman as his running mate this year. new york congresswoman elise stefanik was one of the candidates. image source: the washington post

republican pollster christine matthews noted:trump's "exaggerated hypermasculinity" has pushed many female voters to the democratic party, while men tend to support the republican party。

trump's appeal to male voters may have accelerated long-standing gender gaps and ideological distances between the two parties.taylor swift, the "aryan goddess" once loved by conservatives and far-right groups, has firmly transformed her music style and made political statements; as a "childless cat woman", she has strongly supported harris and challenged trump.

from this observation, the conflicts and divisions within american politics are concentrated in gender, fertility concepts, weapons and other aspects. behind this is the contemporary "cultural war" in the united states, and also the conflict of interpretations of modern civilization and modernization paradigms. in-depth analysis of this phenomenon is also meaningful for understanding the huge differences between different groups in many other countries on issues such as gender and fertility concepts.