If you Google the phrase “Gaylor Swift”, you’ll be greeted with 261,000 results (and counting) – Reddit communities, Rolling Stone articles, exclusive members-only websites, Youtube video trials, comprehensive guides, blogs and a presentation. 94-slide Canva, all dedicated to one thing: a fan theory that critically acclaimed singer Taylor Swift is secretly part of the LGBTQ+ community.
Every time Taylor Swift or Taylor’s management team, “Taylor Nation,” makes an announcement regarding new music, there seems to be an increase in discussion surrounding this theory.
Starting with the release of her fifth studio album “1989” and the parallel formation of her infamous “Girl Squad”, rumors of a more than platonic best friendship with model Karlie Kloss, a bond known as ” Kaylor,” began to spread like wildfire.
With Swift’s next five albums, including her latest release, “Midnights,” Swifties continues to find more “evidence” to prove Taylor Swift is queer. Some fans believe Swift continually drops hints referencing her sexuality and potential “coming out,” whether through her songwriting, alleged lyrical changes during performances, or colorful Instagram posts.
For years, Swift was held to the narrow-minded, sexist stereotype that she only writes songs about breakups and boyfriends. Being one of the most high-profile artists of the 21st century, the media has never failed to pry into Swift’s private relationships and exploit them for the world to see. Nonetheless, Swift has remained transparent about who she is. For the past six years, Swift has enjoyed a serious relationship with actor Joe Alwyn.
In a 2019 interview with Vogue, Swift said, “I only recently realized I could stand up for a community that I’m not part of,” but that doesn’t mean she’s stuck in a concrete box. of heterosexuality. for all eternity.
Taylor Swift could be a member of the LGBTQ+ community. However, Taylor Swift could just as likely be straight and an ally as she once identified and continues to be.
Pablo, the Don, a 26-year-old non-binary music critic, also agrees with the idea that Taylor strength being queer, but does not agree with the theories being disseminated online.
“Do I think people should turn it into series and videos on the internet for people to leak and discuss? No,” says Pablo. “But that’s just my opinion on how I feel about openly discussing homosexuality when no one has ever confirmed it.”
August Tulecki, a 19-year-old college student from California, believes that people’s desire to make Taylor Swift a lesbian icon is directly tied to the needs of her audience. Many of the people who listen to her are young women frustrated by their experiences with men and living in a patriarchal society.
“I realized I was a lesbian in 2020 after dating an absolutely insufferable man and using Fiona Apple’s ‘Fetch the Bolt Cutters’ to explain and manage my feelings. I do the same with Fiona Apple as the Swifties are doing with Taylor Swift,” Tulecki explains. “I reflect my pain as a lesbian with the pain that Fiona Apple describes in her music. A pain so specific and intimate that it can only belong to ‘us’.
All this is not to say that Taylor Swift is and will never be straight. But why do we go so far to create theories about an artist’s sexuality and pin them down as a “queer icon” when there are so many artists who are confirmed to be queer but are often glossed over and underrepresented in music?
Why is Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down” considered a “queer anthem” when the music video itself features Hayley Kiyoko, a lesbian artist known for creating the sapphic anthem “Girls Like Girls”?
Why Taylor Swift’s ‘Betty’ is Considered a ‘Queer Cannon’ While Clairo’s ‘Sofia’ is Confirmed to Be the Singer-Songwriter’s First-Ever Crush on Women in Media Like Sofia Coppola and Sofia Vergara?
What’s the merit of the rumor that Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong With Me’ is about an unrequited love for her former violinist Emily Poe, while King Princess’ ‘1950’ turns out to be a queer love story unrequited shared in his own life?
It’s fine to analyze and interpret Swift’s lyrics through a queer lens, but why pin her down as this queer icon when lesser-known queer artists are making explicitly queer music and not just music that can be interpreted through a queer lens?
We continue to watch cisgender and straight artists (or artists who haven’t yet come out) benefit from and benefit from their support and enthusiasm for the LGBTQ+ community, but artists who are part of the community continue to struggle for recognition. their own contributions. It’s okay to analyze and absorb media and art through a queer lens, but speculating about someone’s unconfirmed sexuality only darkens the shadow that falls on those who represent the queer community. .
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