Taylor Swift’s Evolution: 5 Lessons from Americana

by Olivia Porcello

As a huge Taylor Swift fan, I was ecstatic to learn about the new documentary, “Miss Americana” on Netflix, which gives viewers a sneak peek into her personal life. As a long-time fan who saw her Reputation tour on Netflix last winter, I was eager for a more personal look at this pop star’s life, especially as she become more vocal on social justice issues.

So is it worth watching Miss Americana? From body image to people-pleasing, Taylor’s struggles will resonate with many. Here are five lessons you will learn from this documentary:

1. Making others happy won’t always make us happy.

Americana focuses on Swift’s struggle to make others happy through music and her job and make herself happy, all while trying to be raw and relatable. 

When you live for the approval of strangers, as Taylor notes, one bad comment, song, or move can cause everything to crumble. She constantly looked for approval from others. 

“Those pats on the head were all I lived for,” Taylor admits, somewhat addicted to praise from other people instead of finding happiness within. She tried to be the person that everyone wanted her to be throughout her career, not who she truly wanted to be. 

The shifts in her album styles throughout the years, though, show her musical evolution. After successful country albums, she transferred to pop with Red and 1989, then Reputation showed a darker side, and Lover, a more vulnerable side. These shifts in style mirror her struggle to find her identity while also trying to please everyone around her.  

2. Distorted body image is hard to escape. 

In one of the most personal moments of the documentary, Swift admits that she constantly analyzed photos of herself on the internet and others’ comments about her body, and led her to severely restrict eating in order to satisfy idealized beauty standards for everyone else to like her. 

She frequently mentioned the need to meet society’s standards because the public’s opinion impacts album sales, concerts, and her own likeability. “There’s always some standard of beauty you are not meeting,” she says. Today, she fights the temptation to scroll through photos of herself for countless hours to analyze the way her body is shaped.

There will never be a perfect body, but Taylor Swift has struggled to meet unrealistic beauty standards like many of us. She has advanced beyond her body image struggles through figuring out how she doesn’t need to make everyone happy around her, she just has to be happy with herself. 

3. Our mental health cannot be ignored.

Miss Americana covers Swift’s beef/tea with other celebrities, specifically Kanye West and the toll it took on her. When #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty trended on Twitter, people accused her of being “evil, wicked, conniving” or playing the victim. Taylor handled this situation by just simply disappearing – no one saw her for over a year. She took that time to herself to let go of the toxic people, learn from what had happened to her, and grow. I believe that this is a testament to the idea that you need to do what is best for you and your mental health, no matter the situation.  If that means disappearing for a year and potentially losing fans because of it, or cutting off certain people in your life that do not make you happy, do it. 

“Even though it was really horrible,” Swift says, “I was happy, but I wasn’t happy in the way that I was trained to be happy. It was happiness without anyone else’s input, it was just, we were happy.” So often, it’s hard to do what will make YOU happy, no one else. But Americana reminds us: it is your life – no one else should have control of how you live.

4. Authenticity means speaking up for what you believe in, even if it’s risky.

Both the public and Taylor Swift’s inner circle told her over and over not to force her politics on people. She followed that rule for most of her career and thought everyone preferred songs about breakups and feelings and that no one cared about her political opinion. It certainly wouldn’t be worth losing fans. 

Things changed when Marsha Blackburn ran for U.S. Senate in Swift’s home state of TN, and Swift finally took a stand for what she believed in. Her team worried about her safety, but presumably her likability, too.

Americana showed us what it’s like behind-the-scenes for Swift to take a bold stance. One of the most revealing moments was the lead-up to this decision – discussions with her managers and team (including her mother, father, and a couple older men). Her father and another man talked over her, as she tried to voice her opinions, persuading her not to speak up about this controversial topic because of the consequences. This really spoke to how men can feel they have power over women, enough to persuade them to not do what they want to do.  But two years earlier, her team didn’t want her to publicly oppose Trump before the presidential election, and Taylor later regretted her silence. 

While some say she waited too long to speak about current events and politics, Taylor’s evolution from the “good girl” people-pleaser to speaking about what she wants to show her growth as a woman and an artist. 

5. The personal is political: Swift’s experience with sexual assault helped her find her voice

Taylor unravels her sexual assault story, which started when a former radio DJ put his hand up her skirt. After an investigation, he sued Taylor for millions of dollars and she counter-sued for one dollar. Taylor acknowledges that many people don’t have as much evidence as she did – including a full investigation, 7 witnesses, and a photo. 

So what happens when it’s your word against his? That’s when you get the questions, “Why didn’t you scream, why didn’t you react quicker? Why didn’t you stand further away from him?” This segment illustrated how celebrities with resources and power like Swift still have battles other people can relate to. But it also acknowledges that for those with less privilege standing up against abusers can be even more difficult.  

Taylor Swift isn’t perfect. She has flaws, just like the rest of us.

In the last several years, she has stepped up work for the LGBTQ+ community, as evident in the “You Need to Calm Down” video. “The song takes an equality-first stance, criticizing haters and homophobes alike, and ends with a call to followers to support her Senate petition in favor of the Equality Act, tied in with this month’s celebrations of Pride Month.” (Bruner). But what about black women? In the past, she has predominantly featured white women in her videos, and has been accused of cultural appropriation when she does feature women of color. However, she has made progress. 

This theme of progress over perfection runs through Miss Americana. Swift emphasizes that she isn’t perfect; she is just like everyone else in this world. Everyone has implicit bias to recognize and unlearn, what matters is being aware and making change. For sure, Miss Americana leaves us hopeful that Taylor Swift is headed in the right direction with her music, lifestyle, and political voice. 

New songs like “Only the Young,” which premiered after the documentary was aired, and “The Man” reinforce our optimism for Swift’s evolution. “Only the Young ” amplifies resistance against political authority; she tells the younger generations to not lose hope, to hang in there, and that their time will come.

Meanwhile she takes a jab at sexism in “The Man” and its new video. It makes us wonder: if Taylor Swift was a man, would she would have an easier time expressing her opinions in the industry? Would she have the same struggles with body image and perfectionism? Would she have to make these calculated decisions about who she endorses? Would everything be easier if only she were a man? Between manspreading on the subway, getting applause for parenting, and “owning the office” with easy confidence, I think all of us ask ourselves those same questions.

Olivia Porcello is a digital marketing intern at Think or Blue and a freshman at the University of Connecticut majoring in marketing. Olivia loves field hockey, YouTube, running, and her dog Lily, and has been a Swift fan since she was a kid.

Photo: Taylor Swift Speak Now – Pittsburgh by Ronald Woan, CC BY 2.0