New scientific research shows that Taylor Swift is open about her body image and eating disorder issues, helping her fans better cope with these issues.
The authors of a University of Vermont (UVM) study A study published in the July issue of the journal Social Science & Medicine reached that conclusion after analyzing the top 200 TikTok and Reddit social media posts with more than 8,300 comments about Swift, eating disorders and body image.
“Our findings suggest that fans who felt strongly connected to Swift were influenced to positively change their behaviors or attitudes toward food or body image because of Swift’s revelations and messages in her music,” said a press release attributed to study co-author Lizzy Pope, a registered dietitian and associate professor in UVM’s department of nutrition and food sciences.
Kelsey Rose, a clinical assistant professor at UVM and fellow dietitian and author of Pope’s study, added: “Fans seem to be taking inspiration from the fact that Swift had recovered from an eating disorder and then seemed to thrive.”
Still, the study’s findings about the “parasocial” — or one-sided — relationship between Swift and the so-called Swifties who support her career aren’t all good news. The research found that some fans ignore Swift’s message and insist on objectifying her body, which “demonstrates the limitations of personal disclosure to impact[understanding]systemic issues like anti-fat bias.”
Swift made headlines in 2020 when the songwriter/singer detailed in her documentary Miss Americana how she struggled with outsiders’ perceptions of her weight — and the physical beauty standards by which many women are measured.
The singer explained that she would feel like her “belly was too big” when she saw photos of herself, or that speculation about whether she was pregnant would make her want to “starve a little bit.”
“If you’re thin enough, you don’t have that butt… that everyone wants. But if you’re heavy enough… to have a butt, your stomach isn’t flat enough,” Swift noted.
She then uttered the words that inspired the title of Pope and Rose’s recent study: “It’s all just fucking impossible.”
The study also referenced Swift’s 2022 video clip for her No. 1 hit Anti-Hero, in which she steps on a scale, looks down to see her weight, sighs in disappointment and throws a guilty look at her alter ego, who shakes her head in dismay.
While Swift was ultimately unable to completely silence comments objectifying her, the study did find that the singer-songwriter has been an effective role model for people recovering from eating disorders, especially after she embarked on her record-breaking Eras concert tour in May 2023.
The publication of Pope and Rose’s study came days after an op-ed in Newsweek argued that Swift was “not a good role model” because she was “single and childless” at age 34, despite a high-profile relationship with professional football player Travis Kelce and previous romances with other famous men.
Many who came across the column considered it misogynistic and disturbed.