Nancy Strong, 90, recently attended two "Eras Tour" concerts in Paris and London to celebrate her milestone birthday. The Dallas, Texas, based business owner went with her family members said it was an experience she will never forget. Pop star Taylor Swift has helped her fans achieve a more positive outlook overall on diet culture, disordered eating and body image, according to a new study from the University of Vermont.
The research, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, surveyed hundreds of social media posts on TikTok and Reddit from Swift fans' remarks about eating disorders or body image. The common themes included conversations about Swift as a role model for disordered eating recovery; the use of or identification with specific songs that mention struggles with eating or body image; and objectification of Swift’s body. TAYLOR SWIFT SUPERFAN SPENT NEARLY $9K TO ATTEND 12 ERAS TOUR CONCERTS: ‘A BIG DEAL’ The study also examined conflicting reactions from fans on social media to a scene in Swift’s "Anti-Hero" music video that depicted the word "fat" on a scale.
Swift’s disclosure of her own struggles with eating and body image have had an overall positive influence on her fans with similar struggles, the researchers concluded. Although it was difficult to decipher demographics from social media posts, the "general sense" was that most users were young adults, many on TikTok presenting as high school age or younger, a researcher said. (Getty Imag.