Queer folklore: Examining the influence of fandom on sexual identity development and fluidity acceptance among Taylor Swift fans

Abstract

The present study fills a gap in the media entertainment and fan studies literatures with an exploration of media fandom in relation to fans’ sexual identity acceptance. Using a sample of Taylor Swift fans who identify as women (N = 771), we address how fans’ motivations, practices, and oppositional readings of Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, folklore, are related to their sexual identity development as well as their acceptance of fluidity in others’ sexual orientations. Results indicated that eudaimonic motivations to listen to folklore predicted bisexual, demisexual, and pansexual fans’ acceptance of others' sexual orientation fluidity. Further, we examined fans’ “queer shipping,” which occurs when fans imagine two same-gender media persons/characters to be in a romantic relationship. Queer shipping was positively related to fans’ sexual orientation fluiditiy acceptance, mainly through their oppositional reading of the album. Overall, our results differed by sexual identity group, with fan practices being consistently more predictive of sexual orientation fluidity acceptance among heterosexual women.