The Lives of Showgirls: Taylor Swift, Gender, and Celebrity

Taylor Swift black and white image

Thursday, October 23, 2025
6:30 – 7:30 PM EDT
Online
Free
Register now

In The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift offers an aesthetic and feminist engagement with gender identity and celebrity, as heard in songs such as Elizabeth Taylor, The Fate of Ophelia, and Eldest Daughter. At the core of her exploration of romance, love, and desire is a sustained inquiry into gender and fame: what does it mean to be a female celebrity in the 21st century? The album’s title figure, the ‘showgirl’, serves as a framework through which Swift examines the dynamics of female artistry, spectacle, and the tensions between empowerment and objectification.

Join us for a fascinating talk by Dr. Chris Koenig-Woodyard, Sessional Lecturer in Romantic Literature at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Read more.

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