#hope you’re a gaylor now

[pinkorchidsinspring]

Ivy is so so gay, to explain let us lyric analyze:

How's one to know? I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones, In a faith forgotten land

Hoax: “your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in”

A complicated relationship with religion is not something lacking throughout gay culture.

Taylor is more than likely referencing her own struggle with her relationship to a religion not approving of her sexuality.

Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, Tarnished but so grand

The lovers touch while beautiful, was a sin, and wrong in the view of most but to Taylor this touch was amazing despite being tainted with those ideas.

Oh, goddamn, My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, Taking mine, but it's been promised to another

This is probably a reference to the "adultery" being committed here, because the narrator has a fiancé/beard.

Oh, I can't, Stop you putting roots in my dreamland

She can’t control this love.

Her dreamland of “Folklore” is based in her real, honest, raw emotions.

She can’t stop this lover from being the reason for this dreamland.

I wish to know, The fatal flaw that makes you long to be, Magnificently cursed

Being gay has never been easy, and early on makes everyone who is gay in any way, wonder why they can’t just be straight. Taylor has most likely dealt with her own version of internalized homophobia shown in the original version of “Picture to Burn”: “Go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy, that's fine; I'll tell mine you're gay”.

Clover blooms in the fields, Spring breaks loose, the time is near, What would he do if he found us out?

This whole paragraph just gives forbidden gay love, and screams I don't want to care what other people think in this moment.

Crescent moon, coast is clear

Again with the hiding in “coast is clear”

Associated with feminine energy??? Combined with the coast is clear??? Yep, screams hetero.

Spring breaks loose, but so does fear

So very gay. Very gay. Come on. Sound like recent political events in America? With the turn of a new season, fear, specifically fear of being caught together, or the media finding out becomes more relevant than normal.

He's gonna burn this house to the ground

This male partner/beard is going to ruin their relationship, completely out of fear of what would happen if the truth of who she loved came out.

I'd live and die for moments that we stole, On begged and borrowed time

Even though this love was kept a secret, it was still Taylor’s whole life at the time.

These moments were "on begged and borrowed time" due to outside pressure. Possibly the pressure to be straight, and to appear straight, and not have longing looks directed at your "best friend".

So yeah, it's a fire, It's a goddamn blaze in the dark, And you started it, You started it, So yeah, it's a war

You Are In Love: “You understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars”

The Great War -so LGBTQIA

She finally understands that she has to fight through societies pressures to keep the love of her life.

It's the goddamn fight of my life

What would be so hard about being straight and in love with Joe Alwyn? Especially when you’re only known for writing break up songs about “men”…

Most recently while introducing “Dear, John” Taylor told swifties that : we should not “feel the need to defend [her] on the internet against someone [we] think [she] might have written a song about 14 billion years ago."

There are many things that don’t allow this song to have a hetero explanation. These are the things. <3

My other song analysis’ if you’re interested <3

[pinkorchidsinspring]

Ivy is so so gay, to explain let us lyric analyze:

How's one to know? I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones, In a faith forgotten land

Hoax: “your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in”

A complicated relationship with religion is not something lacking throughout gay culture.

Taylor is more than likely referencing her own struggle with her relationship to a religion not approving of her sexuality.

Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow, Tarnished but so grand

The lovers touch while beautiful, was a sin, and wrong in the view of most but to Taylor this touch was amazing despite being tainted with those ideas.

Oh, goddamn, My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, Taking mine, but it's been promised to another

This is probably a reference to the adultery being committed here, because the narrator has a fiancé.

Oh, I can't, Stop you putting roots in my dreamland

She can’t control this love.

Her dreamland of “Folklore” is based in her real, honest, raw emotions. She can’t stop this lover from being the reason for this dreamland.

I wish to know, The fatal flaw that makes you long to be, Magnificently cursed

Being gay has never been easy, and early on makes everyone wonder why they can’t just be straight. Taylor has most likely dealt with her own version of internalized homophobia shown in the original version of “Picture to Burn”: “Go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy, that's fine; I'll tell mine you're gay”.

Clover blooms in the fields, Spring breaks loose, the time is near, What would he do if he found us out?

This whole paragraph just give forbidden gay love so idec what other people think

Crescent moon, coast is clear

Again with the hiding in “coast is clear”

Associated with feminine energy??? Combined with the coast is clear??? Yep, screams hetero.

Spring breaks loose, but so does fear

So very gay. Very gay. Come on. Sound like recent political events??

He's gonna burn this house to the ground

This male partner/beard is going to ruin their relationship, completely out of fear of what would happen if the truth of who she loved came out.

I'd live and die for moments that we stole, On begged and borrowed time

Even though this love was kept a secret, it was still Taylor’s whole life at the time.

So yeah, it's a fire, It's a goddamn blaze in the dark, And you started it, You started it, So yeah, it's a war

You Are In Love: “You understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars”

The Great War -so LGBTQIA

She finally understands that she has to fight to keep the love of her life

It's the goddamn fight of my life

What would be so hard about being straight with Joe Alwyn. Especially when you’re only “known” for writing break up songs about “men”…

Most recently while introducing “Dear, John” Taylor told swifties that : we should not “feel the need to defend [her] on the internet against someone [we] think [she] might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

Something doesn’t allow this song to have a hetero explanation.

i don't know how to explain it but ivy sounds so gay. it's just so, so gay

[thegayloragenda]

Okay my last post before the show starts:

At the beginning of this tour I was closeted. Being an avid Gaylor / ally was the only way I could fathom bringing up queerness in my Bible Belt town. Gaylors get a lot of flack for being delusional, but I’m not delusional. I’m empathetic. The least interesting thing to me about all of this is the muses and I truly would go cold-turkey on Kaylor or Swiftgron or anyone else if I believed she truly was bothered by those things. I support her muses as a way to celebrate her queerness. There’s no one I hope she ends up with other than her own peace of mind because fracturing yourself truly does break you down in a way that feels very isolating and soul-damaging.

