On the heels of the deadly stabbing of three young girls during a Taylor Swift-themed event in Southport, UK three Eras tour shows in Vienna have been cancelled after local police narrowly thwarted planned attacks on the concerts, allegedly orchestrated by the Islamic State. Amid this sudden onslaught of violence against the singer and her devoted fanbase, netizens have been speculating that the attacks could be motivated by misogyny, connecting the two instances to the broader and insidious societal issue of femicide.

On 29 July 2024, it was reported that three young girls between the ages of six and nine were brutally stabbed while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event in the British city of Southport. Eight more children were injured, with five left in critical condition, following the incident late on Monday morning.

The singer herself commented on the news and stated that she was “in shock” and “at a complete loss” as her fans raised over £371,000 for the victims and their families.

When the news hit that another event featuring the singer was cancelled due to an attempted attack, with authorities warning that there could be other threats, netizens felt like it was time to connect the dots.

 

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Could this be a coordinated effort to attack the artist due to her largely female fanbase? Were both of these onslaughts planned with the intention to commit femicide?

“This is the second attack at a Taylor Swift event I’ve seen. The first one was successful. This one was thankfully thwarted. Both attacks were calculated. These are places that are going to host large groups of young girls. We are watching femicide in action,” X, formerly Twitter, user Lily Belle concluded.

The netizen’s theory was echoed throughout the online sphere, with many others concluding that there must have been a reason Taylor Swift’s events were being targeted. And, according to them, the reason is young women and girls.

https://twitter.com/Ms_KSwizzle/status/1821275689510957188

they are actively trying to kill women and young girls and make the survivors feel unsafe.

— lily belle (@gelphies) August 7, 2024

genuine question… when is femicide going to be recognised in the UK law? because that’s what this is… it’s not just murder it’s murdering women and girls there’s a reason a taylor swift dance class was chosen https://t.co/PbBT0Oa710

— emma 💜 (@lovrlwtt) July 30, 2024

Murdering innocent little girls & planning to bomb a concert full of innocent people? And for what? Internalised misogyny & femicide is what it is. How can hating on a successful woman be so normalised?

— Poppy ˗ˏˋ ❤️‍🔥 ´ˎ˗ tsitp 🐚🥥🏄🏻‍♂️🌴🌊 (@bonradstaylor) August 7, 2024

For reference, femicide, as defined by the European Centre for Gender Inequality, describes the killing of women and girls because of their gender. It is a manifestation of unequal gender dynamics in society and thus a largely male-perpetrated crime, based on a sense of superiority and the need to assert dominance over women. Across the world, in virtually every country, women and young girls are still perceived as property and lesser beings, leading to violence, torture, and the misogynistic slaying of them.

What also didn’t escape the eye of some netizens was a similar attack from 2017 that tragically couldn’t be foiled, when 22 people were killed in a suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert at Britain’s Manchester Arena. The similarities emphasise the fact that this is not the first time a high-profile female celebrity with a massive female fanbase has been targeted.

I agree. The bombing at Ariana Grande's convert was not referred to as femicide yet it absolutely was. This attempt was in the same vein. https://t.co/kMPwwvrVAL

— Swiftology (@catchypiccolino) August 7, 2024

Yet, a lot of observers also disagreed with the characterisation of these events as acts of misogynistic violence and femicide.

“I think ISIS makes no distinction between who they wanna attack. This just happens to be a high-profile event that would have meant lots of casualties and media attention,” one X user stated.

“Yes, I heard in the news that they weren’t targeting Taylor Swift and the fans per se, but major events, and since the Era’s tour is a major event,” another user replied to their tweet.

Yes,, i heard in the news that they wasn't target taylor swift and the fans per se, but major events, and since the eras tour is a major event...

— pat🐦‍⬛ (@_ttriish) August 8, 2024

What exactly motivated the attacks still has to be revealed, considering that the police have released only sparse information about the suspects who have been apprehended.

In Austria, a 19-year-old suspect living at his parents’ home was arrested on Wednesday 7 August 2024 during a police raid, law enforcement sources told The New York Post. A second suspect was apprehended later in the afternoon.

In Britain, the Merseyside Police confirmed that they had arrested 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana from the north of Southport.

We will keep you updated should any more relevant information come to light.