On the hits different topic, this song struck me as very queer not just for the Kens line or the car line, but for the whole meaning of the song and how she writes about this breakup. As a bisexual woman who really only liked men for the majority of my life before liking a girl my senior year of high school, liking girls literally does hit different. There’s a different kind of magic to it - not necessarily true love, but something new and exciting that marks your discovery of a new identity. I still like men and am in a long-term relationship with one now. But I have to agree that there is a different kind of feeling when you’re in a queer relationship or have a queer crush after only having straight crushes and relationships for your whole life. Taylor writes about how this breakup feels different from other breakups, and makes clear moves to set this one apart from the others. Plus, she released it exclusively on the *lavender* edition vinyl. Loved your series on this topic, keep doing great work :)
no because I didn't even have a romantic relationship with my first queer crush, just a really close and impactful friendship, that I grieved for years after it ended. After years of discovering myself and sexuality I realized I'd been in love with her the entire time, and that's why it "hit different" when I lost her. Because I was always so confused why it hurt so bad for long when losing other friendships and even some relationships with men just didn't.
One thing about Paris you missed is the line that cones right before the one you mentioned: “i wanna transport you to somewhere the culture’s clever”. Like what kind of couple would benefit from a “clever cultured” society? A queer one. Somewhere where they won’t judge us for our sexuality or our relationship. Many gay friends here have moved out of the country due to the extreme homophobia here in Peru, and the fact that there’s no marriage equality. And this story has been very common for tons of queer people. Having to move from their hometown, bc of extreme conservatism.
Extreme swiftgron here: Hits Different is so super gay, not towards a certain girl, but after seeing someone claim Taylor called HERSELF the argumentative dream girl I knew there were just delusional people who will never see the queer coding because it doesn't fit their narrative
That’s not even the weirdest thing I’ve seen. I’ve watched some lovely (but straight) people react to the midnights songs and there’s so many lines that are so obvious to us that don’t mean anything to them or they explain them away with other meaning, it’s like being undercover in the hetlor world lol😊 I guess you can only ever see things through your own lens 🤷🏻♀️
i wanna add that in glitch she says "i'd go back to wanting DUDES who give nothing, i thought we had no chance and that's romance, let's dance" which really connects to kens lyrics in hd
I could listen to you all day. Your delivery is great, your voice is completely inoffensive and you're extremely respectful on all levels without being annoyingly over-careful. It's succinct and precise and basically you're a natural. Great job!
wtf give me 4 houndred hours of you going through every single line in taylor's discography, i learned so much in this video my gay and gaylor ass is steaming with knowledge. thank you. love from brazil. 💜
People called WW1 "the Great War" before they knew a harsher, more devastating battle that was coming (WW2). Taylor ends the song with "we survived the Great War" but we as the audience know that there is a greater war coming.
That’s a very reasonable explanation. This song has been sticking in my mind for months. I was wondering why she said she survived it when she and Karlie actually broke up at the end.
Yass. Also. Regarding the whole “advocating for a community I’m not a part of” the line right before that she describes an archetype of straight cis white man. And she then said she can advocate for communities she isn’t a part of. That doesn’t just imply she’s saying not gay. She’s saying I’m white. And I’m cis. But I can still do better for communities I’m not in. The question may have been direct but her answer was far from it
I came across Gaylor literally a few days ago after being a Swifite for YEARS, and I have since become what Ashley Norton called a level 2 gaylor 😅 I fully support the idea that she is bi/pan and probably dated women before (Diana, Karlie etc.) but I don’t like the implications from the theory that Joe is her beard, just across the board that one leaves a bad taste with me. As someone who has only dated men so far, I wasn’t ever really looking for queer themes in her lyrics and persona but I sure will be now. If nothing else it’ll give me an excuse to listen to Taylor’s whole discog again 😂 Your analysis is so insightful and nuanced, great job on these videos! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I think that ultimately, with both Larry and Gaylor theory, they've both ended up becoming much more of a way for queer people to connect in ways that may be difficult for us in real life about both shared interests and experiences. I wouldn't say I definitively believe in either, but the experience of having a community with shared interests and values as you online is deeply appealing to just about anyone. Having discourse about people whose art you really enjoy online with a community of like minded queer people is, I think, the best thing to come out of either situation.
As a gay myself, I agree that bonding and discussing common interests within the community is a great way to feel, well, like a community. It’s nice to feel supported. BUT when it starts to veer into conspiracy theory territory and people GENUINELY believing this to the point where you have whole New York Times articles speculating on these things (that, again, as a gay, I find pretty disturbing) it can create real harm in the way we engage with real people.
The piece of evidence that I’ve used to convince most people is “carve your name into my bedpost, cause I don’t want you like a best friend” combined with the Vogue BFF cover
the idea of "so the girlies who know know and the ones who don't don't" is so real in this case. i listened to lavender haze very quickly and i instantly interpreted the "lavender haze" not as a mad men deep in love sort of thing, but the continued ambiguity of her sexuality and how her partner (joe) is aware of and unfazed by it. i think that the kit connor situation, which fully enrages me, is very different to taylor swift's and i was surprised when rowan ellis brought taylor up in "the public dystopia of queer speculation" video. he avoided conversations about his sexuality more in a year than taylor did in 10, and was more explicit about his discomfort about the speculation. taylor has liked kissgate and gaylor posts and written sapphic lyrics about her own experiences, as you discussed in this video. the other key difference to me is that kit connor was accused of profiting of the ambiguity because if people thought he was queer then they'd be more likely to engage in his projects (which is fucking batshit to me and it reeks of people lacking an understanding of how hard it can be to be out as queer and the fear of being forced out). on the other hand, the gaylors (most gaylors) wouldn't stop supporting taylor on the basis of her sexuality, whether that is straight or something queer. real people can't queerbait, and neither party did so, but in the taylor swift situation, people on both sides are far more sympathetic to taylor swift as a person, which was sadly not the same in kit connor's case. also with the "proud" bracelet in the bi pride colours, it's one thing if you're wearing a rainbow or even bi coloured bracelet, but the fact that it's that word with a specific identity (as opposed to an umbrella rainbow identity) is very much a symbol of her being out to the people who would accept her while somehow being deniable enough to the hardcore hetlors. thank you for bringing us another video, i have been so excited for this since october and you did not disappoint :)
What sealed the deal for me is the lyric from Invisible String: _Time, mystical time, gave me the blue and then purple, pink skies_ 💙💜🩷 Like, come on, that's pretty undeniable! I saw some hetlors try to explain that it's just Taylor is referencing the album cover colour palette of Lover, which the title is a reference to her lover, Joe, meaning all songs in Lover are about Joe. Like, guys, The Archer says hello. But even looking at the Lover cover, without even talking about bi flags, you can totally make out the pan flag colours in it! Sneaky yellow is there for a reason!
Oh, and the potential Victoria Secret Runway reference of K's dress and shit in Gold Rush! And like, I get that guys can be very pretty that it hurts but screams Gold Rush ✨️!
i was a gaylor before i even considered myself a swiftie, i think you’re right that a lot of hetlors are too close to the situation to see what she’s trying to say sooooo loudly
my husband told me about this video at 4 am. he told me about 'I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car' and I actually screamed. anyway i'm so excited to watch this video
I don't even know if I'm a gaylor or not, cause I'm not really engaged in online discussions, but after stumbling upon the amazing part 1, I was really looking forward to part 2
i absolutely LOVED this video, not just because it does a great job of talking about gaylors and gaylor theory, but because of the way you structured it and presented everything. you seem like the kind of person i’d wanna be friends with, and as another english lit major you seem like the kind of person whose lit analyses i’d wanna read too lmao
i absolutely agree with the interpretation of mastermind's bridge being about hiding her sexuality but i still see the song as a romantic one as if the song's subject was a woman. in the 2nd verse she says "You see, all the wisest women / Had to do it this way / 'Cause we were born to be the pawn / In every lover's game" which means that wise women know about this technique of being a mastermind. due to that fact in the last chorus the lover reveals that she knew all along. because she is a wise woman!!
