cross-posted from: https://poptalk.scrubbles.tech/post/531576
For those here who don’t know, there’s a conspiracy passed around from a small group of Taylor Swift’s fans that she is secretly queer and is too afraid/ashamed/unable to say it. They believe that she talks secretly to them through her music trying to let them know that she is not hetero and needs anything from support to convincing others that she is.
I’ll leave my small rant below about my swiftie feelings about it, but it just feels like a complete 180 from what the core ideals of LGBTQ+ are. To allow someone to feel comfortable with who they are, to not pressure anyone, to not pull anyone out of the closet, and to not be gossips.
All people close to Taylor that have spoken about the NYT piece have confirmed that everyone is shocked and angry about the piece, and of course they are. Even on the slight chance that she is queer (which open goes against what she herself has told everyone), how are you being an ally at all by dragging them out of the closet?
I think it was awful of @nytimes to publish. Triggering for me to read— not because the writer mentioned my nearly ending my life— but seeing a public person’s sexuality being discussed is upsetting.
I think the Gaylors should be ashamed of themselves. They are doing exactly what LGTBQ+ have fought against for decades now - people making assumptions about their own lives and sexuality - but they’re masking it because it’s Taylor.
I’m in the camp of anything that’s not public is just that - not public. Even if it were true (and all signs point to it not being true), then it’d be disrespectful of us to talk about it unless she made it public. Think about it, you’re going out of your way to talk about something that she explicitly has hidden from the rest of the world. That doesn’t make you a better fan, it makes you a gossip and not an ally.
/rant.
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Country singer Chely Wright, who came out in 2010 as gay, has called a New York Times opinion piece, that’s being criticized for speculating about Taylor Swift‘s sexuality, “triggering” and “awful.”
Wright, who first publicly discussed being gay in 2010 and shared her personal challenges around coming out as a Christian from rural Kansas in a Huffington Post blog, was mentioned in an op-ed the Times published Thursday titled “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do.”
In it, the musician discusses the challenges LGBTQ country singers face in terms of receiving equal investment and support from the industry while also being open about their sexuality.
“Queer identity was still taboo enough in mainstream America that speaking about her love for another woman would have spelled the end of a country music career.
In the days since it’s publishing, the piece has faced increasing scrutiny, with some on social media calling for its retraction in light of its open speculation about a public figure’s private life and identity.
This person added: “There seems to be no boundary some journalists won’t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive untrue, and inappropriate it is — all under the protective veil of an ‘opinion piece.
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