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Published:
2018-08-02
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2023-09-29
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Gaylor Swift: An Introduction

Summary:

An introduction to the Gaylor Swift theory, the reasoning behind it, and the possible evidence that has been collected over the years.

Notes:

Most sources will be directly linked to, where possible. Those not available for links will be cited at the end of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Introduction and Theories

Chapter Text

Introduction

 

I first came across the "Gaylor Swift" theory in early 2018. At first, it seemed strange - a female artist famous or infamous for her relationships with men, and famous as well for her defence of her right to date as she wished? But I was intrigued enough to read more, and whether or not the theory is correct, it is more complicated, more subtle, and more believable than the first knee-jerk response.

Theories of secret relationships are nothing new - they've been around for as long as there have been celebrities. And rumours and theories about secret gay and lesbian relationships have been around since at least the 1920s - it was said that Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Navarro were lovers, although Navarro denied that they had even met more than a couple of times. Hollywood Babylon, by Kenneth Agner, was published in 1959 and kicked the rumours up to another notch (the story about Valentino sending Navarro a dildo, however, has been shown to be entirely false). And in the modern day, rumours that celebrities are queer continue to be widespread - despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that increasing numbers of queer people are coming out.

Some of the most famous rumoured secret relationships of the present day include "Larry Stylinson" (Louis Tomlinson and Harry Stylinson of One Direction) and "J2" (Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki of Supernatural). But it isn't just men who attract the rumours, and the Gaylor Swift theory - that Taylor Swift is queer, whether that means exclusively lesbian or not - proves if nothing else that people are still fascinated by the romantic lives of celebrities.

Information about the theory can be found extensively on tumblr and twitter, but as AO3 is a permanent Archive with non-breaking links I felt that it might be good to have an outline of the theory here, from basics to details, for those who wish to understand what people mean when they talk about Gaylor.

 

 

 

The "Gaylor Swift" Theory: The Basics

 

"Gaylor Swift" theories and meta are not a single, cohesive narrative. But the core of them is that Taylor Swift is not heterosexual. Some fans think that she is exclusively lesbian, others than she is bisexual or would prefer not to be labelled, but there is an agreement that she has at least some attraction to women. Many believe that she has dated women in the past, and that at least some of her songs are about women. The most common names raised in such theories are Emily Poe, Dianna Agron, and Karlie Kloss.

As a result of this, it is theorised that her management and PR, either with or without Taylor's consent and support, have prevented her from expressing her non-heterosexual desires, and "straight-washed" her narrative. 

Commonly, these theories also posit that some or all of her male love interests over the years have been fake - for publicity, or in order to portray a more heterosexual image. The most commonly cited relationship for this is "Hiddleswift" (Tom Hiddleston), which even mainstream media called out as cynically performative.

Many supporters of the Gaylor Swift theories believe that there are clues and indications to be found in Taylor's work which indicate this side of Taylor's sexuality. Some also feel that as time has gone on, and with Taylor more successful than ever, these clues have become increasingly deliberate.

In contrast to some sites which treat a potentially-queer Taylor derisively (blind items gossip sites are very bad for this), Gaylor Swift fans support and understand her choices. Even if they wish that she had chosen other actions at certain times, Gaylor Swift theorists understand that Taylor's choices have been forced by a homophobic music industry and general public, and her right for her music to be heard clashing with the potential fallout of coming out as non-heterosexual.

Some theorists feel that a coming-out of some sort within the next few years is very likely, given the age and level of success and industry power which Taylor has now reached.

 

 

 

If You Firmly Believe Taylor Is Heterosexual

That's fine! This probably isn't the work for you, then, although some people may still find it interesting to look at Taylor's lyrics and writing from a different perspective and so may find the first few chapters enlightening. I'm not here to evangelise, just to collate information that has previously been across multiple sites and some of which has been eroding with the years.

But if you're feeling defensive, or angry... please take a moment and think why.

Taylor Swift's fandom is based on clues and Easter Eggs. She seems to enjoy leaving them for her fans, and her fans enjoy the challenge of unravelling them. From the picture of red shoes that she used to tease her Red album in 2012, through to the scrambled letters that revealed the vault tracks of Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version) in 2021, she encourages her fans to actively engage with her writing and her media presence. She has been known to congratulate fans who work out clues, who make lyrical connections, who consider different explanations even if some of those explanations turn out to be wrong. The media speculation is a different issue - media is meant for consumption, not for discussion, and all too often does not come from engagement with Taylor so much as it comes from clickbait. Fans and the media are different groups.

Taylor has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ causes since 2011, to a quieter or louder extent. She's fine being friends and colleagues with queer individuals, and using her platform to speak about queer artists and boost their profiles. She doesn't think that being queer is anything negative or derogatory.

There are groups of Taylor's fans who will vociferously "defend" her sexuality - but all this does is suggest that it would be negative for her be queer, that it would be an insult. People who discuss queer themes in Taylor's music often get accused of sexualising her, but that would only be the case if being queer is inherently sexual. And it isn't. Discussing whether Taylor has experienced some attraction to women isn't automatically sexual, isn't negative, isn't a dirty secret or disgusting. It's just looking from a different angle, asking a different question, engaging with Taylor's writing in a different way.

So if you firmly believe that Taylor is heterosexual, please, don't go calling people names, or slurs, or insults, for wondering. Taylor has made it clear that she loves literary engagement, and Taylor has made it clear that she doesn't just tolerate LGBTQ+ people, she celebrates them. She wouldn't find it offensive to be considered LGBTQ+ because she has made it clear that she doesn't think it is a bad thing to be. Debate, if you want. Engage with her songwriting and discuss alternate explanations. But being repulsed by the very notion, offended on her behalf, might just have a reason that you need to sit down and consider for a while.

Taylor Swift wouldn't want her fans to be spreading hate.

 

 

 

If You Are Curious

Welcome! This work might well be of interest to you, as a collation of much of the different evidence and discussion that is online regarding queer themes in Taylor Swift's work. Maybe you won't end up believing in them - maybe Taylor Swift has just been writing about all different sorts of love since the beginning, maybe the themes of forbidden love, of secrecy, and of yearning are in her songs because they are strongly emotive and speak to a great number of people. That's fine! I hope you find the content here interesting, and that maybe it sparks a few thoughts.

 

 

 

 

If You Already Feel She Might Not Be Heterosexual

 

If you already think that just maybe, Taylor Swift has experienced attraction to women and expressed such in her songwriting, then this document will probably be of interest to you. I have tried to bring together information from a number of sources and a number of sites, since many folks tend to specialise in one area of Taylor's history (understandably! This document has been years in the making), and since some events were not well-documented as they occurred but have turned out to be very significant in hindsight. I hope that this content is of use to you in determining how you feel the story goes, and that I can clarify some of the dimmer parts of the story.