In a non-mirrorball way, I have seen Taylor say SO many of the things that I’ve said. Now I’m mostly out and it feels like I’m standing on hopeful yet rocky ground. I know the feelings of hesitation. I know the feelings of regret. I know how it feels to lose the love of your life because you’re frozen with fear about your safety and acceptance. I have felt the deep fear of the relationship failing and being so embarrassing because you took the leap of faith to follow your heart. I have been in self-sabotage mode because of a woman. There aren’t straight musicians who capture that feeling quite like Taylor does. It feels personal. And maybe that’s just how good she is at her craft.

I am proud to be a lesbian and I am proud to go down with this ship if that’s where it’s headed. And if by some chance she’s going to keep playing this game, I’m going to support her when and if she is ready — even if I have to step away from her fandom for a bit. My heart will stay with her and so will my hope.

To me, being a Gaylor is about being receptive and open and soft-hearted towards the possibility that she DOES feel trapped and she IS scared. It’s to acknowledge the effort she has made to communicate her queerness and make a safe space for her to land. Maybe that’s parasocial. I don’t mean to be. I just want to give her back the relief and freedom she gave me. I just wanted to help and to be a part of a movement that could save lives.

And for what it’s worth, it IS cool that you said all that. The coolest.

Thank you, Taylor. For everything. I love you to the moon and to Saturn.

And to this community….God I fucking love you. You saved my life. I cannot repay you. Thank you thank you thank you for giving me the courage to be myself. You guys are amazing and I’m so proud of us.

Great now I’m crying into my day old tea.

[supersapphicsimp]

alchemizing a new american dream

(a gaylor theory)

did you know a rumor among immigrants in the 1800s was that American streets were paved with gold? whether they meant it literally or it was just a shared expression, the phrase represents this idea that the nation was filled with endless hopes and dreams, opportunities, a chance at a better life. but this dream is one that has also been tied to over-idealizing material wealth.

the original wizard of oz by l. frank baum was published at the end of the Gilded Age, which was an era of hyperinflated artifice and material wealth that helped create the conditions for the great depression. economic catastrophe. the oz book is thought to be an allegory for this, with the yellow brick road representing the gold standard of currency that was used at that time, the original silver shoes representing the populist ideal to bring back a silver standard, and the green of oz representing fiat currency. but ultimately all of these things and oz itself are just artifice, and in the same way, the american dream has always been a false ideal and illusion—one that we are watching shatter and crumble around us in real time.

taylor’s american dreams

taylor has referred to the american dream either by name or allusion frequently. here are some notable examples:

• Fresh Out the Slammer:

“Now pretty baby, I’m running back home to you…to the house where you still wait up and that porch light gleams, to the one who says I’m the girl of his American dreams. And no matter what I’ve done it wouldn’t matter anyway, ain’t no way I’m gonna screw up now that I know what’s at stake here…”

• King of My Heart:

“Salute to me, I’m your American queen [original lyrics: salute to me like the American Dream] and we rule the kingdom inside my room…King of my heart, body and soul…And all at once, you’re all I want, I’ll never let you go….”

these are her only two songs that directly invoke the phrase “american dream” (though in KOMH it’s in the original lyrics but it still counts imo) but it’s important to know it’s not THE american dream. in KOMH she’s comparing herself to her muse’s version of the american dream. the same is true in FOTS. the one of his american dreams. FOTS and KOMH represent taylor’s ideal of her authentic american dream, which subverts the concept of the american dream = material wealth. KOMH is about her giving up “fancy stuff” for true spiritual wealth, and that’s what’s she’s running home to.

• Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince:

“No cameras catch my pageant smile…And ran for my life…voted most likely to run away with you. And I don’t want you to go, I don’t really wanna fight, cause nobody’s gonna win, I think you should come home…And I’ll never let you go cause I know this is a fight that someday we’re gonna win, just thought you should know.”

• Midnight Rain / High Infidelity

“My town was a wasteland…Full of cages, full of fences, pageant queens and big pretenders, but for some, it was paradise. like a postcard…pcture perfect, shiny family, holiday, peppermint candy”

“Your picket fence is sharp as knives, I was dancing around, dancing around it”

these three songs depict taylor’s struggles with the mainstream/culturally dominant ideal of the american dream and how it feels like a battle, a fight for her life, and ultimately something she decides she has to leave behind. these three songs also are all examples of the dynamic of duality that is present in much of her recent work: brand taylor vs real taylor, miss americana and the heartbreak prince, and they have to come together again for her new american dynasty to begin. MAATHP always sort of sounded like a duet in how she sings it, like the person calling her to come home is the heartbreak prince, and the person who ran for her life and was scared but won’t ever let the other go because she knows one day they’ll win is miss americana. so when miss americana comes home, she’s coming home to the heartbreak prince’s american dreams. midnight rain is another clear example of her duality bc it has taylor literally singing in two pitches, having jack warp her voice to sound masculine. and high infidelity seems like it addresses two different factions of her fanbase, and the regret caused by her “bending the truth” too far.

