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March 23, 2026<\/p>\n
Hover over red text<\/span> to see commentary.<\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the early 2010s, <\/span>Taylor Swift fans on Tumblr began <\/span>shipping<\/a> her with actress Dianna Agron. This was the start of \u201cGaylor\u201d as we know it: the belief that Swift is non-heterosexual. Fans often point to the <\/span>Queer subtext<\/a> in Swift\u2019s lyrics and music videos as proof of their claims. <\/span>These easter eggs are an incredibly important part of the Swiftie fandom<\/span>, giving credibility to Gaylor fans analyzing Swift\u2019s art in this way. There\u2019s also a long history of <\/span>shipping<\/a> Swift with other women in Hollywood<\/span>, leading fans to analyze her \u201cfriendships\u201d with them.<\/p>\n One of the most popular Gaylor ships is Kaylor: Swift and model Karlie Kloss. The two had a close <\/span>friendship<\/a> starting around 2012 until a messy falling out in 2018. In March 2014, Gaylorphiles deemed the two\u2019s road trip to Big Sur strong \u201cproof\u201d of their romantic relationship because of the <\/span>cabin<\/a> the two rented: it only had one bed, was surrounded by lavender \u2014 a plant symbolic of LGBTQ+ empowerment \u2014 and wisteria, and the dates of the trip meant Swift missed her dad\u2019s birthday and Kloss missed Paris Fashion Week for the first time since she started modeling.<\/p>\n Another popular Kaylor proof is <\/span>kissgate<\/a>. In December 2014 Kaylor shippers reported that Swift and Kloss attended The 1975 concert together. While there, other attendees filmed the pair. The leaked <\/span>videos<\/a> show an immense amount of physical touch between the two. Swift was apparently drunk, and grabbed Kloss\u2019s face, boobs and waist multiple times throughout the night. In one video, it looks like the two kissed, further feeding into the rumors.<\/p>\n There are a slew of Swift songs rumored to be about Kloss, too. \u201cDress\u201d is included, and <\/span>the song reads quite sapphic<\/span>. The first lyric is, \u201cOur secret moments in a crowded room,\u201d and a secret relationship is a prominent theme throughout. One lyric is repeated over and over again: \u201cI don\u2019t want you like a best friend,\u201d which is a feeling Queer women can relate to given both the possibility of falling in love with a best friend and the societal impulse to believe women in Queer relationships are \u201cjust really good friends.\u201d The lyric also fits directly with Kloss and Swift\u2019s relationship. \u201cMade your mark on me, a golden tattoo\u201d is another supposed Kaylor lyric, since the two <\/span>gave<\/a> each other gold temporary tattoos for Drake\u2019s 30th birthday party in 2016. During a Reputation <\/span>secret session<\/a> in 2017, fans mentioned that Swift <\/span>explained<\/a> the lyrics for \u201cDress\u201d were written about a year ago, firmly placing the writing in 2016.<\/p>\n However, since 2018, Kloss and Swift haven\u2019t been seen together publicly. Some in the Gaylor community believe the two are <\/span>secretly<\/a> still <\/span>together<\/a>, while others believe the relationship ended. Either way, Kaylor was fuel to the Gaylor fire.<\/p>\n As a Queer Swiftie myself, I thought Gaylor had mostly died down after Kloss and Swift stopped being friends. While looking into Gaylor for this column, I realized just how wrong I was. Another strong Gaylor <\/span>proof<\/a> happened during the Lover era. There were rumors that designer Christian Siriano was making something for Swift. In 2019, Swift was supposed to perform at the Stonewall Inn and reportedly was going to come out as gay while there. She eventually backed out of the event, but Siriano <\/span>posted<\/a> a picture of a rainbow dress to his Twitter, along with seven rainbow emojis. Gaylors at the time speculated that the seven emojis represented Lover being the seventh album, and Siriano liking a comment that theorized the gown was for Swift only added to this theory. Siriano also reposted fan art of her in the dress, and later, a TikTok sipping tea in response to <\/span>this theory<\/a>. Fans took this as a confirmation of sorts and ran with it.<\/p>\n Gaylor proof doesn\u2019t just stop in the Lover era either. Even now, with Swift engaged to Travis Kelce, <\/span>Gaylors analyze albums and songs for more Queer-coded messages. <\/span>Most recently, Gaylors looked at Swift\u2019s latest album to add to their arsenal of evidence. Now bear with me for a moment, since I\u2019m going to wade into some crazy territory: The overarching theme that Gaylors return to is that the title of the album \u2014 The Life of a Showgirl \u2014 implies that Swift has constructed an elaborate show for her 12th era. Many Gaylors believe they are literally listening to the life of a showgirl.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s a <\/span>catch<\/a> \u2014 the Swift behind the screen is \u201cShowgirl\u201d Taylor, not \u201cPoet\u201d Taylor (the version of Swift from The Tortured Poets Department). Back during the Midnights era, Swift liked a post explaining that two versions of Swift in the \u201cAnti-Hero\u201d music video represent the then-upcoming Showgirl Taylor and Poet Taylor. The idea is that this latest album is a perfectly constructed performance, revealed by the title track. Gaylors point to this era as her ultimate show, one that means a new, more authentic and probably gay era is coming.