Researchers found that Swifties, Taylor Swift's most dedicated fans, were inspired by her healing journey.
Taylor Swift has it all: in just a few years, the American singer has become a pop icon with global influence.
This success hasn't come without challenges: the young star has long struggled with an eating disorder.
Her recovery has served as an inspiration to fans with eating disorders, according to an American study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
Researchers Lizzy Pope and Kelsey Rose of the University of Vermont (UVM) came to this conclusion after analyzing 200 TikTok and Reddit posts containing more than 8,300 online comments about Taylor Swift, eating disorders, and body image.
The singer spoke about her relationship with her body in the 2020 Netflix documentary “Miss Americana.”
In it, she explains that for a long time she felt ashamed of her body shape, which led her to restrict herself when it came to food.
Taylor Swift has also touched on the painful subject in songs such as “Antihero” and “You're on Your Own Kid,” raising awareness of eating disorders among her fans.
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the study
Researchers found that famous Swifties, the singer's most devoted fans, were inspired by her healing journey.
Her example inspires students to explore a more harmonious relationship with food and their own bodies.
“Our findings suggest that fans who feel a stronger connection to Swift are influenced by the confessions and messages in her music to positively change their behaviors and attitudes around food and their body image,” Lizzy Pope, R.D., associate professor in UVE's Department of Nutrition and Food Science, said in a news release.
In other words, Swifties look to the 34-year-old singer as a role model.
Her story and music have inspired her fans to begin the process of overcoming eating disorders, but some fans remain obsessed with thinness and tend to objectify Taylor Swift's body, perpetuating this idea when they talk about her appearance on social networks.
“Even though Swift said in Miss Americana that she was tired of being objectified and it led her to develop an eating disorder, fans continued to comment on her body, even when they meant it positively. This means they didn't fully understand her message which was to stop commenting on people's bodies,” Lizzy Pope continued.
These findings show just how influential the American singer is among her fans, and how she has the power to make them rethink their views on the cult of thinness.
“Taylor Swift can change people's attitudes with just a few sentences, more than we can say. [dietician nutritionists] “That's all we can accomplish in our careers,” Lizzy Pope says.
Proof that star influence goes beyond the music world.
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