• lyrical connections: “i’ll never let you go” in both KOMH and MAATHP and “pageant (queens)” in both MAATHP and high infidelity

• The Last Great American Dynasty

this song fully subverts the over-romanticized ideals of the american dream. what’s more of an american dream than an american dynasty? but rebekah rebukes it—she doesn’t just reject it. she ruins it. she ruins everything, and she has a marvelous time while she does it, being the loudest woman the town has ever seen. obviously in the end, taylor becomes rebekah. she identifies with her gleeful destruction of sacred, repressive institutions, expectations, traditions, and standards.

then along comes the tayvis circus. the comparison makes itself on a daily basis with no effort; i constantly see tweets describing the two of them as “american royalty.” the persona that taylor takes on in the context of this stunt represents the epitome of “Miss Americana” the idealized american dream. that’s why so many gaylors were averse to the tayvis spectacle from the start—we knew the kind of discourse it would encourage, and it’s exactly the kind of discourse you would expect from a narrative that encouraged returning to “comforting traditional american values.”

but taylor is rebekah. taylor is going to have a marvelous time ruining everything, too. she’s going to have a marvelous time tearing down their ideal of the last great american dynasty. those are her stakes! and she warned us all, so many times:

after taylor removed TLGAD from the set, she played it exactly twice in the surprise song set. once to announce she is running, leaving behind the traditional image of the american dream that doesn’t suit her, and begging her fans to still want her when she’s not their shining mirrorball anymore;

and once to reclaim her vision for the american dream and declare her choice, to rebuild her american dynasty, and to explain why she had to do what she did. and that she doesn’t regret it. it just felt so good (ruining everything).

and the show immediately after the first time she sang TLGAD with Run, she played these:

laying out her vision of what her (well technically his but he is the heartbreak prince who is also taylor so) american dream looks like, of what exactly she’s running back home to. and it’s… gay as fuck. girl, you’re running back home to emily dickinson’s fuckass stone ivy cottage to be with your lesbian lover and they can call it what they want bc no one knows you like yourself? i know that’s right.

a few more crazy little details that must be documented:

• 7/24/24: There's a chain 'round your throat, piece of paper where I wrote, "I'll wait for you". There's a key on the chain, there's a picture in a frame. Take it with you and run, run from the law, darling, let's run, run from it all.

• 7/27/24 (the next show): “and he keeps the picture of you in his office downtown, and you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars. now, pretty baby, I'm running back home to you, true love…I'm running to the house where you still wait up, and that porch light gleams. // I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck, not because he owns me, but 'cause he really knows me, which is more than they could say, I. I recall late November, holding my breath, slowly I said, "You don't need to save me. But would you run away with me?" Yes. So yeah, it's a fire, it's a goddamn blaze in the dark, and you started it. You started it. So yeah, it's a war, it's the goddamn fight of my life, and you started it.

• the first time she played TLGAD was with Run, a song that mentions a key on a chain. the second time she played it was in Ours x TLGAD, and she had one of her famous glitches. she started to play and then stopped and said, “that’s the wrong key Um, so wish me more luck than that.”

• the day after the first time she played TLGAD with Run, she played FOTS x This Love and ivy x CIWYW. before she sang ivy, she hit the note off-key (it sounded super on purpose), then said “well. sometimes you just don’t hit the right note, do you?”

• the first “great american dynasty” is the vision of the american dream she’s running from bc it’s “the wrong key,” the wrong note. she’s running back home to her own vision of the american dream, using performance art to physically represent her intentionality in making the different choice this time, in hitting the right note. and this love is ours, so you can call it what you want. it’s not theirs to speculate if it’s wrong 💞🌈 and they can’t take what’s ours

for evermore 🤎

[9w1ft]

Hi! I am a news Gaylor/Kaylor and to me- you’re like Wikipedia! I love your analysis and posts and it feels like I will need like 5 years to catch up.

So I wanted to ask you if you could tell me your favourite Karlie coded song of each album and why do you like it that much. English is not my first language and it feels like I miss a lot because of that.

Thank you! Have a lovely day

hi! welcome to my blog and i’m so sorry things are hard to navigate and research, but i hope you have fun!

your question is a fun question! and SO HARD to pick just one from each. SO HARD! (update: its so super hard!! wow!) i truly have multiple favorites for most albums. ultimately i tried to mix it up a little bit and not always just the classics or if i like the beat of the song. it was still so hard! because the last time i counted, for me, there are over 50 kaylor songs now, in my opinion🫶

ok, i will try to write more short explanations but let me know if something doesn’t make sense!

Fearless: Love Story because karlie has said in an interview that it’s her favorite song and because a long long time ago karlie was in a photoshoot that matches the love story mv aesthetic

Speak Now: Enchanted because, whether or not it was written about karlie, taylor went on to mash it up during 1989 era with wildest dreams while wearing a sequin bodysuit with background visuals just like the lover mv fish bowl scene, and i think these visuals are incredibly moving

RED: The Very First Night because i like to imagine it’s about karlie, specifically taylor thinking about all the times in the past that they crossed paths and wishing she could go back in time and confess her feelings to karlie earlier. it’s a sweet song but there is also a quiet sadness that i think matches some of the timing issues they’ve had as soulmates

1989: Style because, after it was recorded in february 2014, it continued on to only become more and more of a kaylor anthem. from taylor walking down the runway at vsfs 2014 hand in hand with karlie to this song, to taylor including it in one of the medleys on rep tour that was so karlie coded (style/love story/you belong with me),

reputation: call it what you want because the song truly sounds like taylor and the background singers and singing “karlie what you want” and “call it what you want, karlie” and i happen to believe that karlie is the one filming taylor in the making of video

Lover: Afterglow because it’s one of the first times we hear taylor apologizing to karlie in her lyrics (i tied your hands behind your back, oh, thought i had reason to attack, but no) and i think it’s one of the key songs to understanding a recurring theme in their relationship and the fact that taylor recognizes it. which i think was powerful to know at the time. made every next album easier to think about.