i hope hassan finds these and can be open minded enough to not just write what ur saying off as crazy u did a good job explaining. i’m not a gaylor or a hetlor i believe it’s her business either way but u had good takes
Thought i saw everything about gaylor from the reddit sub but you gave so many insights new to me -- especially with the midnights song analysis THANK YOU! GAYLORISM BOOSTED 😘😘😘
Hi!! I've been wanting to do a video about this for awhile, but was super intimidated by the way that I've seen "gaylors" being treated online and the bullying and harrassment that follows--thank you for taking the time to do this. I'd LOVE to hear your take on everything that's been happening on stage during her Eras Tour. I still can not get over the fact that she BURNED the Lover's House down. (Edit: and the closets, OMG the fucking closets, and also gigantic Taylor on screen screaming at the audience to SEE her AND the emphasis of her pointing it them while singing LWYMMD.) At this point, I feel like Taylor is preparing her official coming out announcement, possibly on stage or in the speculated documentary of the Eras Tour. But a part of me also just wants to see how far she can take her queerness, without officially addressing it directly, before it becomes obvious to the point of zero deniability or "hetsplaining." Since Midnights released, more and more publicity and attention has been given to the Gaylor theories, like, even Rolling Stone published an article about it before also getting an exclusive with her. 😅 Short of her saying "Hi. It's me. I'm queer. . ." she is by all means already OUT to her dedicated queer fanbase and most likely her fellow queer artists. . . specifically those going on tour with her. An interview even publicly made reference to it recently when talking to the author of "The 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo." 🤣
omg THIS!!!!! I've been dying to see someone point out the signaling she's doing on tour. It's unbelievable and just so out there. It's like she's screaming it!!!! so many viduals to talk about. The one which is so clear is during the Lavender Haze performance the visuals of her hiding in a closet and peaking out of it to the audience. Burning the lover house TWICE cuz the first time she set fire to it (tried coming out during lover era) it failed and she had to backout. But NOW she's ready and successfully burns the eras down. The imagery is hard to ignore.
58:55 Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that she wrote a love song to a _girl,_ like, explicitly, in the lyrics, addresses this love song, to a girl, and this _isn't_ her coming out album? Like, there is no (sensical) straight explanation for that. I... she literally addressed her song to a girl, how is this even speculation at this point??? Also, I love the fact that the word "girl" echoes. Like, just in case you missed it haha! Also very accurate to what the word did in my mind as I heard it, haha! If any word ever deserved an echo it's that one, but it only emphasises it so clearly she wanted listeners to notice.
not only did she not call herself straight in the vogue article but the question was also asked in a context that would include POC and trans people. two communities she's not part of. i know you're not into blind items but there was a blind about scooter's wife calling taylor a d*ke. that was quite a while before midnights came out really enjoyed your 2 videos
When I started seeing Gaylor theories the most convincing one was the hairpin. Then she referenced it again in this album knowing about the speculation. I also want to add that at the end of the bejeweled video, there’s a portrait of Zoe kravits in the style of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.. she’s also known Zoe for 6 years..
I've recently discovered Swift songs and I love what she does, especially since Folklore. She's a really great songwriter. I don't know if she is queer, but what keeps bugging me is that she knows what she is doing. Symbols, colours, imagery, all this stuff, she knows how to use it in a song, and in everything around her songs. When I first saw the title "Lavender Haze", I immediately associated lavender with lesbian, and I can't believe that she didn't know, or found out, about this association. Same with all the photoshoots with Karlie Kloss : the imagery (the covers, the holding hands, how held each other), it immedialtely made me think of some soft lesbian "chic". She can't not have known. When she wrote that she never would have thought stopping dating guys and choosing to hang out with her female friends would lead to sexualising those female relationships, I can't help thinking "why wouldn't the media sexualize them? what would stop them? it's as if she didn't know homosexuality/bisexuality could exist?". I guess I wish she said "I know lavender refers to lesbians. it's not what I meant or referred to when I wrote this song, but I get that it can be read that way too, and I have no problem with that". Blaming the media, when she knows very well how to use them (and that's ok because she is also a business woman and that's part of the job), is a little rich for me.
I know this is but a small part of this video lol but whether or not "The Way I Loved You" is about a former queer relationship, I don't think that's supposed to be the main part of the song at all. I've been in different types of toxic relationships (familial, platonic) and the song felt pretty clearly to me like it was about some first or most significant relationship being toxic, but because it was so significant, the singer is very influenced by it and struggles to go back to healthy relationships after it. It reminded me of some of my closest friendships that used to be very toxic, and it was hard for me to get better friends after those because I thought "well we must be bonding with each other more if we're like this" or "at least if they're mean to me sometimes, I know that they're not fake friends or holding something back". So, I think when someone goes through that and then someone is just nice to them, it can feel a little off-putting and less fulfilling just because you're not feeling every emotion all at once and everything is so simple.
Yeah romanticizing the memory of an abusive relationship is definitely a major theme of the song. I def don’t think it’s the definitive gaylor proof that the person who made the TikTok thinks it is. I think I was just trying to point out that I see why queer ppl, especially sapphic women, relate to the song so much. Thanks for sharing your experience and interpretation!!
People called us insane when we said back in 2008 (yeah, it's been a long time) that Kristen Stewart and Ellen Page were fruity. Well, Kristen started dating women openly a few years later; Ellen Page first came out as a lesbian and later as a trans man. Gaydar is real. Periodt. So, don't let those haters on Twitter let you down. Their jaws will drop eventually when Taylor finally comes out.
My interpretation of the Midnight Rain album is, she is thinking back on various past love interests she's had in her life. I think a lot of songs, such as Midnight Rain, are about her first love, her highschool boyfriend. And some songs are about Karlie Kloss. And other songs about other partners, only she knows.
Agree. I think it is about wanting to be known and open in the community or even just fans that care to look close enough. But not for example the kind of media and adversarial public that is freaking the f out because she is "ruining football" right now
omg. i saw your original tweet on my timeline and one of my mututals on tiktok reshared a clip of you reading the response tweets. i'm so excited to keep watching this and i'm only 5 minutes in
I’m a gaylor and a larrie. I agree with almost everything else you said in this video, but, although it’s a TINY segment of the video, I have to disagree about the Larry thing - the problem is that Louis saying it ruined their friendship was only ever recorded in print. If you watch the actual video which led to this in-print denial, he says something like “ive never been asked about it directly” (a blatant lie) then goes on to add “it’s a funny thing I mean people can believe what they want to believe” and eventually goes on to ramble about “if you Google conspiracies on iPhones you’re gonna get a conspiracy.” While this could be interpreted as a denial in itself, his body language is incredibly unconvincing AND this is literally the same interview where he supposedly claimed “[larry stylinson] took away the vibe.” It just seems suspicious to me that the only part of the interview captured on video was the part that could be interpreted as a non-denial denial, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE this interview was conducted by Dan Wootton of the Sun, who is close to Simon Cowell, hates larries, and is notorious for making up stories about the boys (Louis himself has called Dan out for this). I do think there would be a lot fewer larries out there if we’d actually seen Louis saying “Larry Stylinson ruined our friendship.” I don’t know what their current situation is (I believe they were forcibly closeted while in the boyband) but I do understand why that side of the fandom is so big. As with Taylor, there’s a lot of negatives to coming out of the closet. Sorry, I didn’t mean to write a comment this long - I’m just passionate about closeting in the entertainment industry and the original Rowan video has always rubbed me the wrong way because when you compare the way Harry, Louis, and Taylor have addressed queer speculation/have talked about their relationship to the community compared to the way actual straight people respond to queer speculation, it’s night and day.
Louis' denial turned out to be another proof lol 😆. And seems like he knew exactly what he was doing, especiall when he says "Obviously" . It's a lie that he had never been asked about it before; he had back in 2011, 2012... kind of asked in 2014 with Ben asking if there were any rumors they didn't like or thought that was weird. Louis mocked saying "I'm sure there's something... 🤔 " . So, why there couldn't be another lie in the response? Things like this happened thousands times before. I only feel that we have to wait and keep learning.
That’s a great point! If a straight celebrity is asked if they’re gay or in a gay relationship they’re either going to be very comfortable denying it or or get angry (if they’re homophobic) and threaten libel action. Or if they’re an ally they might say something like never say never, or I’m open to it. Only a queer person in the closet is going to be ambiguous in their response.
