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On January 4, The New York Times published an opinion piece on Taylor Swift, titled "Look What We Made Taylor Do." The opinion piece is a guest essay by NY Times editor Anna Marks, who faced backlash from Swifties and Swift's inner circle for allegedly insinuating that the pop star could be hiding her sexuality from the world.
Fans and Swift's inner circle claimed the piece to be sexist, with a source allegedly close to the singer pointing out to CNN that such a piece would never be written about a male artist.
“This article wouldn’t have been allowed to be written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.”
The opinion piece analyzes the lyrics of the Lover singer's body of work, with the writer pointing out that the lyrics could be about sapphic love.
"Why do even opinions like these reach press": Fans opine on NY Times opinion piece on Taylor Swift
The 5,000-word op-ed curates a list of what the writer labels as evidence that allegedly proves that the pop icon is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.
According to Anna Marks, Taylor Swift "dropped hairpins" (a slang for coming out of the closet) by dying her color in the music video of You Need to Calm Down.
“In isolation, a single dropped hairpin is perhaps meaningless or accidental, but considered together, they’re the unfurling of a ballerina bun after a long performance. Those dropped hairpins began to appear in Ms. Swift’s artistry long before queer identity was undeniably marketable to mainstream America. They suggest to queer people that she is one of us.”
After the New York Times opinion piece went viral, fans took to social media platforms like X to express their opinion. While many found it absurd for an artist's sexuality to be discussed in such a stretch, others pointed out that celebrities should also be treated as real people.
Taylor Swift has proclaimed herself to be an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community in the past. In June 2023, at a Chicago concert, Taylor Swift gave a heartfelt speech to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and also called her concert a safe space for the community.
However, during the rerelease of her 1989 album in October 2023, Taylor put speculations about her sexuality to rest. She explained that she surrounds herself with women to avoid getting asked about men in her life by the media.