folklore: the lakes because it is the first time taylor used the word muse to describe karlie. also it was released a little bit after the album came out and a lot of people at the time were saying kaylor had broken up because the album ended on the song hoax, which is a sad song. taylor released the lakes and it re-contextualized the whole album and reset a lot of the conversation that had been going on.

evermore: gold rush because gold was a consistent metaphor we had all ascribed to karlie up until then so it was incredibly wild to have this song happen in the first place, and the song matches up with the beat of runway walking, even the vsfs 2014 opening runway where karlie is a golden angel

(Big Red Machine special mention): Renegade because i see it as a song from karlie’s perspective, about when karlie was there for taylor during her “darkest night” and i find that very touching

Midnights: Karma because it embodies karlie as this unstoppable force that is on taylor’s side and i love that depiction. also, the song name sounds like karlie, taylor arguably sings “karma is my girlfriend” and that was so amazing to pick up on upon the first listen

The Tortured Poets Department: imgonnagetyouback because it ties together so many kaylor themes related to karlie attending eras tour, in particular the bridge (the criminality of “even if it’s handcuffed im leaving here with you” the forgiveness theming of “push the reset button we’re becoming something new” and “bygones will be bygone”the board game theming of “we lost all the pieces but still wanna play the game” the reveal of the truth “told my friends i hate you but i love you just the same” etc) and it gives me an adrenaline kick to listen to it, and gets me nostalgic for attending the 8/3 show, so close to when she attended.

if anyone reading has another favorite to add please add in the comments! i truly have so many that i didn’t cover and i bet you all do too 🫶🫶

[heda-heather]

:nervously off anon: So I watched the Anti-Hero video for the first time yesterday (I know, I know...SO behind the times), and I'm so curious how Swifties are interpreting the very clear symbolism. Like, Taylor is two selves. One of them (the "villain") is her exact presentation out in the world right now. Taylor's lyrics match up with her real self. Her public persona doesn't match up with her lyrics. Swifties don't acknowledge this contrast?

Also, what do they make of the bottle she's drinking from? The one with the Lover video's family crest. Do they not wonder WHY that crest is in a video that is otherwise not about romance? Like, I feel like with close attention to lyrics + close attention to videos + an ounce of attention to how her persona changes from album to album + THE ENTIRE LOVER Era = AT THE VERY LEAST that she is not who she seems (and is most certainly under the queer umbrella).

An even deeper dive will lead you to "she is with Karlie; that crest is signaling Karlie; her songs signal Karlie; Taylor is likely identifying as a lesbian now." Yet somehow they don't see any of it that way, and I wonder how. Maybe willful ignorance. Maybe selection of detail to support their own thesis. Maybe it's the English major in me that makes me pore over this stuff.

My assumption is that many Swifties center their listening experience on how they relate to what Taylor's talking about, so it's more about their own experience and projection than what is actually being written. I know they'd say the same about gaylors, but there are CLEAR motifs in this discography. It's all fascinating but also driving me mad. LOL

Anyway, sorry for the novel. I am still a whole n00b to this fandom and mostly choose to engage with Taylor's world via this corner of Tumblr and through her lyrics. The wider fandom seems like actual hell. LOL

Whew ok I needed a minute to read and process before responding 😂

1. Swifties see the anti-hero more as her battle with fame I think, kinda missing the deeper meaning of her being a completely different person underneath that fame.

2. I doubt they think about the crest at all. I never noticed it until a Kaylor blog pointed it out and showed all the times it’s been displayed. They probably assume it’s just a random design.

3. Her persona changing from album to album actually gives them fuel to say she’s NOT part of the queer community because “the lover era was her activist era, just showing her support, then she moved on from it”

4. They’re NOT looking for signals to Karlie. And they take what she shows them (hanging all over football guy) at face value

5. Projection is a big piece of it. “Loving in secret” to us, is such an obvious flag to the experience of realizing you’re queer in a heteronormative society. I think a lot of them romanticize this instead. They see it as finding a love so special, you want to keep it to yourself. I think a lot of them are obsessed with her work because she describes this intense, earth-shattering love. It gives them hope to find it… but they don’t realize it’s a queer love. And the fact is… 2 women loving one another do share a different experience than a man and woman, because of how women express themselves and understand the universal female experience. Add that to the experience of being queer in anyway. So… they’re kinda holding onto false hope they’ll find a love like she describes. But also there is no other Karlie Kloss in this world 😍🥰

Anyway, my thoughts. Thanks for being brave enough to come off anon! Always love a good chat.

[vivibeenknew]

I hope you get the therapy or help that you need because the fact that you used to be a Taylor stan and now you’re on a Taylor snark Reddit a place created by Kelly tea who is a FELON and that place is full of widows and kaylors/gaylors is horrifying. I feel sorry for you vivi. Don’t make me call you out on Reddit and login

Lmaooo what the fuck? I haven’t been on social media in months, let alone Reddit of all places

[klossanovaandtheheartbreakqueen]

My personal take on the ‘were Karlie and Taylor ever together’ question you posed is that before I came out to myself and also when I was newly out, I had a lot of really volatile, extremely close friendships where I was too clingy, touchy, and even kissy. A few friends even liked the attention and played into it—one in particular liked to basically domme me while repeatedly confirming she was straight… But giving my poor queer heart confusing amounts of hope when she ‘jokingly’ grabbed my tits or duct-taped me into a kneeling position for movie night. We were never together—this was before the term situationship, or I might have seen it for what it was—but that relationship defined most of my high school years. (Yeah, high school, I know.)

When you’re a pathological people pleaser, even if you see all the warning signs, even if you’re told flat out someone has no romantic interest in you… Sometimes they become your whole world. And sometimes they then abruptly get a boyfriend and stop talking to you because they don’t need whatever they were getting from you anymore.