The entire idea of Taylor swift being queer is so complex and fascinating,I'm not exactly sure where I sit tbh 🤣 I've been a swiftie since i was 9 and for years grew up surrounded with all these theories about her sexuality,it's entirely possible she's bisexual,because there is a lot of evidence backing up the karlie kloss relationship timeline and I was a mighty shipper of them once . Its not black and white,and she has many songs that whether intentionally explore queer themes such as hiding your relationship,not understanding whether you love someone platonically or romantically,etc all things that queer or just people who aren't seen as socially normal can relate to . Mastermind reads more as neurodivergent to me but I haven't seen as much evidence for this theory 🤔 I do think some gaylors and hetlors alike kind of take things way too far but the majority actually have great points to back up their speculations about Taylor
@@Vampirepup_edits Thanks for explaining this to me here, but does bpd stand for “borderline personality disorder” ig or not? (Just asking btw that’s all) 👍🏻👌🏻😌💕
Hey, I saw your tweet! I am also more of a lurker in the gaylor community, but just wanted to give mad respect lol. Too bad I never saw your video(s) on my UA-cam recommendations. Still, better late than never
57:11 Honestly that makes a lot of sense. I mean, I can understand not feeling comfortable with the whole world knowing something so personal and vulnerable. I imagine it would feel very exposed. And of course, in many ways coming out properly would be very different for her than for you and me. One thing a lot of queer people complain about is that they have to come out again and again, every time they meet someone new and tell them. But when the whole world knows her name, she would only have to come out once and she could never take that back. Once she comes out, the whole world will know forever. She couldn't go and meet new people who don't know anything about her, like we could, because the whole world knows about her. In a way, if you think about it, dropping these hints, these hairpins, is in many ways more like what coming out is like for normal people. She's out to the people she wants to be out to; to the people she knows will support her; to the people she chooses to tell.
Still not over the ‘argumentative antithetical dream girl’ line 😊😊😊 and also the reference to ‘your stare’. Remember when Karlie and Taylor did the staring contest on the Vogue BFF test? Gayest shit ever… this song is just soo good and sooo gay 🌈🌈 Edit: i just saw a video of Taylor singing this song live for the first time on the Eras tour and guess where? Chicago of all places - Karlies’s birthplace!!
I just wanna say my interpretation of "question...?" is that it's about dianna agron. she uses a lot of the same motifs that in songs (style/wonderland/into the woods) supposedly about dianna and i think dianna is the "sad boy" because of her likeness to james dean in style. also the roommate/cheap rose mention invokes imagery of a ny apartment which i feel like hint towards dianna. also the jack antonoff interview when he's like "i only hang out with gay women" and the interviewers like "is taylor gay?????" and he backtracks will always be proof for me lmfao
To be fair, I have a lot more context right now. But to me, mastermind is definitely about the fans. She crafted everything, pulled all the strings to win our love, and when she told us she was doing this, with easter eggs and what have you, we smiled and went crazier for her.
I saw somewhere that John mayer lived in a church that had stained glass windows at the time he was dating Taylor, I thought that was an interesting little Easter egg to give more context to the religious themes in would've could've should've
I am very pro Gaylor reading of TS but I heard “the lips I used to call home” completely differently. Not like “I used to call your lips home” But “I used my lips to call home” Instead of “used to” as a phrase for “a thing I did in the past” I heard used to as past tense of “use to.” And I always heard it as she was talking anout her own lips being red (since it’s pretty much her signifier.”) I tried to explain this to someone once and they said I was stretching but I’m not.. it’s literally an issue with the fact that the word choice of “used to” being able to be correctly interpreted in two different ways. So for example if she was talking about her own phone and said “the phone I used to call him,” I think we’d know she didn’t call the phone home, but that she’s saying she uses her phone to call home. Hope this makes sense. Lol.
His "awesome explanations" is just him seeing queerness everywhere just because he's completely ignorant about the context of her entire career. Taylor being a cringy over the top ally in the YNTCD video makes WAY more sense than her supposedly being queer, ESPECIALLY since she has been criticized before for being apolitical.
Can we point out that the visuals for Lavender Haze in the Eras Tour kind of resemble being trapped? Like I get that they may be window shades, but when I attended the concert I was so struck with them... Or is it just me ?
Also Taylor told us back in her You Need to calm Down video. With her painted hair. It's the bisexual flag. But upside down. With blue on top. That means she likes boys more. But she still likes women sometimes too. I personally believe Taylor has a high romantic drive, and she looks for crushes wherever it hits her.
I am glad finally someone pointed out about The Great War. (Spineless in my tomb of silence) I totally agree with you about the whole song but I want to know how you interpret the last verse. I am really confused about it and have been thinking about it for months
yeah and spineless means weak, someone who can't raise their voice at the right time. Maybe she sometimes dislikes the fact that can't just announce it to the work that she's queer.
11:21 Some of the chat comments are cracking me up! "This is like Harry Styles and that other guy." Firstly, I find it quite amusing that they're referring to presumably Louis Tomlinson as "that other guy", but also I find this quite ironic seeing as Larries have really a ton of evidence. I know this is off-topic, but I find it pretty impossible to believe that they never had anything going on. So yeah, that comparison does _not_ do what you think it does haha!
You know what, I listened to Lavender Haze again last night with the lavender gate knowledge in mind... it could definitely sound like a song about being in love with a woman for the first time. The only lyric that even kind of takes away from that is where she says "if I'm gonna be your bride" and it could've definitely originally been "if I'm gonna be a bride" so... it's gay as hell. I don't think her relationship is a sham but I think it's probably one of the gayest things she's written and probably got scared and was like "no it's about joe, see it's joe..." also with maroon, she says that roommates line and then "I see you everyday now" so I just assumed that the "roommate" was her lover
The chorus literally sounds like someone who’s realizing she’s gay for the first time and doesn’t give a damn what people think about it or want from her anymore.
These videos are so, so great. I really hope you do make one (or two...or more, lol) that go through here discography and show the queer flagging. The thing that REALLY got me is the daisy motif for Karlie. We're supposed to buy that Jake is associated with a scarf because of like two photos but making a connection with daisyies to Karlie is "creepy"? It makes no sense. Also, I genuinely think the people trying to say Taylor is not singing to a woman in "Hits Different" are assuming she's suddenly become a clunky and shoddy songwriter--on one of her most spectacularly written bridges of all time, no less. If someone can find any other instance in the history of her songwriting where a lyric reads one way, but one HAS TO ADD lyrics and change the functional structure of the line she's written for it to make sense...show me. I'd say I'll wait right here until you find it but I won't because you can't. She doesn't write like that. Other pop stars? Maybe. But not Taylor.
no fr it's so funny seeing hets be like "she's CLEARLY singing "but i can still melt your world, (cause i'm your) argumentative antithetical dream girl"" unironically. like, what?? lmao?? the bridge that taylor herself said was one of her favourites, to contain a careless mistake that would alter the entire meaning of the song??? i'll take kissgate slander, i'll even take dress/wonderland slander. but Hits Different, the *lavender* edition song?????
I would love to hear your thoughts on Midnights in light of The Breakup Personally I view it as a breakup album but still with the queer undertones in some songs (all songs except lavender haze, sweet nothing, etc.). Most of the love songs I can see being about infidelity. It makes too much sense to me to NOT be about that. If the gaylor explanations don't make sense for some songs I can see them being about issues in their relationship (anti-hero's "one day i'll watch as you're leaving cause you got tired of my scheming" etc etc). Anyways I just thought the album took a different turn after their split was "announced" if everyone didn't know it before
Yeah, I can definitely see it as an album written from the perspective of someone who’s in a relationship that they can feel is coming to an end. That particular line of anti-hero “one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving // cause you got tired of my scheming” is so fascinating because it could be Taylor’s worried about pushing Joe away by having too big of a lifestyle for him (the story being told in the media right now) or it could be about Taylor knowing that she’s going to have to watch him leave because he’s tired of the scheming that comes with being in a PR bearding relationship, or it could be about that AND about Taylor worrying that her fans will leave because they’re tired of her scheming (read: bearding). (Again, I don’t know for sure whether Joe was a beard or not, just another possible lyrical interpretation .)
taylor has said on tour that she wants us to relate to her music and it make it our own. i do personally think taylor is queer. But just like I think swifties speculating about which songs are about one of her public male exes or cyber harassing them, is wrong (ex: bullying john mayer). i think some gaylors do take it too far with involving and directly addressing taylor's rumour girlfriends. both instances are evasive and should stop. its gets so awkward specially because some of her rumour exes are people that are not out themselves and are in heretosexual marriages (with children). also taylor's quote about the media making dating rumours about her friends applies to most swifties. we have seen how swifies and the media start dating rumours with men she is just friends with or even just took a picture with. we have seen how it frustrates her and also adds to the slut shaming she has brutally received all her career. as she gotten older, she clearly wants her privacy about her romantic relationships. i have interpreted taylor's song dear reader as a response this discourse. i think swifties can have interpretations but just not involved actual people's name that taylor hasn't explicitly shared with us.
