Taylor Swift’s final Eras Tour show tonight in Vancouver is the true end of an era

It is literally the end of an era. Pop sensation Taylor Swift ends her Eras tour this weekend with a final show in Vancouver, Canada. The tour was a true phenomenon, grossing more than $1 billion and was attended by fans around the world, many of whom jumped on planes to see Swift thousands of miles from home. When the tour ends on Sunday, Swift will have played 149 shows, performing for several hours at each one.

Clearly she deserves a break.

But the impact of this record-breaking musical juggernaut will live on. It involved more than one 34-year-old from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania; That was a cultural moment. It was an economic force. It even shaped American politics. As Americans trudge through an already chaotic start to Donald Trump’s second White House residency, the end of the Eras Tour feels depressingly appropriate: a last hurrah, the last time things felt straightforward and fun.

This tour really had it all. Cameos from a soccer star friend. Royal children. A foiled terrorist attack. It stimulated the cities’ economies and led to the sell-off of hotels and flights. Swifties’ love of friendship bracelets led to a run on pearls.

But despite all the headlines, the real power of the Eras Tour lay in the girls and women (and boys and men too) who came. Mothers and fathers brought their daughters with them. Young women came in mini mobs. Several fans reportedly went into labor during the performances.

Swift is not a creative visionary in the Beyoncé sense; She doesn’t have the voice of Mariah Carey, the dance moves of Jennifer Lopez, or the ingenuity of Lady Gaga. She’s the pumpkin spice latte of pop stars.

But these things are really, really popular.

They – Swift and PSLs – are culturally referred to as “basic girl things.” They are not necessarily unique, but they are ubiquitous. And while young women once hid their affection for things a misogynistic society deemed abhorrent, today’s love for Taylor Swift is unabashed and shameless and very, very girly. In 2023, her concerts together with the “Barbie” film formed a summer festival. And the two felt like a man: Both took time-honored relics of girlhood – the beautiful blonde pop star, the Barbie doll – and reshaped them into more feminist, modern versions, keeping the fun parts, removing the sexism and, what, maybe most importantly, this claimed Girl Culture is pop culture, and Girl Stuff is it Good.

Swift’s genius as a lyricist lies in turning big emotions into catchy ballads that empower and empower girls (and many boys and adults) to feel seen in all their many feelings and experiences. She sings about love and heartbreak, vulnerability and self-assurance, friendship and fun. According to her, girls can try different ways of feeling and living in the world – that’s exactly what puberty feels like. Swift isn’t trying too hard to be cool, but she is definitely I’m not trying to be distant. She obviously works extremely hard. She tries to be nice and decent. She is the kind of pop star that both children and parents can see themselves in.

Swift is also a remarkably strong woman. The space she gives girls for their many feelings is a reflection of the space she has created for herself. Yes, she sings about breakups and boys; She’s also dedicated to her own girl crew, making tons of money and strutting across huge stages with great confidence. It’s not a brand new model of female power and expression, but it is a deeply resonant one.

But unfortunately, Swift is not all-powerful. After Trump’s vice presidential nominee (and now vice president-elect) JD Vance insulted childless cat ladies, Swift stepped into her role as the country’s most prominent childless cat lover. She posted great photos with her cats. After much speculation, she publicly supported Kamala Harris. For a brief moment, I even wondered if Swifties would flock to their polling places to drown out the podcast bros and belligerent young men cheering on Trump.

That didn’t happen. And Trump won.

Our president-elect is a man who appointed the judges who ended legal abortion across America. He is a man being held accountable by a jury for sexual abuse. He is a man who has recruited several people accused of sexual misconduct to his cabinet. His campaign was the exact opposite of a Taylor Swift concert: no friendship bracelets, lots of mixed martial arts.

And although the margins were narrow, his victory feels uncomfortably like a national return to the culture of dissatisfied men — and a rejection of the kind of guileless girl culture that Swift’s tour embodied.

An era is ending, a second Trump era is beginning. But even though Swifties won’t be filling stadiums anymore, they’re still everywhere: in schools, workplaces and homes across the US. They work on political campaigns and, yes, even got elected. Attending a Taylor Swift concert is not necessarily a political act. But being surrounded by other girls and young women in an inclusive, wide space where no feeling is too big and no experience of being a girl is too uncomfortable and where female Power can coexist with female vulnerability? Where else is it fun to be a girl? That’s what Swift leaves behind – and this era doesn’t have to end.