<\/p>\n Of course, the Hetlors \u2014 those who believe that Swift is straight \u2014 disagree. Oftentimes, Hetlors send hate to Gaylors, saying they are delusional, living in fantasy and disrespectful to Swift. Gaylors have been <\/span>doxxed<\/a> by Hetlors, or been outed to their families.<\/p>\n If Gaylors are crossing boundaries, then I certainly understand calling them out. But that doesn\u2019t mean outing fans or doxxing them. A poll by a fan in Australia found that most Gaylors are women, with only <\/span>15%<\/a> being straight. Queer fans are allowed to create a community and relate to Swift\u2019s music, and at its core, that\u2019s what Gaylors are doing. Gaylors aren\u2019t hurting anyone when they do Queer analyses of Swift\u2019s songs or break down themes that feel particularly gay. Swift does love easter eggs, and she has used Queer symbols in the past. She\u2019s never fully confirmed her sexuality, and although it\u2019s often best not to assume the way a person identifies, Gaylors aren\u2019t hurting anyone. At the end of the day, Hetlors need to let Gaylors be Gaylors.<\/span><\/span>Opinion Columnist Sophia Perrault can be reached at sophiafp@umich.edu.<\/span><\/p>\n Do they, though?<\/p>\n Last January, the New York Times\u2019 Opinion section <\/span>published<\/a> \u201cLook What We Made Taylor Swift Do,\u201d a pro-Gaylor guest essay primarily arguing that because Swift is the stereotypical all-American girl, <\/span>her obvious attempts at coding her blatant Queer identity<\/span>in her lyrics are not taken seriously. This essay brought the already popular Gaylor conversation even more into the <\/span>mainstream<\/a>, to the extent that an anonymous source close to Swift <\/span>commented<\/a> on the piece: \u201cThere seems to be no boundary some journalists won\u2019t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is.\u201d<\/p>\n But if it\u2019s so untrue, why doesn\u2019t Swift herself comment on the matter?<\/p>\n She has, multiple times. In an interview with <\/span>Vogue<\/a> during the Lover era, <\/span>Swift said of her newfound outspokenness about Queer rights<\/span>, \u201cI didn\u2019t realize until recently that I could advocate for a community that I\u2019m not a part of.\u201d In the <\/span>prologue<\/a> to 1989 (Taylor\u2019s Version), <\/span>she says of the infamous Karlie Kloss period <\/span>that she thought, \u201cIf I only hung out with my female friends, people couldn\u2019t sensationalize or sexualize that \u2014 right? I would learn later on that people could and people would.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s pretty clear here that <\/span>Swift does not consider herself to be a Queer woman <\/span>\u2014 and if you take her words to be completely, unwaveringly true in metaphorical lyrics, it seems fair to have to believe what she says intentionally, too.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t help her case, though, that so much of Swift\u2019s so-called \u201cactivism\u201d is <\/span>wildly<\/a> selective<\/a>. If you\u2019re committed to believing that she was 100% bound to come out around the Lover era, her shoddy advocacy matches that timeline and narrative perfectly. It\u2019s just hard to swallow this notion as a reality when the rest of her activism has also been her floating an idea around, then <\/span>backing into the <\/span>shadows<\/a> when something actually productive could’ve been done.<\/p>\n <\/span>If she\u2019s pretty explicitly stated her non-Queerness, why are Gaylors still so committed to this being true? And why, despite holes in their evidence, is that impulse still understandable?<\/p>\n At the peak of Kaylor, Queer girl pop stars were not as common as our current moment, with Chappell Roan\u2019s <\/span>explosion<\/a> and \u201cLunch\u201d by Billie Eilish on <\/span>mainstream<\/a> radio. It\u2019s not a radical idea to imagine your favorite pop star as secretly Queer to fill this gap, especially with a fantasy that has this much fanfiction appeal. The world\u2019s biggest, girliest pop star and a world-famous Victoria\u2019s Secret Angel sneaking into each other\u2019s hotel rooms at night? It\u2019s inevitable for the young Queer girl craving any mainstream representation at all, let alone a story this narratively compelling, to fall for complete conviction for this fantasy.<\/p>\n And, as the New York Times piece points out, Swift is the all-American fantasy \u2014 a woman who barely, truly exists. Any woman that perfect is realistically flawed and cannot live up to the glitzy, smiling girl-next-door standard. If Swift, the model all-American girl, has secret late-night fantasies of women, can\u2019t any burgeoning Queer girl, too?<\/p>\n Denying the Gaylor narrative feels like smothering girls who clung to this idea in the youth of their safety blanket, of their coming-of-age. It\u2019s hard to blame them.<\/span><\/span>Managing Arts Editor Campbell Johns can be reached at caajohns@umich.edu.<\/span><\/div>\n