Taylor Swift’s associates have lambasted a controversial opinion piece published in The New York Times claiming that the pop icon is a closeted member of the queer community.
The article suggested that Swift has been signaling her identity through her songs and performances. However, the piece, written by editor Anna Marks, drew considerable criticism, with one unnamed source claiming that a male artist in the same position as Swift would not have been subject to similar speculation.
The article, which ran to 5,000 words, listed LGBTQ references that it claimed Swift had made over the course of her career. These ranged from the overt to the perceived. Taylor has previously backed the LGBTQ community, but stated in 2019 that she was not herself a member of the group and was simply an ally.
In the opinion piece, Marks acknowledged that some readers would find the article salacious and gossipy. However, she argued that stories of this nature can shape cultural attitudes towards artists and audiences. Even a possible signal of queerness, she claimed, would help to keep the LGBTQ community in the public consciousness.
Swift herself wrote about societal speculation of her romantic life in the prologue to her “1989” album. The singer revealed that she had surrounded herself with female friends to quash media speculation in her personal life. The publication of the piece in The New York Times has been widely criticised, while a spokesperson for the paper declined to address any of the backlash directed toward Swift’s associates.
The speculation around Swift’s sexuality has long been a point of discussion within popular culture. However, her associates argue that such invasive and inappropriate content needs to be challenged. They say that The Times is making itself part of the problem by giving airtime to unproven and potentially hurtful speculation.