Also I don't think would've could've should've is about John Mayor. I think it's about entering the music industry as a kid. ... before she was 19. If she hadn't done that she wouldn't have danced with the devil later when she was 19
I stopped watching just to come to say that: NO, Louis and Harry never actually asked people to stop. They never did. They denied it, that's true. BUT, even Freddie Mercury and George Michael denied they were gay. In the end, after Freddie passed , we knew he was in fact gay, and now we know GM came out as gay. So, both saying "No, that's not true. I have Eleanor, my girlfriend.." or "I'm not gonna say this song is or isn't about this specific person...etc" as young as they are, doesn't really mean that they are being 100% honest. It might be the need , on this moment, not to come out yet, if that's the case (which I believe it is, because, just like you see Taylor doing, they never did anything to stop the rumors about the lyrics, the Blue and Green colors , the tattos, they schedule... a ton of things) If anyone has any interest in knowing about Larry's story, from 2010 till nowadays, I recommend you to watch the timelines videos. Comics Leed is a great channel.
The thing that irritates me most about the gaylors isn't that they think she's gay or that they so often spread misinformation. This is a good example of why they get to me & why even when I give them the benefit of the doubt, I IMMEDIATELY regret it: 37:41 This is giving putting your own life experience onto her. Because you are gay you are reflecting your experiences onto her. In a way that is what you're supposed to do with music. Your supposed to relate to it with your own life experiences. Problem is you're assuming because you interpret it that way that means she meant it that way or that's how she also interrupted her own lyrics. And that's just not likely. Nobody but her and those close to her know her sexuality. She HAS said she's dated men, said she's not apart of the lgbtq community & asked people to stop speculation about her dating her friends. Don't matter how long it's been. You may be in denial of that which is your choice. Clearly since everytime it's excuses for not taking her at her own words & no songs on a album she called fiction doesn't count as her word to most people who choose fact over speculation & fantasy. I wouldn't care what she came out as. But almost every gaylor would be upset af if she came out confirming she's straight. That's just the truth.
Please more gaylor videos!! I loved both your videos on this topic and would love to see more, i'm not a huge fan of most of the other gaylor and swiftie creators out there ^^"
I don't care at all about Taylor Swift (I don't think her music is intrinsically bad, I just don't like pop in general), but you have managed to make this whole thing fun and engaging, and there's a lot of food for thought in there about being closeted, whether it's okay to speculate about celebrities, etc. Great work! (Also, I can tell you're an English Major and really into textual analysis. I love how you are looking at some of her statements and saying "yeah, this implies something, but it is not what it actually *says*." Or how you pointed out some grammar mistakes in the Matt Walsh video... I'm like that, too, and I like seeing it in others -- birds of a feather kind of thing!)
“Bleeding glitter” sounds so gay. 😂😂😂😂 I can’t believe she said this was MIDNIGHT BLUE. It’s clearly a lavender/lilac purple color. Midnight blue is SUCH a different color. Then she says “it’s supposed to be blue” like she knows damn well that it’s not 😂😂😂😂
That Rowan video broke my heart a bit. Ive learned so much from her, some things even helped me identify the queer coding on taylors work. After knowing her take on the matter I felt dissapointed and a bit ashamed. The kind of shame that comes from internalized homophobia.
I know!!! I definitely still enjoy her content, but it’s a bummer because I just know a 20 minute conversation between Rowan and Swiftieplanntika would be all it would take to change her mind 😂😭
So I don't want to get like super super into this, but as you brought it up, I know most Larries think that they are both very controlled by management, and that they're being forced to say they don't like it. I know what you're thinking - that's an easy excuse to make, but there is some evidence - largely the fact that they have only said they don't like the speculation in ways that can be very controlled by management - such as interviews and social media, and have even seemed to point to or otherwise approve of it in ways that can't really be controlled - namely concerts (especially back when the band was still together). Also, the two biggest pieces of evidence for me (which people do NOT talk about enough) are when Harry literally confirmed it. That's right. Once that they had mutual feelings for each other, and once that they were dating. Both of these are super super early on, presumably before they were so controlled. If you want to see the clips just Google "My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson" and "Are you and Louis dating?".
@jackson wagon on the real though I'm only halfway through but this is such a great and nuanced look of everything. I've been a swiftie since debut but saw some hairpins around RED TV and never looked back.
Hellooo… so with everything new that’s happened… are we getting a part 3? I feel like more and more people are finally seeing that gaylor theory actually holds some water.
hi! a fellow gaylor and a larrie (unfortunately) (seriously, i want all the the sleepless nights i spent trying to figure out what was/is going on with these two back) here! i’m not trying to start anything here or convince anyone but i just wanted to kind of give you a broader perspective when it comes to larry? (also, i just want to preface that english is not my first language and i still have some issues with getting my point across in it so i’m sorry if it’ll just turn out to be and incoherent ramble.) it’s about the point in your and rowan’s videos talking about the artists trying to make the speculation go away. as we know, and as you pointed out, taylor usually chooses to either say very little when it comes to this topic or just remain silent and let only her actions speak (whether people acknowledge what she’s doing or not). with larry it’s always been a lot more tricky. what i mean by that, is that there has always been (and i mean always, ever since the very beginning of the band) a huge dichotomy between what was said and printed in the press and what h and l where actually doing (and i don’t mean just some niche evidence that you need to have a magnifying glass to notice). also, to my knowledge harry never actually said anything about larry (well, he was specifically asked once and instead of giving an answer he just talked around the topic without actually saying anything of substance), it was always louis who took it upon himself to give these denials. and i mean this, even when they were sitting next to each other it was always louis doing the talking (which is pretty interesting, but it may as well just be my delusion getting the best of me). anyways (i feel kind of sorry for anyone who actually read the whole thing), i just wanted to say that these two situations and speculations are similar and yet very different and j just don’t think that we should look at them through the exact same lens. did anything i just said make any sense? probably not. would all of this need a lot more context and examples? probably yes, but my thoughts are all over the place so, sorry again p.s. i loved your video as whole
Thanks for the comment! I definitely don’t know much about Larrie theory, so I could be wrong. I tried to keep my discussion of Larrie short and vague because I don’t know much about it which is why I tried to use language like “it seems like x or y” when it came to Larrie stuff. Maybe I’ll do some more digging though
We get the same exact kind of hateful comments for suggesting that two fictional characters are gay/in love. (Dean Winchester and Castiel) (And then they say we are toxic while they call us sick, twisted, Delusional etc) People who definitely have less English comprehension than us says that we are “stupid,” because we understand English better than they do. (“Implying is not the same as explicitly stating for example, lol)
On the hits different topic, this song struck me as very queer not just for the Kens line or the car line, but for the whole meaning of the song and how she writes about this breakup. As a bisexual woman who really only liked men for the majority of my life before liking a girl my senior year of high school, liking girls literally does hit different. There’s a different kind of magic to it - not necessarily true love, but something new and exciting that marks your discovery of a new identity. I still like men and am in a long-term relationship with one now. But I have to agree that there is a different kind of feeling when you’re in a queer relationship or have a queer crush after only having straight crushes and relationships for your whole life. Taylor writes about how this breakup feels different from other breakups, and makes clear moves to set this one apart from the others. Plus, she released it exclusively on the *lavender* edition vinyl. Loved your series on this topic, keep doing great work :)
no because I didn't even have a romantic relationship with my first queer crush, just a really close and impactful friendship, that I grieved for years after it ended. After years of discovering myself and sexuality I realized I'd been in love with her the entire time, and that's why it "hit different" when I lost her. Because I was always so confused why it hurt so bad for long when losing other friendships and even some relationships with men just didn't.
I own the lavender vinyl & all the midnights records. It's not on it. It's only on the target CD.
One thing about Paris you missed is the line that cones right before the one you mentioned: “i wanna transport you to somewhere the culture’s clever”.
Like what kind of couple would benefit from a “clever cultured” society? A queer one. Somewhere where they won’t judge us for our sexuality or our relationship. Many gay friends here have moved out of the country due to the extreme homophobia here in Peru, and the fact that there’s no marriage equality. And this story has been very common for tons of queer people. Having to move from their hometown, bc of extreme conservatism.
