Indian fans of the global music sensation Taylor Swift were in for disappointment when India did not feature in the list of countries she would be taking her Eras Tour, a 3.5-hour concert featuring songs from her 10 albums. The internet was flooded with pictures and reels from the tour where concert goers from across the world (mostly young women) dressed up in outfits similar to those Taylor had worn in her music videos and accessorised themselves with friendship bracelets.
One might say that Indian ‘swifties’ (fans of Taylor Swift) were experiencing collective FOMO (fear of missing out) after consuming copious amounts of media and trivia about the concert. So, when Taylor announced a movie based on her tour – Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – which would be released worldwide, it was only understandable why Indian swifties were over the moon.
This excitement translated into women singing along and dancing in theatres when the movie released in select cities across India on November 3. However, as these videos were shared on social media, the women became targets of vitriolic trolling (mostly from men) that involved questioning their intellectual capacity. Such mockery sheds light on how pop culture enjoyed by women is trivialised and how women are derided for enjoying movies in the same way men do.
‘A surreal experience’
When The Eras Tour released in India, fans termed it a communal experience like never before. For Avantika Tiwari, a 24-year-old freelance media professional in Delhi, watching The Eras Tour was a “surreal experience.” Recounting how singing and dancing in the theatre created a feeling of community, she told TNM, “I went with a friend, but as the movie progressed I was dancing and holding hands with women I barely knew. There was no awkwardness and all of us were posing for pictures with people we met minutes before. I don’t think any other theatre experience would even come close to this.”
Other Taylor Swift fans TNM spoke to echoed similar sentiments even if they experienced the movie differently. Sneha (named changed), a 26-year-old PR professional from Bengaluru who had gone for the The Eras Tour movie in the city, said that she could not bring herself to dance but did not feel judged either. She said, “Whether I chose to sit and listen to Taylor singing or whether I was singing along, I felt safe. Some women showed up with glow sticks, some used their phone’s flashlight during slower songs, and there was a lot of screaming and crying. I noticed that a lot of girls came with more than one friend and it probably contributed to their confidence to dance and have a good time.”
Priya Jain, who went to watch the movie in Delhi, recounted how her family members accompanying her left the theatre in half-an-hour as it did not interest them. But that did not deter the 24-year-old from enjoying it. She said, “Even though I was watching the movie alone, I did not feel that way. I changed my seats and soon enough, I was dancing and holding hands with people I didn’t know. I did not feel any sense of discomfort or that I was alone, even though I was among strangers.”
Across cities, the gender break-up of the attendees of The Eras Tour followed a similar pattern – little to no men. The fans that TNM spoke to said that viewers were mostly women and some men who had come with their women friends or partners. There were no large groups of men. A survey by Morning Pro Consult revealed that 51% of Taylor Swift fans in the USA are women. While no such data is available for India, it is safe to say that the results will be similar. This can be seen as an extension of how Taylor Swift’s music is mostly enjoyed by women as most of her songs delve into the complexities of romantic relationships from the point of view of a woman.
In fact, parts of the internet are flooded with memes and reels about men who listen to Taylor Swift dubbing it a ‘green flag’, while others poke fun at them calling it a ‘fake’ interest to ‘impress women’. But these labels did not seem to discourage men from attending the movie, even though they were fewer in number.
However, both Avantika and Priya said that the men did look a little apprehensive about jamming to the songs and attributed it to the possible fear of not wanting to be perceived as a ‘male Taylor Swift fan’.
‘Toxic’ fan culture
On X (formerly known as Twitter), a user named Vibali Joshi shared a short video clip of people dancing to a song from The Eras Tour with the caption “PVR wasn’t ready for Indian Swifties.” In a span of hours, the post garnered thousands of views and likes along with derisive replies mocking the audience. The insults ranged from assuming that the women in the theatre were not ‘smart’ enough to watch Christopher Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer to calling them “cringey”, “toxic”, and “wannabe westerners”, among others.
Interestingly, several replies to Vibali’s post compared Taylor’s fans to fans of popular Indian actors like Vijay, Salman Khan, and Mahesh Babu who also celebrate similarly, if not more colourfully during movie releases. Some posts called Taylor Swift “India’s Salman Khan” while others rightfully pointed out how celebrations for big star releases were grander.
