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Taylor Swift visits the Charity Gala of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the inauguration of "Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology" on May 2, 2016 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini / Invision / AP)
The "youth vote" may seem almost contradictory given the tendency of young people to stay at home on election day, perhaps more fascinated by social networks and celebrities like Taylor Swift than by elections and the fate of Republic.
The famous apolitical titan pop herself – revered by many young Americans – is trying to change that, trying to determine if the long-standing hypothesis on the younger generation is going to collapse, with so much of it. others, after the shaking of the 2016 election.
Swift paired social media and social activism in a long Instagram post on Sunday night. A month before the mid-term elections, she approved two Democrats and urged her supporters to sign up and run for office. The influence of these celebrities has never been a sure thing.
But young voters, or at least young democrats, listened.
"I was listening to Taylor Swift when you called," said Blake Kitterman, vice president of the Tennessee Young Democrats, in a phone interview.
While studying for his mid-term exams at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, the young student was training with "Reputation," the singer's sixth studio album and completing his long journey of country melodies to contemporary pop.
"It has a monumental impact on younger generations," said Kitterman, 21. Especially since the #MeToo movement highlights sexual violence, Swift stands out as a public figure who has defended against harassment, he said. Last year, she won a lawsuit against a DJ who had poked her in 2013, describing in clear terms how he had touched her without her consent. "She spoke when she needed it, and I think she has the momentum to push millennium to the polls."
Kitterman said Swift's political message reached a "turning point" as youth began to discover "the power of their vote". The 2016 election, he said, was an "awakening" of the consequences of apathy. The Millennials are beginning to understand that they could be a major electoral bloc if they did not want to introduce themselves, he said.
The 28-year-old pop star, for her part, has become aware of reality. "In the past, I have been reluctant to publicly express my political views, but because of many events in my life and around the world in the past two years, I have a very different opinion about it now," he said. she writes.
It was the millennial version of an editorial, providing further evidence that neutrality is impossible in these busy times. Emoji has taken the place of the usual political slogans. A black and white polaroid was exchanged for a standard photo. The singer did not wear a pantsuit, but rather a flannel shirt worthy of her roots. On Monday morning, more than a million Instagram users had registered their approval. Now the question is whether his message will put the wind in the democratic veils when the party needs it the most.
Swift, who is registered to vote in Tennessee, explained why she planned to support Democrats in two national races: Phil Bredesen, former governor and Senate candidate, and Rep. Jim Cooper. In harsh terms, she condemned Bredesen's opponent, Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who she said was not in tune with "MY Tennessee's values" on gender equality and gay rights. Recent polls have shown the eight-member Congressman holding a slight lead in a state that last elected a Democratic Senator, Al Gore, in 1990.
Bredesen was quick to support Swift's approval.
Conservative experts have swept the intervention of the star. "Zzzzzzzzz", Laura Ingraham, the host of Fox News, wrote on Twitter.
Swift's appeal has expanded beyond competitions in his adopted country. She implored the youth, who are mostly in favor of the Democrats and yet among the least likely to go to the polls, to register to vote.
"So many intelligent, thoughtful and possessed people are 18 years old in the last two years and now have the right and the privilege to make their vote count. But you must first register, which is quick and easy to do, "she wrote on Instagram, even stating that Tuesday was the last day to register in Tennessee.
The issue of participation is particularly notable in Tennessee, ranked the country's second-to-last country in this area, just ahead of Texas, according to a 2016 Pew study.
But the call of the singer already echoes beyond Tennessee.
Young Democrats from other states said Sunday evening and early Monday at The Washington Post that they thought Swift's views had their full weight, especially with the cohort of millennial and post-millennial Americans who have clear political tendencies but who have long fled the electoral process.
"She has over 100 million subscribers on Instagram and many of them are, I guess, the first voters," said Lynnette Hull, president of Nevers Young Democrats and a student at the University. from Nevada to Las Vegas.
The potential influence of the megastar is not just because many of her fans, who were pre-teen girls when she became a global sensation, are now old enough to vote. The fact that she has not spoken yet makes her remarks all the more powerful, he said, because they reveal the stakes of the political struggle that is taking hold of the nation.
In describing the midterms as "a global struggle for the defense of human rights and dignity" rather than a partisan grudge, Swift effectively speaks to youth who have less loyalty to party structure, said William Fotter, Vice President of the University of Toronto. Arizona Democrats. "Young people are less party and problem oriented," said the 21-year-old head of political science and international relations.
If Democrats can find someone to help fend off the millennia, Fotter said, "It could make a huge difference."
The numbers explain why. The millennial generation represents the most liberal and democratic adult generation, according to Pew. In a first analysis of mid-term voting preferences, 62 percent of registered millennials said they wanted a Democratic congressional candidate to win in their district. Only 27 percent of millennials approve of President Trump's performance, compared to 64 percent in the first year of President Barack Obama's White House.
But these net preferences tend not to be reflected in polling stations. Generation X, Generation Y and the post-millennial generation (born in 1997 and after) make up the majority of adults entitled to vote, according to Pew. But based on history, they will not have a majority of votes in November. According to Pew data, in the last four mid-term elections, young women aged 18 to 24 voted only 20%.
Fotter said the explanation did not lie in the characterization of the youth as "self-absorbed, self-obsessed generation," but rather in the widespread belief that political participation did not occur. significant impact. It is there, he says, that Swift's message could change his mind. At the same time, he added, young people could contribute to the redemption of social media as a tool of political engagement in a moment of skepticism about foreign interference and the spreading false news.
"If Taylor Swift is able to convince millennia that their votes count, it could make a huge difference," he said.
The experts said that there was reason to be skeptical.
Sarah Anzia, a political scientist at the University of California at Berkeley, can hardly gauge the impact of individual mentions on voter turnout and candidate support. According to reports, Obama would have specifically benefited from Oprah Winfrey's approval during the 2008 Democratic primaries, she said. But in a general election, it is unlikely that young Republicans will change sides because of celebrity endorsements.
Nevertheless, the low voter turnout among young voters suggests a potential for mobilization, she said. "When the participation rate of a particular group or certain types of elections tends to be very low," said Anzia, "a boost could actually make a small difference."
Chattanooga student Kitterman said the impact could be more significant because of the demographics of Swift's fan base. Critics have previously speculated that his silence stemmed from his reluctance to alienate Red State fans. Some even suggested that she was related to the 45th president based on her interest in settling scores – a dominant theme of some of her most popular songs – and on her right follower.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union reprimanded it for threatening to sue a California blogger accusing the singer of being associated with white supremacy. And in an editorial, the Guardian called it sent to Trump's values.
For these reasons, said Kitterman, it's hard to deny Swift as an elite celebrity blindly loyal to Democrats. Her peasant aesthetic, as well as her previous reluctance to lead a political battle, distinguish her.
"Its reach is much wider than many other famous people," said Kitterman, who has lived all his life in Tennessee. "She embodies the values of the country and she says," Tennessee is not a state of hate. It's a state of love. "
For others, Swift's decision to play politics was already evidence of youth power.
"I think his support is less about the motivation of young potential voters to vote than about young voters motivating them to express themselves," said Jen Ramos, director of communications for Texas Young Democrats. "She saw, like the rest of us, how important these decisions are to communities who have long been asking privileged people to act as they should."
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