Besides, Paris has famously been queer-friendly before most of the rest of the world... Like since the 1800s. :D
I am a bi girl peruvian
Extreme swiftgron here: Hits Different is so super gay, not towards a certain girl, but after seeing someone claim Taylor called HERSELF the argumentative dream girl I knew there were just delusional people who will never see the queer coding because it doesn't fit their narrative
That’s not even the weirdest thing I’ve seen. I’ve watched some lovely (but straight) people react to the midnights songs and there’s so many lines that are so obvious to us that don’t mean anything to them or they explain them away with other meaning, it’s like being undercover in the hetlor world lol😊 I guess you can only ever see things through your own lens 🤷🏻♀️
@@hello_its_jo9951 "so obvious to us" you mean the insane conspiracy theories you created in your brain?
i wanna add that in glitch she says "i'd go back to wanting DUDES who give nothing, i thought we had no chance and that's romance, let's dance" which really connects to kens lyrics in hd
And please notes that the word “DUDES” is plural
@@yuyu-wn1fx But that can mean that DUDES are also girls and is maybe bi or queer
I could listen to you all day. Your delivery is great, your voice is completely inoffensive and you're extremely respectful on all levels without being annoyingly over-careful. It's succinct and precise and basically you're a natural. Great job!
wtf give me 4 houndred hours of you going through every single line in taylor's discography, i learned so much in this video my gay and gaylor ass is steaming with knowledge. thank you. love from brazil. 💜
People called WW1 "the Great War" before they knew a harsher, more devastating battle that was coming (WW2). Taylor ends the song with "we survived the Great War" but we as the audience know that there is a greater war coming.
probably kaylor surviving kissgate but not surviving the masters/scooter situation, if that's the timeline
That’s a very reasonable explanation. This song has been sticking in my mind for months. I was wondering why she said she survived it when she and Karlie actually broke up at the end.
Yass. Also. Regarding the whole “advocating for a community I’m not a part of” the line right before that she describes an archetype of straight cis white man. And she then said she can advocate for communities she isn’t a part of. That doesn’t just imply she’s saying not gay. She’s saying I’m white. And I’m cis. But I can still do better for communities I’m not in. The question may have been direct but her answer was far from it
The Hasan video was so disappointing.
I came across Gaylor literally a few days ago after being a Swifite for YEARS, and I have since become what Ashley Norton called a level 2 gaylor 😅 I fully support the idea that she is bi/pan and probably dated women before (Diana, Karlie etc.) but I don’t like the implications from the theory that Joe is her beard, just across the board that one leaves a bad taste with me. As someone who has only dated men so far, I wasn’t ever really looking for queer themes in her lyrics and persona but I sure will be now. If nothing else it’ll give me an excuse to listen to Taylor’s whole discog again 😂 Your analysis is so insightful and nuanced, great job on these videos! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I think that ultimately, with both Larry and Gaylor theory, they've both ended up becoming much more of a way for queer people to connect in ways that may be difficult for us in real life about both shared interests and experiences. I wouldn't say I definitively believe in either, but the experience of having a community with shared interests and values as you online is deeply appealing to just about anyone. Having discourse about people whose art you really enjoy online with a community of like minded queer people is, I think, the best thing to come out of either situation.
As a gay myself, I agree that bonding and discussing common interests within the community is a great way to feel, well, like a community. It’s nice to feel supported. BUT when it starts to veer into conspiracy theory territory and people GENUINELY believing this to the point where you have whole New York Times articles speculating on these things (that, again, as a gay, I find pretty disturbing) it can create real harm in the way we engage with real people.
this is one of the best comments i have read in a while.
The piece of evidence that I’ve used to convince most people is “carve your name into my bedpost, cause I don’t want you like a best friend” combined with the Vogue BFF cover
Dannnnnnnnnggggggggggg tho 😩😩😩😩😂😂😂😂
the idea of "so the girlies who know know and the ones who don't don't" is so real in this case. i listened to lavender haze very quickly and i instantly interpreted the "lavender haze" not as a mad men deep in love sort of thing, but the continued ambiguity of her sexuality and how her partner (joe) is aware of and unfazed by it. i think that the kit connor situation, which fully enrages me, is very different to taylor swift's and i was surprised when rowan ellis brought taylor up in "the public dystopia of queer speculation" video. he avoided conversations about his sexuality more in a year than taylor did in 10, and was more explicit about his discomfort about the speculation. taylor has liked kissgate and gaylor posts and written sapphic lyrics about her own experiences, as you discussed in this video. the other key difference to me is that kit connor was accused of profiting of the ambiguity because if people thought he was queer then they'd be more likely to engage in his projects (which is fucking batshit to me and it reeks of people lacking an understanding of how hard it can be to be out as queer and the fear of being forced out). on the other hand, the gaylors (most gaylors) wouldn't stop supporting taylor on the basis of her sexuality, whether that is straight or something queer. real people can't queerbait, and neither party did so, but in the taylor swift situation, people on both sides are far more sympathetic to taylor swift as a person, which was sadly not the same in kit connor's case.
also with the "proud" bracelet in the bi pride colours, it's one thing if you're wearing a rainbow or even bi coloured bracelet, but the fact that it's that word with a specific identity (as opposed to an umbrella rainbow identity) is very much a symbol of her being out to the people who would accept her while somehow being deniable enough to the hardcore hetlors.
thank you for bringing us another video, i have been so excited for this since october and you did not disappoint :)
A couple of questions: 1)Who is Kit Connor? And 2)What is a “hetlor”? ://
What sealed the deal for me is the lyric from Invisible String:
_Time, mystical time, gave me the blue and then purple, pink skies_ 💙💜🩷
Like, come on, that's pretty undeniable!
I saw some hetlors try to explain that it's just Taylor is referencing the album cover colour palette of Lover, which the title is a reference to her lover, Joe, meaning all songs in Lover are about Joe. Like, guys, The Archer says hello. But even looking at the Lover cover, without even talking about bi flags, you can totally make out the pan flag colours in it! Sneaky yellow is there for a reason!
Oh, and the potential Victoria Secret Runway reference of K's dress and shit in Gold Rush! And like, I get that guys can be very pretty that it hurts but screams Gold Rush ✨️!
i was a gaylor before i even considered myself a swiftie, i think you’re right that a lot of hetlors are too close to the situation to see what she’s trying to say sooooo loudly
You mean things she's been saying to the NYT recently? Why hasn't she just come out already by this point if she wanted to say it?
my husband told me about this video at 4 am. he told me about 'I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car' and I actually screamed. anyway i'm so excited to watch this video
and just like that we spot a wild ника
@@anfisachern8570 кхкхкхкх
ого какие люди тут ❤️🩹❤️🩹
I don't even know if I'm a gaylor or not, cause I'm not really engaged in online discussions, but after stumbling upon the amazing part 1, I was really looking forward to part 2
I love how in the first video you were so cautious talking about gaylor stuff and now you're just like "that's the gayest shit i've ever heard" 😂
I gave up on trying to be even-handed it’s just too obvious atp haha
Thank you! I watched the first one last night, I’m so glad I don’t have to wait a while!
i absolutely LOVED this video, not just because it does a great job of talking about gaylors and gaylor theory, but because of the way you structured it and presented everything. you seem like the kind of person i’d wanna be friends with, and as another english lit major you seem like the kind of person whose lit analyses i’d wanna read too lmao
Thank you so much!! Glad you liked it :)
i absolutely agree with the interpretation of mastermind's bridge being about hiding her sexuality but i still see the song as a romantic one as if the song's subject was a woman. in the 2nd verse she says "You see, all the wisest women / Had to do it this way / 'Cause we were born to be the pawn / In every lover's game" which means that wise women know about this technique of being a mastermind. due to that fact in the last chorus the lover reveals that she knew all along. because she is a wise woman!!
"advocating for a community i'm not a part of"
sounds like me when i was closeted
Or maybe she's just not part of the community? Has it EVER crossed your mind? Stop imposing things on Taylor, it's beyond creepy.
Her discography is so gay without even getting into her personal life 😭
the 'weird rumours' from lavender haze being marriage rumours always makes me giggle
i hope hassan finds these and can be open minded enough to not just write what ur saying off as crazy u did a good job explaining. i’m not a gaylor or a hetlor i believe it’s her business either way but u had good takes
Thought i saw everything about gaylor from the reddit sub but you gave so many insights new to me -- especially with the midnights song analysis THANK YOU! GAYLORISM BOOSTED 😘😘😘
And I like that you ended with Hits Different. That song is so LOUD 😭🌼
Great video. We want part 3.