To me, Karlie is the one that got away. She’s the one who haunts her what ifs. The one who betrayed her but didn’t betray her but she did… The one she can’t let go of despite that because that time was so magical and volatile and passionate. It can’t have all been for nothing. It can’t have all been for a lark. It must have meant something to the other person, too.

So they were friends, and then they were in a situation that was friendship set on fire, and then Taylor retreated to lick her wounds and try to heal her heart but kept ruminating on the good times.

I also think the Joe Alwyn thing started off as a bearding relationship but got messy internally as things went on because she got attached and he never did, which was just a repeat of Karlie in different terms. And it wasn’t his fault but it hurt her all the same.

I totally understand that this is going to be the sort of opinion that everyone hates. ���� I also understand that I’m projecting, but until Taylor tells us otherwise, I figure there’s no harm in it. It’s just how her music resonates with my own story. Sometimes your worst heartbreak isn’t an ex, it’s a straight girl who told you exactly what you were getting yourself into and a queer little heart overflowing with love that fooled itself into believing a lie.

I could do a whole lyrics explanation for this take, but I’m a little worried that it would make the whole community hate me, which is why I haven’t posted about it. What do you think? Would I just get blocked into the shadow realm and no longer get to enjoy the community?

Hey, anon. Usually when I get an ask, I try to incorporate it into a poll that expresses their point of view. But yours is something a little different, so I'm going to answer it a little differently.

The first thing I'll say is that I think a lot of women here can relate to your experience with your high school friend. I think a lot of people reading this will be wincing in recognition, and, like me, feel sorry you went through that. Even though sometimes, these things do make you stronger, or help you find yourself in some unexpected way. And in years to come you look back on them and think "that was horrible, but you know what? I'm glad I went through it". I get the impression you're in the processing stage, making your way to that end point, and I think it's more relatable than you might assume.

On to the Taylor / Karlie, Taylor / Joe of your ask . . . I think you're self-aware in calling these theories projection, and I think you're probably right that most people in Gaylor / Kaylor land aren't going to agree with that interpretation. Radio silence is the most likely outcome if you post your theories - but people can be cruel when they become defensive, and it's possible you would have to contend with some nastiness too. I've been running neutral or straight-up light-hearted polls for a week now, and have posted twice making clear that I'm doing this for the fandom, and that I don't condone nastiness or bullying of any kind. It hasn't stopped people accusing me of being a plant, a "reformed" Kaylor (whatever that means) and a bad actor who is only pretending to be neutral. As part of some evil plan? Who knows. The point is, people will always be people, and you probably will have to contend with some of that if you put your opinions out there. You're the only one who can decide if the trade-off is worth it. I can find the humor in most things, but not everyone is like that. There's no shame in deciding it's all too much of a headache.

It does sound like this interpretation of Taylor's lyrics really resonates with you, though, and it seems like you've put a lot of thought into it. I'm going to throw out a suggestion. Maybe you're looking at this from the wrong point of view? I know the temptation to map real life onto Taylor's work is ever-present, because she has presented her work as autobiographical since she was a teenager. As fans we can get stuck in that, and think that's the only valid way to talk about her songs. We become detectives and say "this song is Taylor talking about this event". And that can all be great and true. But at the end of the day, art is art, and once it's out in the world, it's okay for the audience to start making it their own.

Take the Betty / James / August love triangle. That was something fans came up with, not something Taylor herself intended. She ran with it more and more as the fan conversation picked up, and now it is what it is - accepted fan lore, to the point that people forget it wasn't her original plan with the songs. I think Taylor had her own reasons for embracing this interpretation, but the point remains - it is a great way to read those songs. It's fun, thought-provoking, and it adds something to the experience of listening, if you imagine them as all being interconnected in this fictional universe.

Maybe there's a way to put that strong sense of connection you feel, between your experience and Taylor's songs, into the fan space, in a way that might strip away the noise and acrimony, and let people relate to the feeling instead? It could be anything. An essay about what those songs meant to you, an animatic telling a story, a video edit for a fandom you love. Whatever you feel like. I think as Kaylors / Gaylors we can get a little stuck on being 'the only ones who see Taylor's truth', and it becomes the default way we interact with her work. But it doesn't necessarily have to be like that.

Maybe you're just . . . stuck in the wrong mode, if that makes sense. Maybe there's a less stressful way to get that energy out, and find the kind of fan community you crave. The kind that says "I know how you feel - that hit me the same way too", and not the kind that offers a thousand reasons why you're wrong. Or becomes so annoyed by what they see as your pushing of incorrect facts, that they become angry and attack you. I'm getting the impression you don't necessarily believe-believe the real life elements of your theory? So I understand why you're reluctant to invite all that negativity into your space. The feeling the songs give you is what really matters, and I think that's what you're actually burning to share and have validated. I don't know you - this is just what I'm getting from your ask - but I think you might be trying to channel something great through an outlet that just isn't right for it. I hope you figure it out and I wish you all the best ✨

[spade-riddles]

Spade, thank you for being here for us and for not giving up when even the strongest soldiers would stop standing. when i saw the news i cheered and remembered all the hints and support those who came here and you gave us. i’ve been waiting for this break up since it was announced that they are dating. i still cant believe it’s happening right now and i jumped like a baby when i started to realize it’s real

taylor if you’re somehow reading it and you’re ready this time - know you have our support and you have people who won’t give up on you. wish you luck girl, i know it’s a big step

to all the gaylors and especially kaylors reading it - i love you. thank you for being my community all these years. i’m going through the literal hell mentally rn but i know i have a safe space here and i’m very happy about the news. hope you’re good and happy as well and sending you all my love

[chosetherose]

Do you feel a lot of people walked away when Eras ended with no sign of anything changing? I know it's the holidays and people always fall off this time of year, but it feels like something shifted with the end of Eras. Like a lot of people just quietly left. It's a ghost town around here.

