\u201cWe know the titles of all 12 tracks, who wrote and produced them, and Swift has also explained the album explores what it was like \u2018behind the scenes\u2019 while she was on The Eras Tour,\u201d the Associate Professor of History says.<\/p>\n
Easter eggs about what fans can expect of the album and this new era in Swift\u2019s career may also be found in the storied history and evocative images of \u2018the showgirl,\u2019 Vlossak says.<\/p>\n
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Self-proclaimed \u201cSwiftie\u201d and Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak brings her unique take and historical expertise to Brock students through A Swift History, a Humanities course that introduces history and historical methods through Swift\u2019s music, career and fandom.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe showgirl originated in the cabarets and music halls of late\u00a0<\/sup>19th-\u00a0and early 20th-century London and Paris, most famously the Folies Berg\u00e8re and the Moulin Rouge, and became known for elaborate costumes and risqu\u00e9 performances,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The American version of the showgirl first emerged on Broadway in the early 20th century, becoming firmly rooted in American popular culture by mid-century.<\/p>\n Hollywood movies in the 1930s and \u201940s also began to include elaborate musical numbers featuring showgirls that Vlossak says \u201ccould also be the main character: a simple country girl who arrives in the Big City and tries to make it big on Broadway.\u201d<\/p>\n So why is Swift, who often pokes fun at herself for being more geeky than glamourous, leaning so heavily into the showgirl persona?<\/p>\n Vlossak explains this is not the first time Swift has adopted the showgirl image. What\u2019s notable, however, is that she\u2019s chosen a version reminiscent of the iconic Las Vegas showgirl, a symbol of the glitz and glamour of \u201cSin City.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe promotional photographs Swift released in connection to the new album are a nod to a very particular era,\u201d Vlossak says. \u201cThey conjure up images of the spectacular showgirl revues of the Vegas strip and extravagant, over-the-top costumes, like those created by American designer Bob Mackie, who also dressed celebrities like Cher and Elton John in rhinestones and ostrich feathers.\u201d<\/p>\n Vlossak says in several of the photographs, Swift is wearing vintage Mackie headpieces that were designed for the Vegas show Jubilee!<\/em>, which ran from 1981 to 2016.<\/p>\n \u201cThe end of Jubilee!<\/em>\u00a0marked the end of large-scale showgirl revues in Vegas,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Although the Vegas showgirl has now largely disappeared as a form of entertainment, Vlossak says the showgirl has endured as an iconic symbol.<\/p>\n \u201cSwift is honouring the showgirl \u2014 not only for her beauty and poise, but for her artistry, discipline and grit,\u201d Vlossak says. \u201cShe might also be asking us to think more critically about what lies beneath the showgirl\u2019s glossy veneer\u00a0and, by extension, her own life and career.\u201d<\/p>\n Scholars and professional showgirls themselves have described the stark reality of the lifestyle, characterized by long hours, exhaustion, physical pain, insecurities, exploitation and ageism.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/sub>Vlossak wonders if Swift is questioning her own legacy through the lens of the showgirl: while some view the showgirl as a form of female empowerment, critics view it as upholding the patriarchy.<\/p>\n \u201cIs the showgirl a feminist icon? Has she helped improve the lives and, more specifically, the material conditions of other women?\u201d Vlossak asks. \u201cCan Swift, as a showgirl, actually bring about real social and political change or is she purely for entertainment, serving to distract us from the real world?\u201d<\/p>\n By referencing a vanished artform, Vlossak also questions if Swift is signalling the end of her own showgirl era.<\/p>\n \u201cWill she be retiring this alter ego? Or does she have something else in store for us?\u201d<\/p>\n Photo credit:\u00a0Ronald Woan from Redmond, WA, USA<\/a>, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n