The fans of south Indian movie stars burst crackers outside theatres, erect life size cutouts of the actors, and pour milk on these cutouts to venerate them like gods to celebrate a movie release. Once they enter the theatres, which are almost always dominated by groups of young men, there is no end to hooting, whistling, cheering, dancing to the songs, and throwing confetti to express love for their favourite heroes. In fact, it would be a surprise if one can hear the dialogues on the first day, first shows (FDFS) of these stars.
Such celebrations are not always free of problems. Recently, before the release of the much anticipated Tamil movie Leo starring Vijay and Trisha and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, fans damaged the seats in Chennai’s Rohini Theatre when the trailer was screened. For some fans, FDFS celebrations have ended fatally as well.
Worldwide, fan culture, especially in sports, has been notorious for being toxic but has not received half the criticism women fans receive. In 2021, United Kingdom’s National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) shared data which showed that whenever England’s football team plays, domestic violence cases shoot up by 26%, whatever the outcome of the match. Another study by researchers at Lancaster University from 2013 revealed that domestic abuse rose by 26% when England won or drew a match and 38% when they lost. Apart from this, there have been records of vandalism, racist sloganeering at players, and general violence from male sports fans when their teams have lost.
‘Women having a good time unacceptable’
Celebrations by fans of Taylor Swift or any artist largely listened to by women invite more scrutiny, criticism, and trolling when compared to fandoms of sports teams, male artists, and movie stars. This can be seen as an extension of how art, pop culture, and literature consumed by women are generally seen as inferior and trivialised. They are not considered ‘serious’ or ‘intellectually stimulating’ enough for men as they are mostly concerned with the affairs of women’s lives.
Meenakshi Thirukode, a writer and cultural theorist, explained this excessive trolling as a result of how conventional femininity is perceived in society. She said, “Any expression of femininity is looked down upon, whether it is at a workplace or in personal relationships. At the same time, we also live in a time where art is made based on its profitability. Increasingly, there has been art and music and movies that cater to women as it is profitable, so there will be some trivialisation by people who do not enjoy it.”
When asked why parts of the internet were fuming over such seemingly harmless celebrations, Sneha said that women are, unfortunately, targets no matter what they do. “In my opinion, some men find it unacceptable to see women having a good time, especially when they’re not seeking the men’s validation. Women at the theatre did whatever they wanted without thinking about men, present or not. There aren’t a lot of things that women can do without worrying about men, but watching movies like The Eras Tour is an exception,” she added.
Women and access to public space
As much as art and pop culture enjoyed by women is trivialised, there is also a question of how accessible theatres are to women. While the women attending The Eras Tour were definitely more privileged than their lowered caste/class counterparts, occupying public space has been a challenge for women across intersections. Similarly, public expression of joy is often not a privilege that extends to women unless it is in ‘acceptable’ circumstances, often within the purview of men’s ‘well-meaning’ supervision.
It is also rare for women to access public spaces, especially for leisure activities like watching movies, as they are also often burdened with domestic labour and have little time to themselves. However, as more women work outside their homes and have disposable incomes, they are beginning to frequent establishments for leisure like theatres and even enjoying movies ‘like men do’. This is bound to rattle the more conservative sections of society.
Meenakshi is of the opinion that public spaces have long been occupied by men of upper classes and castes while women were relegated to private spaces. She said, “These men could dance in public if they wanted to and it would be ‘amazing’ because they have always occupied this space. For women, even to be present in these spaces required a male companion, let alone express themselves. Very few people also speak about women’s joy and happiness. Everyone is happy to emancipate and liberate women but the world does not seem ready enough for women who say joy is their resistance.”
As women watched movies like The Eras Tour and Barbie (to some extent), it allowed them to celebrate without being subjected to the male gaze. While Taylor Swift’s music might not be enjoyed by everyone, reactions to her fans celebrating her music publicly and loudly has received surprisingly harsh criticism. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the release of The Eras Tour in India is the ‘bad blood’ that still exists between women occupying public spaces and simply celebrating art they enjoy.