Tiana Eicher ’26 sported friendship bracelets and sequins at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Photo courtesy of Tiana Eicher.

During the summer of 2020, COVID-19 was at its peak, spreading across the world. As a rising sophomore in high school trapped at home, the only source of enjoyment for me to depend on was social media and the internet. I was also a casual music listener — until July 24 that summer when Taylor Swift released her album “folklore.”

Before this, I listened to her music, but mainly popular singles. I never thought about diving further into her discography, let alone did I know what the word “discography” meant. My TikTok feed was raving about the album, so I gave it a listen. To say I fell in love with her music after this is an understatement. The next thing I knew, I was listening to “evermore,” the sister album of “folklore” on its release night and getting Taylor Swift merch for Christmas.

With this community, affectionately dubbed Swifties, I have made many new friends I otherwise would have never met. It has been four years since I became a certified “fangirl,” and my music range has only expanded. Today, I would consider myself a fan of many music artists, including Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, Phoebe Bridgers/boygenius and Harry Styles. 

However, many downsides come with being part of the fangirl community. Fan culture spans many different topics of interest such as movies, television, books and, of course, sports.

Within the past four years, I have seen and experienced the ridicule fangirls receive from other fans, specifically sports fans. A fangirl is often labeled as “crazy” or “obsessive,” causing the term to have a negative connotation. 

I myself have been ridiculed by friends, family and classmates. I believe this is because of the running history of misogyny, regularized in society.

Sports fans and fangirls are essentially the same in every way – except the way they are treated. For example, when sports fans wear their favorite team’s jerseys, they are supporting their team. Meanwhile, when a fangirl wears merch from her favorite artist, she is “obsessive.” 

Fangirls’ interests are not as normalized as sports fans are, despite them often doing the same things. Both groups tend to engage in conversations discussing their topic of interest. But, I have been told, “You talk about them too much.” When talking about being excited to watch award shows, I have heard,  “It is not that big of a deal.” These interests are not as accepted, although they should be regarded in the same manner.  

I remember when Swift’s Eras Tour kicked off, people were raging about ticket prices and saying, “Why would anyone ever spend that much on a ticket?” I was lucky enough to get my Eras Tour tickets for a face value of $60, which in comparison to resale prices is nothing. 

According to an article in The Economic Times, the face value of a Swift ticket ranged from $49 to $499. But, resellers and scalpers upped this to an average of over $1,000 and even up to $10,000. 

Comparing this to football, an average National Football League (NFL) regular season game costs an average of $132, according to an article from Sports Casting. Super Bowl tickets, however, The Economic Times says cost an average of $9,800 with a max of a little over $95,000. So, what is the difference? 

Experiencing Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of her fans. After the tour is over, it will never happen again. But, NFL teams play multiple games each season, allowing fans to go multiple times. So, the prices rack up on both ends, yet only fangirls receive backlash from this “over-spending.”

I got the chance to speak with a few other fangirls on campus, and they shared similar experiences within their personal lives. An explanation for these comments being told to women and girls, is these comments are rooted in misogyny instilled in people by society.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines misogyny as “hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women.” Misogyny has been seen all through American history. Women did not have suffrage or other federal rights until the 20th century. Even today, we see prejudice against women in the government. So, even though we have been through multiple waves of the feminist movement, misogyny is still prevalent.

I encourage everyone to rethink the way female-centered interests are approached and how it can be done in a non-misogynistic manner. It is also important for fangirls to not hide themselves because of this ridicule, but continue to love what they love.