Hi!! I've been wanting to do a video about this for awhile, but was super intimidated by the way that I've seen "gaylors" being treated online and the bullying and harrassment that follows--thank you for taking the time to do this. I'd LOVE to hear your take on everything that's been happening on stage during her Eras Tour. I still can not get over the fact that she BURNED the Lover's House down. (Edit: and the closets, OMG the fucking closets, and also gigantic Taylor on screen screaming at the audience to SEE her AND the emphasis of her pointing it them while singing LWYMMD.)
At this point, I feel like Taylor is preparing her official coming out announcement, possibly on stage or in the speculated documentary of the Eras Tour. But a part of me also just wants to see how far she can take her queerness, without officially addressing it directly, before it becomes obvious to the point of zero deniability or "hetsplaining."
Since Midnights released, more and more publicity and attention has been given to the Gaylor theories, like, even Rolling Stone published an article about it before also getting an exclusive with her. 😅
Short of her saying "Hi. It's me. I'm queer. . ." she is by all means already OUT to her dedicated queer fanbase and most likely her fellow queer artists. . . specifically those going on tour with her.
An interview even publicly made reference to it recently when talking to the author of "The 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo." 🤣
omg THIS!!!!! I've been dying to see someone point out the signaling she's doing on tour. It's unbelievable and just so out there. It's like she's screaming it!!!! so many viduals to talk about. The one which is so clear is during the Lavender Haze performance the visuals of her hiding in a closet and peaking out of it to the audience. Burning the lover house TWICE cuz the first time she set fire to it (tried coming out during lover era) it failed and she had to backout. But NOW she's ready and successfully burns the eras down. The imagery is hard to ignore.
tell me about the interview!
58:55 Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me that she wrote a love song to a _girl,_ like, explicitly, in the lyrics, addresses this love song, to a girl, and this _isn't_ her coming out album? Like, there is no (sensical) straight explanation for that. I... she literally addressed her song to a girl, how is this even speculation at this point???
Also, I love the fact that the word "girl" echoes. Like, just in case you missed it haha! Also very accurate to what the word did in my mind as I heard it, haha! If any word ever deserved an echo it's that one, but it only emphasises it so clearly she wanted listeners to notice.
The hasan part surprised me omg, I didn't know anyone besides swifties knew about any of this
not only did she not call herself straight in the vogue article but the question was also asked in a context that would include POC and trans people. two communities she's not part of.
i know you're not into blind items but there was a blind about scooter's wife calling taylor a d*ke. that was quite a while before midnights came out
really enjoyed your 2 videos
where the hell do people get this kind of info 😭
When I started seeing Gaylor theories the most convincing one was the hairpin. Then she referenced it again in this album knowing about the speculation.
I also want to add that at the end of the bejeweled video, there’s a portrait of Zoe kravits in the style of Portrait of a Lady on Fire.. she’s also known Zoe for 6 years..
Wow 🙀🙀🙀🙀
I've recently discovered Swift songs and I love what she does, especially since Folklore. She's a really great songwriter. I don't know if she is queer, but what keeps bugging me is that she knows what she is doing. Symbols, colours, imagery, all this stuff, she knows how to use it in a song, and in everything around her songs. When I first saw the title "Lavender Haze", I immediately associated lavender with lesbian, and I can't believe that she didn't know, or found out, about this association. Same with all the photoshoots with Karlie Kloss : the imagery (the covers, the holding hands, how held each other), it immedialtely made me think of some soft lesbian "chic". She can't not have known. When she wrote that she never would have thought stopping dating guys and choosing to hang out with her female friends would lead to sexualising those female relationships, I can't help thinking "why wouldn't the media sexualize them? what would stop them? it's as if she didn't know homosexuality/bisexuality could exist?".
I guess I wish she said "I know lavender refers to lesbians. it's not what I meant or referred to when I wrote this song, but I get that it can be read that way too, and I have no problem with that". Blaming the media, when she knows very well how to use them (and that's ok because she is also a business woman and that's part of the job), is a little rich for me.
I know this is but a small part of this video lol but whether or not "The Way I Loved You" is about a former queer relationship, I don't think that's supposed to be the main part of the song at all. I've been in different types of toxic relationships (familial, platonic) and the song felt pretty clearly to me like it was about some first or most significant relationship being toxic, but because it was so significant, the singer is very influenced by it and struggles to go back to healthy relationships after it. It reminded me of some of my closest friendships that used to be very toxic, and it was hard for me to get better friends after those because I thought "well we must be bonding with each other more if we're like this" or "at least if they're mean to me sometimes, I know that they're not fake friends or holding something back". So, I think when someone goes through that and then someone is just nice to them, it can feel a little off-putting and less fulfilling just because you're not feeling every emotion all at once and everything is so simple.
Yeah romanticizing the memory of an abusive relationship is definitely a major theme of the song. I def don’t think it’s the definitive gaylor proof that the person who made the TikTok thinks it is. I think I was just trying to point out that I see why queer ppl, especially sapphic women, relate to the song so much. Thanks for sharing your experience and interpretation!!
even if you don't make another gaylor video, these will be my fav videos abt this topic
"your finger on my hairpin trigger" this one blew my mind.
yess and right before that “somewhere in the haze got a sense i’ve been betrayed” like didn’t karlie betray taylor by befriending scooter?
So happy about this follow-up! Thank you so much!
People called us insane when we said back in 2008 (yeah, it's been a long time) that Kristen Stewart and Ellen Page were fruity.
Well, Kristen started dating women openly a few years later; Ellen Page first came out as a lesbian and later as a trans man.
Gaydar is real. Periodt.
So, don't let those haters on Twitter let you down. Their jaws will drop eventually when Taylor finally comes out.
@@unkownels What does deadnaming mean tho? ://
@@abbiedcalling a trans person by their old name
It's 1am in Germany and ur dragging my sleep out another hour...
so glad this video is finally here! love it
Honestly you speaking about thoughts that were stuck in my mind somehow felt quite soothing.
My interpretation of the Midnight Rain album is, she is thinking back on various past love interests she's had in her life. I think a lot of songs, such as Midnight Rain, are about her first love, her highschool boyfriend. And some songs are about Karlie Kloss. And other songs about other partners, only she knows.
Please do a queer reading of her other songs 🙏😅 Great video Jackson
Hey, Jackson! Since The Tortured Poets Department just came out, can you do a queer analysis on it, like you did with Midnights? Thanks!
snow on the beach is so queer, the experience of having a queer crush
Agree. I think it is about wanting to be known and open in the community or even just fans that care to look close enough. But not for example the kind of media and adversarial public that is freaking the f out because she is "ruining football" right now
Keep up the great work, I have huge respect for you
omg. i saw your original tweet on my timeline and one of my mututals on tiktok reshared a clip of you reading the response tweets. i'm so excited to keep watching this and i'm only 5 minutes in
Excellent analysis on Gaylor theory!! I watched both. Please do another if there’s updates if you’re called to. Thank you!!
I’m a gaylor and a larrie. I agree with almost everything else you said in this video, but, although it’s a TINY segment of the video, I have to disagree about the Larry thing - the problem is that Louis saying it ruined their friendship was only ever recorded in print. If you watch the actual video which led to this in-print denial, he says something like “ive never been asked about it directly” (a blatant lie) then goes on to add “it’s a funny thing I mean people can believe what they want to believe” and eventually goes on to ramble about “if you Google conspiracies on iPhones you’re gonna get a conspiracy.” While this could be interpreted as a denial in itself, his body language is incredibly unconvincing AND this is literally the same interview where he supposedly claimed “[larry stylinson] took away the vibe.” It just seems suspicious to me that the only part of the interview captured on video was the part that could be interpreted as a non-denial denial, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE this interview was conducted by Dan Wootton of the Sun, who is close to Simon Cowell, hates larries, and is notorious for making up stories about the boys (Louis himself has called Dan out for this). I do think there would be a lot fewer larries out there if we’d actually seen Louis saying “Larry Stylinson ruined our friendship.” I don’t know what their current situation is (I believe they were forcibly closeted while in the boyband) but I do understand why that side of the fandom is so big. As with Taylor, there’s a lot of negatives to coming out of the closet. Sorry, I didn’t mean to write a comment this long - I’m just passionate about closeting in the entertainment industry and the original Rowan video has always rubbed me the wrong way because when you compare the way Harry, Louis, and Taylor have addressed queer speculation/have talked about their relationship to the community compared to the way actual straight people respond to queer speculation, it’s night and day.