I think a lot of fans, a wider group than us, expected the final weekend or show of the Eras tour to be some kind of grand finale with surprises, new outfits, etc. And when that didn’t happen people were a little confused and let down. Which sounds silly because a “regular” eras tour show is out of this world incredible. But I get the disappointment when you’re built something up in your head.

Personally, I did not expect the final eras shows to have huge movement on the gaylor or kaylor front. At most I thought maybe a new rainbow outfit. I think others maybe had higher hopes, but overall I feel like expectations weren’t super high around here.

I think some people were bothered by the “guy on the chiefs” line being included for the last show. I have a whole other theory about that line in Karma being a jab to the recipe stealer but that post is for another day if I haven’t don’t it already (can’t remember). I wasn’t on to stream the second half of the last show but from what I understand it was big whiplash between hopeful surprise songs and the guy on the chiefs line.

Anyway, I haven’t thought much about it but I assume the quietness around here is mostly because not much is going on. Taylor’s on break and so are we 😂.

I will say I was hopeful for something happening on her birthday, given what sources were saying. But we never know what year sources are hinting at which is exhausting. And we don’t know if one day things will link back to her birthday. In 2023 it felt like a lot of us were slipping away the flag came in at the end of December and held us on until we got the Toe breakup in what April? I’m hoping we aren’t in that situation this year with yet again another move of the goal posts but I think it’s too early to tell.

It’s felt like there has been so much momentum and I’m holding on to that for now. It’s a lot to expect the eras tour to end then BAM something big happens.

I don’t know, I’m not big into intense theories right now unless something really sparks me. I’m in observation mode, blogging along when things pop in my head. Looking forward to whatever is next.

[margaetyrell]

hi luvs! how are you?? i hope everything’s great 😊 i’m not fully back yet bc i’m on vacation atm, just came to save a long queue to keep my blog active bc it’s pretty much dead. so i’m gonna put all the boring details bellow in case you wonder about the future content of this blog and my general thoughts (if you’re up to read, follow the cut!) please drink water, protect yourselves from this insane weather and take care!! see you all soon 💜

okay so. i’m obviously still disappointed on taylor, but after everything i’ve realised it’s not worth it anymore. i’m still a fan and i cannot deny that. altho it’s true that i’ve distanced myself from her, she is and will always be a big part of my life! and i’d be lying if i said i’m not excited for 1989, bc i bloody am!! it’s one of my fave albums of all time and i really don’t have the strength anymore to let anything else ruin that for me (unless there’s a mh collab on it, then i’ll explode lmao) but the truth is that i’m just an art consumer as we all are, and she is pure art. so i’ll just keep doing my thing while she does hers. end!

that doesn’t mean i’ve erased everything from my brain or that it won’t upset me if she messes up again. but i’m choosing to stay away from drama, not just hers but fandom drama in general. the past year has been a roller coaster of emotions and i’m just tired of it. and the funny thing is that it doesn’t really matter! it doesn’t matter AT ALL. its only point is to make me bitter and out of patience, and i’m just another random person with random thoughts that won’t have any impact on her or anybody, whether i’m right or wrong, so!

in conclusion: i’m a swiftie who is not a swiftie who is a swiftie who is not part of the fandom who is a gaylor who is not an unhinged gaylor who is no one at all. hope this helps!

which brings us to the point: stfu sarah what are we going to see here. ofc taylor, but! i’m not gonna stress anymore over not missing a single post. i’ll just vibe with it and save whatever’s relevant to me from now on (i’ve saved a lot already) which are mostly graphics, fanart, lyrics and tagged posts (you can keep tagging me on everything btw, and thanks again to the few who still do lols love ya!!!) but the main content can be found on the celeb blog i run with my bestie (candyshapes), which not only focuses on taylor but she’s like 70% of it, and where my dear @jdschecter has made sure not to miss any details of the tour (thanks ems, i’d be lost without you <3) so i really recommend you follow us there !! the rest, as usual, will be a multifandom blog with special dedication to taylor and GoT.

that’s all ! if you’ve read everything, thank you SO much. i know it wasn’t necessary, but i wanted to clear that up nevertheless. first, bc i’m pretty true to my opinions and i’ve spent a great deal of time trying to figure this out. and second, bc i’ve lost many of you in the process and that’s understandable. but if i’m going to be back, i need to make sure i enjoy it here and curate my experience once and for all, as you all should! also thanks again to all the people that has understood my situation and showed me support in the past. love you and miss you to bits, mwah!!

[keepingsecretstokeepyoutk]

So I am a relatively* new Taylor fan (relative to my age and her age and the length of her career) - I feel down the gaylor rabbit hole 4 years ago and have been following her very closely since February 2019. I also was a big 1989 fan after seeing the blank space mv and immediately loving her sass in creating the character she had always been painted as. I had the cd and knew the words back to front. But I didn’t follow her career closely until 2019. So the nostalgia of the re-records is somewhat lost on me even if I enjoy it and appreciate the details that others point out.

But recently I saw Michelle Branch in concert, and went to the show not knowing what to expect but hoping she’d at least play a couple old songs (from her first two albums) because those were some of my first cds and they absolutely shaped me. It was the first time I had been to a concert of an artist I love when I was younger but had lost touch with…and it was the craziest experience I’ve ever had. Literally the first cord of the first throwback song she played I let out the most feral sound I’ve ever heard myself make and I lost my damn mind and had a surreal, spiritual experience for the rest of the set. The experience fundamentally changed me, permanently altered my brain structure, etc.

