Taylor Swift's influence has been a sociological interest for many—from the time she increased NFL's brand value when she started dating Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce to her impact on the British royal family's feud. It shows that despite the backlash on Swift's relationship patterns which made her "likely autistic", according to a psychologist, the singer's fans are here to stay.

Further proof of that was the Cruel Summer performer's Netflix documentary, Miss Americana (2020). Recently, a study found out that the film significantly improved the lives of Swifties suffering from eating disorders. Swift suffers from body dysmorphia herself, which unfortunately had plastic surgeons convinced she's gotten under the knife. Here's how the musician's openness about the topic caused a social effect no other celebrity has ever done before.

Taylor Swift's 'Miss Americana' Documentary On Netflix Helped Fans Recover From Eating Disorders

via Instar

In July, experts from the University of Vermont said that fans' "parasocial" relationship with Swift has helped them recover from eating disorders. The researchers came to the conclusion after analyzing 200 social media posts and 8000 comments about the pop star's physical appearance. As it turned out, the Love Story songstress' vulnerability about her body image issues in Miss Americana reduced fans' anxiety about their weight.

In the documentary, Swift famously said of looking at her photos: "I feel like I looked like my tummy was too big, or...someone said that I looked pregnant and that'll just trigger me to just starve a little bit – just stop eating. If you're thin enough, then you don't have that ass that everybody wants. But if you have enough weight on you to have an ass, your stomach isn't flat enough. It's all just f---ing impossible."

A dietitian, Lizzy Pope, who co-authored the study, explained that "fans who felt highly connected to Swift were influenced to positively change their behaviors or attitudes around eating or their body image because of Swift's disclosures and messages in her music."

"Fans seemed to take inspiration from the fact that Swift had recovered from disordered eating and subsequently appeared to be thriving," said Pope's co-researcher and fellow dietitian, Kelsey Rose.

According to The Daily Mail, about 29 million people (a tenth of the whole population) have an eating disorder. In 2023, a Morning Consult survey found that more than half of adults in the U.S. are Swifties. Their numbers also support Pope and Rose's conclusions about Swift's influence on fans struggling with eating disorder.

• 73% of Swift's avid fans in the U.S. said they follow her for her music, where she mentions her eating disorders, like in her song, You're On Your Own, Kid
• 50% of avid fans said their love for Swift is hugely based on her performances and music videos, which also feature her struggles with body image insecurities
• 42% of Swift's avid fans said they love her for her relatability

Here are other interesting statistics about Swift's U.S. fanbase:

• 53% of U.S. adults said they're fans of Taylor Swift while 16% said they're "avid" fans of the Grammy record-breaker
• Only 44% of avid fans identified themselves as "Swifties"
• 45% of avid Swift fans are millennials (ages 27-42), 23% are baby boomers, 21% are Gen Xers, and only 11% are Gen Zers (26 and under)
• 55% of avid Swift fans are Democrats, 23% are politically independent, and 23% are Republicans
• Swift's fanbase is 48% male and 52% female

Taylor Swift Didn't Know She'd Be Comfortable Discussing Her Eating Disorder In 'Miss Americana'

via Netflix

In an exclusive interview with Variety following Miss Americana, Swift confessed she didn't know she'd be comfortable opening up about her eating disorder. She credited the film's director, Lana Wilson for telling the sensitive story. "I'm not as articulate as I should be about this topic because there are so many people who could talk about it in a better way," the Fortnight hitmaker admitted.

Expanding on her struggles, Swift said: "I didn't know if I was going to feel comfortable with talking about body image and talking about the stuff I've gone through in terms of how unhealthy that's been for me—my relationship with food and all that over the years."

Looking back, the Style songstress even compared that part of the documentary to how she dealt with her eating disorder. "But all I know is my own experience. And my relationship with food was exactly the same psychology that I applied to everything else in my life: If I was given a pat on the head, I registered that as good," she explained. "If I was given a punishment, I registered that as bad."

Swift also remembered that time people called her "pregnant" because of a bad photo. It was when she began the whole dance with "good" and "bad" pats on the head. She had "[registered] that enough times, and you just start to accommodate everything towards praise and punishment, including your own body."

"I remember how, when I was 18, that was the first time I was on the cover of a magazine. And the headline was like 'Pregnant at 18?' And it was because I had worn something that made my lower stomach look not flat," she said. "So I just registered that as a punishment. And then I'd walk into a photo shoot and be in the dressing room and somebody who worked at a magazine would say, 'Oh, wow, this is so amazing that you can fit into the sample sizes. Usually we have to make alterations to the dresses, but we can take them right off the runway and put them on you!' And I looked at that as a pat on the head."

The Karma singer, who's been vocal about other mental health issues, eventually overcame her eating disorder after feeling weak on tour. "I thought that I was supposed to feel like I was going to pass out at the end of a show, or in the middle of it," she recounted. "Now I realize, no, if you eat food, have energy, get stronger, you can do all these shows and not feel (enervated)." In her younger years, she said she "did exercise a lot. But I wasn't eating."

Here are Taylor Swift's songs that reference her eating disorder and depression according to psychologists:

Taylor Swift's 'Anti-Hero' Music Video About Body Image Issues Was Misinterpreted As "Fatphobic"

In 2022, Swift's Anti-Hero music video was called "fatphobic". It's due to a scene where she stands on the scale, and as it zooms in, the scale reads, "FAT." While the singer meant to convey her struggles with body dysmorphia, fans were quick to call it "anti-fat" and "body-shaming." The Cats star ended up releasing a new music video, removing the scale scene.

Announcing the release of the original video, Swift wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Watch my nightmare scenarios and intrusive thoughts play out in real time."

While Swift might have done the right thing, editing the video, other critics thought people just missed the point. "She was describing a personal experience, and quite frankly, it's a personal experience a lot of women experience," Sunny Hostin said on The View. But for Tom Quin, Director of External Affairs at Beat, he said it's important for celebrities to be mindful of their depiction of such sensitive issues.

"When public figures like Taylor Swift choose to speak about their own journeys with an eating disorder, it can have a positive influence," Quin explained. "However, we'd also urge them to be mindful of the effect their depictions could have and to do so sensitively."

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Followed

Taylor Swift

Birthname

Taylor Alison Swift

Birthdate

December 13, 1989

Birthplace

Reading, Pennsylvania, USA

Height

5' 11"

Twitter

@taylorswift13

Instagram

@taylorswift

Eye Color

Blue

Siblings

Austin Swift

Parents

Andrea and Scott Kingsley Swift

Profession

Musician

Net worth

$1,100,000,000

Source of Wealth

Music, merchandising, streaming services, tours, endorsements, tv/film, songwriter, producing, and directing.

Nationality

American

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