Louis' denial turned out to be another proof lol 😆. And seems like he knew exactly what he was doing, especiall when he says "Obviously" . It's a lie that he had never been asked about it before; he had back in 2011, 2012... kind of asked in 2014 with Ben asking if there were any rumors they didn't like or thought that was weird. Louis mocked saying "I'm sure there's something... 🤔 " . So, why there couldn't be another lie in the response? Things like this happened thousands times before. I only feel that we have to wait and keep learning.
That’s a great point! If a straight celebrity is asked if they’re gay or in a gay relationship they’re either going to be very comfortable denying it or or get angry (if they’re homophobic) and threaten libel action. Or if they’re an ally they might say something like never say never, or I’m open to it. Only a queer person in the closet is going to be ambiguous in their response.
This was a great video, loved your commentary
The entire idea of Taylor swift being queer is so complex and fascinating,I'm not exactly sure where I sit tbh 🤣 I've been a swiftie since i was 9 and for years grew up surrounded with all these theories about her sexuality,it's entirely possible she's bisexual,because there is a lot of evidence backing up the karlie kloss relationship timeline and I was a mighty shipper of them once . Its not black and white,and she has many songs that whether intentionally explore queer themes such as hiding your relationship,not understanding whether you love someone platonically or romantically,etc all things that queer or just people who aren't seen as socially normal can relate to .
Mastermind reads more as neurodivergent to me but I haven't seen as much evidence for this theory 🤔
I do think some gaylors and hetlors alike kind of take things way too far but the majority actually have great points to back up their speculations about Taylor
Neurodivergent? ://
@@abbied yeah..what's wrong with that?
@@Vampirepup_edits Nothing I was just asking what it meant lol
@@abbied oh okay ahha sorry it just means like autistic,adhd,bpd and so on,all of those are considered neurodivergent
@@Vampirepup_edits Thanks for explaining this to me here, but does bpd stand for “borderline personality disorder” ig or not? (Just asking btw that’s all) 👍🏻👌🏻😌💕
Hey, I saw your tweet! I am also more of a lurker in the gaylor community, but just wanted to give mad respect lol. Too bad I never saw your video(s) on my UA-cam recommendations. Still, better late than never
57:11 Honestly that makes a lot of sense. I mean, I can understand not feeling comfortable with the whole world knowing something so personal and vulnerable. I imagine it would feel very exposed. And of course, in many ways coming out properly would be very different for her than for you and me. One thing a lot of queer people complain about is that they have to come out again and again, every time they meet someone new and tell them. But when the whole world knows her name, she would only have to come out once and she could never take that back. Once she comes out, the whole world will know forever. She couldn't go and meet new people who don't know anything about her, like we could, because the whole world knows about her.
In a way, if you think about it, dropping these hints, these hairpins, is in many ways more like what coming out is like for normal people. She's out to the people she wants to be out to; to the people she knows will support her; to the people she chooses to tell.
THIS IS THE CONTENT WE NEED!!! YES!! THANK YOU
Still not over the ‘argumentative antithetical dream girl’ line 😊😊😊 and also the reference to ‘your stare’. Remember when Karlie and Taylor did the staring contest on the Vogue BFF test? Gayest shit ever… this song is just soo good and sooo gay 🌈🌈
Edit: i just saw a video of Taylor singing this song live for the first time on the Eras tour and guess where? Chicago of all places - Karlies’s birthplace!!
I just wanna say my interpretation of "question...?" is that it's about dianna agron. she uses a lot of the same motifs that in songs (style/wonderland/into the woods) supposedly about dianna and i think dianna is the "sad boy" because of her likeness to james dean in style. also the roommate/cheap rose mention invokes imagery of a ny apartment which i feel like hint towards dianna.
also the jack antonoff interview when he's like "i only hang out with gay women" and the interviewers like "is taylor gay?????" and he backtracks will always be proof for me lmfao
PLEASE LINK THAT JACK INTERVIEW CLIP IT SOUNDS HILARIOUS 😭
Are you familiar w/ Karlie’s Carolina Herrera perfume? Definitely worth comparing the marketing for Good Girl/Bad Boy.
To be fair, I have a lot more context right now. But to me, mastermind is definitely about the fans. She crafted everything, pulled all the strings to win our love, and when she told us she was doing this, with easter eggs and what have you, we smiled and went crazier for her.
wait did taylor and scooter braun's ex-wife fu- THAT TOOK ME OUT
I saw somewhere that John mayer lived in a church that had stained glass windows at the time he was dating Taylor, I thought that was an interesting little Easter egg to give more context to the religious themes in would've could've should've
^^^
I definitely agree that it is homophobic to act angry at the fact that a celebrity could be gay
I am very pro Gaylor reading of TS but I heard “the lips I used to call home” completely differently.
Not like “I used to call your lips home”
But “I used my lips to call home”
Instead of “used to” as a phrase for “a thing I did in the past” I heard used to as past tense of “use to.” And I always heard it as she was talking anout her own lips being red (since it’s pretty much her signifier.”)
I tried to explain this to someone once and they said I was stretching but I’m not.. it’s literally an issue with the fact that the word choice of “used to” being able to be correctly interpreted in two different ways.
So for example if she was talking about her own phone and said “the phone I used to call him,” I think we’d know she didn’t call the phone home, but that she’s saying she uses her phone to call home.
Hope this makes sense. Lol.
Would love a part 3 👍 thanks for the content 🎉 fellow gaylor here
39:42 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASCREAMING❤❤❤❤❤❤- 🤯 analysis so good it’s practically explosive 🧨
You are amazing! I have no clue how anyone could see it any other way after your awesome explanations unless they’re homophobic. Thank you!
His "awesome explanations" is just him seeing queerness everywhere just because he's completely ignorant about the context of her entire career. Taylor being a cringy over the top ally in the YNTCD video makes WAY more sense than her supposedly being queer, ESPECIALLY since she has been criticized before for being apolitical.
Can we point out that the visuals for Lavender Haze in the Eras Tour kind of resemble being trapped? Like I get that they may be window shades, but when I attended the concert I was so struck with them... Or is it just me ?
Because being trapped can only be about being queer? Has it ever crossed your mind that she's been talking about being trapped as a celebrity?
Also Taylor told us back in her You Need to calm Down video. With her painted hair. It's the bisexual flag. But upside down. With blue on top. That means she likes boys more. But she still likes women sometimes too. I personally believe Taylor has a high romantic drive, and she looks for crushes wherever it hits her.
She’s obviously neurodivergent as well and sexuality is a large aspect of that (hyper and hypo)
I am glad finally someone pointed out about The Great War. (Spineless in my tomb of silence)
I totally agree with you about the whole song but I want to know how you interpret the last verse. I am really confused about it and have been thinking about it for months
yeah and spineless means weak, someone who can't raise their voice at the right time. Maybe she sometimes dislikes the fact that can't just announce it to the work that she's queer.
11:21 Some of the chat comments are cracking me up! "This is like Harry Styles and that other guy." Firstly, I find it quite amusing that they're referring to presumably Louis Tomlinson as "that other guy", but also I find this quite ironic seeing as Larries have really a ton of evidence. I know this is off-topic, but I find it pretty impossible to believe that they never had anything going on. So yeah, that comparison does _not_ do what you think it does haha!
they said nothing happened and even if they did thats not something we get to say for them
You know what, I listened to Lavender Haze again last night with the lavender gate knowledge in mind... it could definitely sound like a song about being in love with a woman for the first time. The only lyric that even kind of takes away from that is where she says "if I'm gonna be your bride" and it could've definitely originally been "if I'm gonna be a bride" so... it's gay as hell. I don't think her relationship is a sham but I think it's probably one of the gayest things she's written and probably got scared and was like "no it's about joe, see it's joe..."
also with maroon, she says that roommates line and then "I see you everyday now" so I just assumed that the "roommate" was her lover
The chorus literally sounds like someone who’s realizing she’s gay for the first time and doesn’t give a damn what people think about it or want from
her anymore.
