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Taylor Swift is one of the most followed pop icons in the world and perhaps the most marketable musician of this generation. This has been well established by her record-breaking Eras Tour, which earned over $1 billion in 2023, making it the most lucrative concert tour in history.
One pro (or con) of having such a big fanbase is that every move you make is followed extensively. In this case, Taylor Swift's pen-holding grip suddenly became the topic of widespread discussion when the music video for Anti-Hero, Midnights' lead single was released.
One scene in the video shows Taylor Swift holding a pen to write on a wad of paper. Unlike the quintessential grip where people hold a pen in between their thumb and index finger, Taylor was seen gripping it between her middle and index fingers. This caused widespread discussion among Swifties, who were instantly trying to analyze everything about the grip.
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Taylor Swift's grip from her viral Anti-Hero scene explained. How did the Swifties react?
Taylor Swift released Anti-Hero, the lead single from her tenth studio album Midnights, on October 21, 2022. At the 1:08 mark, Taylor is seen taking notes on a piece of paper right after her alter-ego points to the blackboard with 'Everyone will betray you' written on it.
In the interplay between all the alter-egos of Taylor, it is easy to miss this subtle detail where she holds the pen. However, wide-eyed Swifties were quick to notice the way she was holding the pen.
Taylor held the pen between her middle and index fingers, unlike the commonly adopted method of holding it between one's thumb and index fingers.
Fans were quick to pounce on the new information and stormed the internet with reactions and memes about Taylor's unconventional grip. The reactions are coming in plenty even in 2024.
"My 2024 is off to a rocky start, as I just learned this is how Taylor Swift holds her pen," one fan commented.
Another fan theorized that she holds the pen like that so that a pen and a guitar pick can be gripped together!
However, the songwriter's grip has been on the internet since time immemorial. Several photos of the Grammy winner signing autographs were noticed by her ardent fans long ago. There are even Quora threads and Reddit discussions addressing and theorizing about the same, Meme topics like 'Holding a pencil vs. Holding a pencil (Taylor's version)' are rampant across the internet.
Experts answer why Taylor Swift holds the pen in an unconventional way
Early childhood photos of Taylor Swift suggest that she didn't always have this unique grip. So, what made her change the way she held the pen? Is it just a coincidence? Or does it have some deep-seated motive that only the genius songwriter could've fathomed? Here's what experts had to say about it.
"This grasp that she uses, there’s two main reasons people might use that, typically. One is that they’re hypermobile, or their joints move too much. And the other one is hand pain, or Rheumatoid Arthritis, specifically," said Cheryl Crow, an occupational therapist, in an interview with Slate.
Crow further guessed that Rheumatoid Arthritis doesn't seem likely, and she possibly has hypermobility in her joints.
“People who have hypermobility have a hard time—I’m never gonna criticize Queen Swift, but I do think it seems that she might have a hard time holding her posture," Crow commented.
According to Cheryl Crow, Taylor's grasp is more than functional and perfectly normal, and it seems to work for her. She also commented that it is easily possible to write legibly by holding the pen that way. There is no one right way to hold a pen according to the occupational therapist.
"“My professors in my program 10 years ago made a big point to tell us people used to think the dynamic tripod [holding the pen between thumb and index finger] was the only efficient one, but now it’s recognized that there’s four efficient, acceptable grasps,” she added.
Cathy Richmond, another occupational therapist from Nebraska opined that Taylor Swift uses the grip to protect her joints in another interview with Slate.
“I’ve only had a very few kids that use it [the grip], and they were mostly kids with really low muscle tone," Richmond concluded.
Additionally, she said that there is no reason for people to think that she is hurting herself by writing like that. Her millions of fans hope that her grip won't change if that helps her conjure up magical songs like she's been doing since the dawn of her stardom.
