Fans of Taylor Swift have long been wondering whether the artist is queer and therefore part of the LGBTQ+ movement. Again and again they think they can find clues for this in their music, their outfits or their behavior. An opinion piece by author Anna Marks appeared in the New York Times on January 4th in which she speculated about the 34-year-old’s sexuality. The Times is now experiencing headwinds for this.
“Queer Coded” Messages by Taylor Swift
The music video for “You Need To Calm Down,” replacing male pronouns with female ones in a song about a lover; or her dyed hair in the colors of the bisexual flag: Swifties repeatedly speculate on social media about the singer’s sexuality. They find supposed evidence that the LGBTQ+ icon is also queer himself. In the New York Times essay “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do,” Marks listed references to the LGBTQ+ community that are apparent or perceived in Swift’s music. She theorized that the singer was sending coded messages that she was secretly a member of this community. The author argued that the “Anti-Hero” singer has tried to secretly signal that she identifies as queer since the beginning of her career.
Watch the music video for “You Need To Calm Down” here:
The singer has supported the LGBTQ+ community in the past by describing her concerts as a “safe space” for LGBTQ+ people. In an interview with Vogue in 2019, the 34-year-old publicly spoke out against a record number of anti-gay laws introduced in the US. “The rights are basically taken away from anyone who isn’t a straight white male,” she said. “I didn’t realize until recently that I could stand up for a community that I wasn’t a part of.” Taylor Swift herself has never publicly identified as queer.
“The least defensible opinion article”
A member of Swift’s team criticized the publication of the New York Times essay to the Guardian. The publication is attributed to sexism and ethical lapses. “There is a ‘Taylorist’ hole in people’s morale at this moment because of their great success,” she said. “This article should not have been written about Shawn Mendes or any other male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.”
Chris Willman, Variety’s chief music critic, wrote on was written by an employee who specializes in such speculations.”
Anna Marks was apparently aware of the criticism her opinion piece might face. In the article she tried to prevent possible backlash. “I know that discussing a star’s potential queerness prior to a formal declaration of identity may strike some as too salacious and gossipy to be worthy of discussion,” she wrote. “I share many of these reservations. But the stories that dominate our collective imagination determine what our culture allows artists and their audiences to say and be,” the author added. “Every time an artist signals queerness and that transmission falls on deaf ears, that signal dies. When you acknowledge the possibility of queerness – while being aware of the difference between possibility and certainty – the signal remains alive.”
Time declined to comment directly on the essay, citing what Marks himself wrote about criticism in the piece.