I can’t even imagine the kind of meltdown I would be having if I had that kind of relationship to Speak Now and then watched the video I just watched of Taylor in the purple gown, singing Long Live on the koi guitar.

Basically I’m just checking in on all of you who have real nostalgia tied to this album. Are you all a puddle on the floor? High on life? Having a full on life in review moment?

You’re in my prayers 😅

[bisluthq]

how that video has over 30k likes......

😭😭

it’s not even a proper video lol like it’s literally just random shit lmao. If the creator at least talked us through her thought process I’d be more likely to respect the delusion lol like how I sometimes see Gaylor or Maylor or cupcake content and I’m like “I mean you’re almost definitely completely wrong but I understand how you came to this very bizarre conclusion” but then you get this Haylor shit and I’m just??? At a loss.

and there are reasonable takes for Haylor (that anon who wrote about why Question is for Harry recently - babes I hope you see now you were wrong but your logic was solid) but like they are SO few and far between idk.

[iwanthermidnightz]

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/gaylor-taylor-swift-gay-rumor-midnights-1234585574/

Queer narrative/gay rumors from an official publication has started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ROLLING STONES

OH MY GOD??

AUGUST HAS OFFICIALLY slipped away, which means Taylor Swift fans are now counting down the days until the release of her 10th studio album, Midnights — but stans are already using the time, and subsequent new content, to re-earth some of their most beloved conspiracy theories.

From what Swift has released, the album concept is focused on music written at night that grapples with fears, worries, and other things that keep you from peaceful sleep. Swift called the album the “stories of 13 sleepless nights” throughout her life, and encouraged her fans to meet her at midnight — which immediately sent fans scurrying to see all the clues leading up to the announcement they had missed.

One stan that remains year after year is #Gaylor. An ever-growing contingent of fans believe that Taylor Alison Swift is secretly gay. And after seeing the concept for Midnights, they’re convinced this might be the album where she finally admits it to the world.

#Gaylor has remained a steadfast theory since Swift gained her international level of stardom. A long-standing theory is the pop star’s rumored relationship and subsequent breakup with Glee alum Diana Agron. Agron and Swift were spotted together on outings and at birthday parties, making the gossip so mainstream that Jimmy Kimmel asked Agron if she was dating Swift during a 2012 appearance on his late-night show. She replied “No, but wouldn’t that be juicy,” before saying “Hi, Taylor” and blowing the pop star a kiss into the camera. Following the release of 1989, fans linked lyrics from the song “Wonderland” to Agron’s Alice in Wonderland themed tattoo.

The theory gained an even bigger foothold during the pop star’s 2015 “Girl Squad” era, when she was often surrounded by a plethora of leggy, mostly-blonde, famous best friends like Cara Delevigne, Gigi Hadid, Hailee Steinfeld, and Karlie Kloss. In 2015, a Vogue spread of Kloss and Swift gave fans a decidedly not best friends vibe which sparked rumors of a whirlwind but secret love story. Around 2017’s Reputation, the most prevalent theory was that a collaged photos of eyes used in promotional material and on the album’s physical CD contained a singular photo of Kloss’ eye instead of Swift’s. After Swift debuted Folklore‘s Betty, fans went wild over the song’s premise, which is a love song full of hope sung to a girl named Betty — an energy that couldn’t be dissuaded even after Swift said it was written from the perspective of a male narrator.

Now it’s Midnights’ turn. The prevailing theory is linked to clips of Swift singing her 2017 track “New Year’s Day.” The song includes the lyrics, “But I stay when you’re lost and I’m scared and you’re turning away/I want your midnights.” Besides the heavily implied clock references in the song, which depicts lovers who stay together even after the party ends when the clock strikes midnight, fans are focusing on live clips of the song’s performance, where they claim Swift is using the words “I want her midnights.”

Pronoun game aside, fans have also pointed out that this song matches the vibe of recent promotional material, in which Taylor speaks about self imprisonment and mistakes that could have the possibility to either end her fate or help her find herself.

“We lie awake in love and in fear, in turmoil and in tears,” she wrote in her album announcement. “We stare at walls and drink until they speak back. We twist in our self-made cages and pray that we aren’t — right in this minute — about to make some fate altering mistake.”

For any other artists, such specific theories might seem a little far-fetched, but T-Swift is notorious for indulging her fans’ most intense detective urges. In past projects, easter eggs have been as large as placing her album title and next single in the music video for “ME”! and as small as including a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class in All Too Well: The Short Film, as a reference to her 1989 album.

Given that Swift’s career has been marked by public reaction to her relationships with very famous men, Swift fans who believe she’s straight discount the theory with interviews of her with male partners, or lyrics they believe are dedicated to Swift’s longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn. Some even say it’s rude to equate Gaylor theories to the good fun of finding references and hidden secrets in Swift’s body of work.

But underneath the fan edits, compilations, and conspiracy theories is the genuine desire Swift fans have to understand her music as thoroughly as possible. The defining factor of Gaylor — which allows fans who believe it to remain so attached to the pop star year after year, project after project — is that the pop star has been there for them.

Swift engages with her fandom in a way that is extremely unusual — and borderline terrifying — for her level of fame. She still hosts meet-and-greets, she’s hand-delivered merch to fans’ houses, and she even threw away a years long strategy of being apolitical when her fans asked her to speak out on what she believed in. So even if Midnights isn’t the gay album of their dreams, they won’t give up the theory. They’ll play it, then pick out small bits and references they think Swift is giving them, all to let her know that when, or if, she ever decides to come out, she knows they’re there to listen.

