By Brad Wilcox Grant Bailey and Sophie Anderson, UnHerd
The news about marriage has been so bad for so long, with rates steadily falling, that many Americans have despaired that not much, if anything, can be done to revive its fortunes.
But maybe — just maybe — Taylor Swift’s engagement to Travis Kelce might nudge things in the right direction. The pop singer’s immense popularity among young women puts her squarely in a position to influence the very demographic most sceptical about marriage. That scepticism runs deep: in 2022, only 73% of 12th graders expected to marry someday, with girls’ expectations dropping most sharply.
Part of this wariness stems from prominent female cultural voices who portray marriage as a losing game — from pop star Chappell Roan to New York Times writer Amy Shearn, who writes that “married heterosexual motherhood in America… is a game no one wins.” But is Swift’s influence enough to shift the tide of marriage culture in America?
It’s worth considering. Swift’s sway over her devoted fanbase is almost unmatched in today’s pop culture landscape. As Forbes notes, her influence stems from a network effect: she acts as a social “barometer”, with followers adopting aspects of her identity in pursuit of approval and belonging — a phenomenon dubbed the “Taylor Swift Effect”. The power of this effect isn’t surprising when you consider that many Swifties describe her concerts as near-religious experiences.