Scholarship examining Taylor Swift and her fans is still relatively new for studies in popular culture. In Blank Space: Taylor Swift and Contingent Identities, Keith Nainby presents a multi-layered look that juxtaposes his own experiences as a Swiftie with others who have found solace in Taylor Swifts music. It is a noteworthy addition to the gender and pop music genre. -- Adrienne Trier-Bieniek, Ph.D. editor of the forthcoming book In the Swifte Era Keith Nainby creates a mosaic of how we can understand the construction of the self and the other in relationship to larger social discourses, this time embedded in a pop culture phenomenon. Blank Space reifies how identities are contingent, in flux, enabled, and constrained by the boundaries that are outlined in social discourses. Aca-Swifties (Swiftie-demics?) can find refuge in Nainbys analysis of the musical communities we are allowed to be a part of and what that means for rhetoric, pop culture, and cultural studies. Drawing from a range of scholarship from interpersonal communication to critical rhetoric, to musicology, Nainby, demonstrates how Swifts narrators recognize how identities unfold over time, always contingent on context, culture, and community. -- Brandi Lawless, University of San Francisco Expertly blending textual analysis of songs and qualitative analysis of fan interviews, Blank Space: Taylor Swift and Contingent Identities answers the question so many are asking: How should we understand the Taylor Swift phenomenon? Rejecting simplified notions of pop music fans, Keith Nainby locates the power of Taylor Swift in a complex intersection of communication, identity, and ethics. In Blank Space, Taylor Swift fans will find a book that centers their voices, and in doing so, takes Taylor Swift and her fan community seriously. Scholars of popular culture and fandom will find a rich study of Taylor Swifts song-writing, public image, and fans. -- Ashley Hinck, Xavier University