[jonathantaylorthomas]

OK, Swifties. You liked the fairytale fictions and indie-cred boast of Taylor Swift’s pandemic alt-folk records. But you’ve been yearning for the intimacy you felt when she knocked out those confessional bangers, haven’t you? Well, the wait is over. Playing Midnights will make you feel as though you’re sleeping over at her house while she spills secrets and settles scores into the night. Over a series of murky electronic grooves (mostly co-written with Jack Antonoff), the pop star unpacks her darkest dreams, deepest doubts and cruellest thoughts. All the while she keeps things just cryptic enough to keep the tension crackling and the speculation buzzing.

That said, she’s already stopped speculation about the opening track, “Lavender Haze”. “Gaylor” fans who’ve stuck (rather doggedly) to a queer reading of Swift had hoped that the song might be a coming-out track because of the colour’s long association with gay culture. But in an Instagram post, Swift explained that she had happened upon the phrase while watching Mad Men and found it was vintage slang for a dreamy love glow. Against the throb of a synth bass, she appears to be addressing the misogynistic media obsession with whether or not she’s marrying actor boyfriend Joe Alwyn, with whom she’s been settled since 2016. “All they keep asking me / Is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kinda girl they see / Is a one night or a bride” she notes (you can hear the eye-roll). But as the vocal layers build, she shakes off the judgement effortlessly: “Talk your talk and go viral / I just need this love to spiral.”

The slower, grimier texture of “Maroon” is a dive back into a past relationship (place your bets). Describing the affair, Swift sings of it decaying from the initial pink of cheap rosé to the “rust that grew between telephones”.

She’s on her best, self-scrutinising storytelling form on the excellent “Anti-Hero”, which lyrically sends zinger after zinger bubbling up through the fuzz of distortion. She unpicks the unwieldiness of her stardom with terrific, surreal imagery. “Sometimes I feel like everyone is a sexy baby / And I’m the monster on the hill / Too big to hang out / Slowly lurching towards your city / Pierced through the heart but never killed.” She skewers her acts of public kindness, too: “Did you hear my covert narcissism / I disguise as altruism / Like some kind of congressman?”

Things get funnier as the singer, whose fortune is estimated at around $750m, slur-growls: “I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money / She thinks I left them in the will / The family gathers round and reads it / And then someone screams out ‘She’s laughing up at us from hell!’” Swift lays into her “niceness” again on the poppier swell of “Bejewelled”, on which she warns a guy that she has the capacity to light up rooms (and all the boys in the band) if he doesn’t pay more attention.

“You’re on Your Own, Kid” digs into a catchy-cute guitar melody – flecked with pretty pings that echo her early pop – as Swift looks back on the days when she sang her songs in the parking lot. Lines about starving her body, hoping for the perfect kiss, are a nod to her Romeo and Juliet teen dreams. This sweetness is balanced by the vocal distortions and rhythmic lurches of “Midnight Rain”, on which Swift revels in her role as a heartbreaker. By the time she gets to noirish rap “Vigilante S**t”, she’s relishing her shadow-self, ripping into a cheating lover. “I don’t dress for women / I don’t dress for men,” goes her predatory purr. “Lately, I’ve been dressing for revenge.” As ever, Swift drops just enough filmic detail to conjure a scene: an envelope handed to a wife who’s now driving her ex’s Benz. And there’s some classy-sharp wordplay about the guy who was “doing lines/ and crossing all of mine”. Through it all, the low vibration of the synth is stalked by the treble rattle of a snare drum. The effect is of a woman in stilettos hunting a shadow.

There’s been some excitement online about the teased track “Karma”. Many thought it would address her spat with Kanye West, and that it might have been taken from an album lost during that time. But the swipes at a “spiderboy, king of thieves” waving a “web of opacity” would suggest it’s about her ex, Spider-Man star Jake Gyllenhaal (who famously dumped her by text, breaking her heart and inspiring the album Red which she recently re-recorded). The album ends with “Mastermind”, which seems to be about Alwyn again – and includes a confession that, like “all wise women”, she engineered some aspects of their romance. “I’m only cryptic and Machiavellian because I care…” Ha.

The subtle melodies of Midnights take time to sink their claws in. But Swift’s feline vocal stealth and assured lyrical control ensures she keeps your attention. Turn the lights off and let these songs prowl around you. Just don’t expect their meanings to settle too biddably into your lap. Swift’s always as elusive as she is allusive.

[9w1ft]

I don’t get why would anyone think Taylor might be coming out this year? like it doesn’t really make sense

from what i can tell i think it’s mostly a mix of taylor wearing lesbian and bi flag colors in her tour outfits (so combos of orange and pink, or purple pink and blue, over outfits close together), along with a higher frequency of surprise songs that feel like ‘a goodbye to her fans’ or that she has played a lot of the same songs in succession/timing that she did before breaking things off with matty, which might point toward breaking up with travis soon, and so this all happening now before june makes it feel like it’s stuff that’s ramping up for june, which is pride month

i’m sure there’s other stuff and that it’s not a perfect explanation but this is just what i’ve absorbed through osmosis.

i think another part of it is that with eras tour and her sudden bump in popularity in general, statistically speaking, there are going to be a historically large number of new people coming into the gaylor community. and when you’re new things feel like they have more weight or that they’re leading to something, i don’t know if there’s a term for it.. arriver’s bias?? where like the rush of realizing things for the first time and the excitement to be a part of it makes the potential for a conclusion feel more evident or fated?

and i’m not saying that only new people think she’s coming out next month. just that historically, this is probably the biggest tidal wave of new people having rolled in and i think this added interest contributes to some of the hype, when you feel more people agreeing with you.

anyways i just hope people allow taylor to express herself during pride month in whatever way she does without interpreting that expression as a promise for something more, and then getting disappointed or even upset if that something more that they put on her does not happen. if that makes sense.