Lavender gate? ://
These videos are so, so great. I really hope you do make one (or two...or more, lol) that go through here discography and show the queer flagging. The thing that REALLY got me is the daisy motif for Karlie. We're supposed to buy that Jake is associated with a scarf because of like two photos but making a connection with daisyies to Karlie is "creepy"? It makes no sense.
Also, I genuinely think the people trying to say Taylor is not singing to a woman in "Hits Different" are assuming she's suddenly become a clunky and shoddy songwriter--on one of her most spectacularly written bridges of all time, no less. If someone can find any other instance in the history of her songwriting where a lyric reads one way, but one HAS TO ADD lyrics and change the functional structure of the line she's written for it to make sense...show me. I'd say I'll wait right here until you find it but I won't because you can't. She doesn't write like that. Other pop stars? Maybe. But not Taylor.
no fr it's so funny seeing hets be like "she's CLEARLY singing "but i can still melt your world, (cause i'm your) argumentative antithetical dream girl"" unironically. like, what?? lmao?? the bridge that taylor herself said was one of her favourites, to contain a careless mistake that would alter the entire meaning of the song??? i'll take kissgate slander, i'll even take dress/wonderland slander. but Hits Different, the *lavender* edition song?????
Once read someone saying the intro of paris has Inez energy and i absolutely agree also she's really giving us the tea haha
I would love to hear your thoughts on Midnights in light of The Breakup
Personally I view it as a breakup album but still with the queer undertones in some songs (all songs except lavender haze, sweet nothing, etc.). Most of the love songs I can see being about infidelity. It makes too much sense to me to NOT be about that. If the gaylor explanations don't make sense for some songs I can see them being about issues in their relationship (anti-hero's "one day i'll watch as you're leaving cause you got tired of my scheming" etc etc). Anyways I just thought the album took a different turn after their split was "announced" if everyone didn't know it before
Yeah, I can definitely see it as an album written from the perspective of someone who’s in a relationship that they can feel is coming to an end.
That particular line of anti-hero “one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving // cause you got tired of my scheming” is so fascinating because it could be Taylor’s worried about pushing Joe away by having too big of a lifestyle for him (the story being told in the media right now) or it could be about Taylor knowing that she’s going to have to watch him leave because he’s tired of the scheming that comes with being in a PR bearding relationship, or it could be about that AND about Taylor worrying that her fans will leave because they’re tired of her scheming (read: bearding).
(Again, I don’t know for sure whether Joe was a beard or not, just another possible lyrical interpretation .)
taylor has said on tour that she wants us to relate to her music and it make it our own. i do personally think taylor is queer. But just like I think swifties speculating about which songs are about one of her public male exes or cyber harassing them, is wrong (ex: bullying john mayer). i think some gaylors do take it too far with involving and directly addressing taylor's rumour girlfriends. both instances are evasive and should stop. its gets so awkward specially because some of her rumour exes are people that are not out themselves and are in heretosexual marriages (with children). also taylor's quote about the media making dating rumours about her friends applies to most swifties. we have seen how swifies and the media start dating rumours with men she is just friends with or even just took a picture with. we have seen how it frustrates her and also adds to the slut shaming she has brutally received all her career. as she gotten older, she clearly wants her privacy about her romantic relationships. i have interpreted taylor's song dear reader as a response this discourse. i think swifties can have interpretations but just not involved actual people's name that taylor hasn't explicitly shared with us.
comfort video for real love this dude
I've been seeing that the April 29th thing references a Dianna Agron's birthday party one year
Also I don't think would've could've should've is about John Mayor. I think it's about entering the music industry as a kid. ... before she was 19. If she hadn't done that she wouldn't have danced with the devil later when she was 19
I once commented on Reddit that I didn’t think a certain song was about Joe and got wrecked 😰
off topic but I like your vibe and energy
thanks I like your pfp
Yesss a queer reading of her songss🫶🏻💌💌
Love your videos, they make me get so excited about not being the only one seeing these things, ps ur very funny
I stopped watching just to come to say that: NO, Louis and Harry never actually asked people to stop. They never did. They denied it, that's true. BUT, even Freddie Mercury and George Michael denied they were gay. In the end, after Freddie passed , we knew he was in fact gay, and now we know GM came out as gay. So, both saying "No, that's not true. I have Eleanor, my girlfriend.." or "I'm not gonna say this song is or isn't about this specific person...etc" as young as they are, doesn't really mean that they are being 100% honest. It might be the need , on this moment, not to come out yet, if that's the case (which I believe it is, because, just like you see Taylor doing, they never did anything to stop the rumors about the lyrics, the Blue and Green colors , the tattos, they schedule... a ton of things)
If anyone has any interest in knowing about Larry's story, from 2010 till nowadays, I recommend you to watch the timelines videos. Comics Leed is a great channel.
The thing that irritates me most about the gaylors isn't that they think she's gay or that they so often spread misinformation. This is a good example of why they get to me & why even when I give them the benefit of the doubt, I IMMEDIATELY regret it:
37:41
This is giving putting your own life experience onto her. Because you are gay you are reflecting your experiences onto her. In a way that is what you're supposed to do with music. Your supposed to relate to it with your own life experiences. Problem is you're assuming because you interpret it that way that means she meant it that way or that's how she also interrupted her own lyrics. And that's just not likely.
Nobody but her and those close to her know her sexuality. She HAS said she's dated men, said she's not apart of the lgbtq community & asked people to stop speculation about her dating her friends. Don't matter how long it's been. You may be in denial of that which is your choice. Clearly since everytime it's excuses for not taking her at her own words & no songs on a album she called fiction doesn't count as her word to most people who choose fact over speculation & fantasy.
I wouldn't care what she came out as. But almost every gaylor would be upset af if she came out confirming she's straight. That's just the truth.
Please more gaylor videos!! I loved both your videos on this topic and would love to see more, i'm not a huge fan of most of the other gaylor and swiftie creators out there ^^"
I don't care at all about Taylor Swift (I don't think her music is intrinsically bad, I just don't like pop in general), but you have managed to make this whole thing fun and engaging, and there's a lot of food for thought in there about being closeted, whether it's okay to speculate about celebrities, etc.
Great work!
(Also, I can tell you're an English Major and really into textual analysis. I love how you are looking at some of her statements and saying "yeah, this implies something, but it is not what it actually *says*." Or how you pointed out some grammar mistakes in the Matt Walsh video... I'm like that, too, and I like seeing it in others -- birds of a feather kind of thing!)
I can’t remember if I mentioned I’m an English major or I just got clocked lol but tysm!!
"you have to be insane to believe this" "these people are psychopaths" thanks. i love being dehumanized daily
You have no problem calling "hetlors" insane, stop your hypocrisy.
57:56 This explanation is honestly hilarious! Sounds straight out of a situation comedy! Haha!
okay please do When Emma Falls In Love i need your reading on it
“Bleeding glitter” sounds so gay. 😂😂😂😂
I can’t believe she said this was MIDNIGHT BLUE. It’s clearly a lavender/lilac purple color. Midnight blue is SUCH a different color. Then she says “it’s supposed to be blue” like she knows damn well that it’s not 😂😂😂😂
That Rowan video broke my heart a bit. Ive learned so much from her, some things even helped me identify the queer coding on taylors work. After knowing her take on the matter I felt dissapointed and a bit ashamed. The kind of shame that comes from internalized homophobia.
I know!!! I definitely still enjoy her content, but it’s a bummer because I just know a 20 minute conversation between Rowan and Swiftieplanntika would be all it would take to change her mind 😂😭
So I don't want to get like super super into this, but as you brought it up, I know most Larries think that they are both very controlled by management, and that they're being forced to say they don't like it. I know what you're thinking - that's an easy excuse to make, but there is some evidence - largely the fact that they have only said they don't like the speculation in ways that can be very controlled by management - such as interviews and social media, and have even seemed to point to or otherwise approve of it in ways that can't really be controlled - namely concerts (especially back when the band was still together).
Also, the two biggest pieces of evidence for me (which people do NOT talk about enough) are when Harry literally confirmed it. That's right. Once that they had mutual feelings for each other, and once that they were dating. Both of these are super super early on, presumably before they were so controlled. If you want to see the clips just Google "My first real crush was Louis Tomlinson" and "Are you and Louis dating?".
omg i love your content, definitely subbed
Tysm!!
13:50 the many times she's had the lesbian flag colors in her hair too....seems everybody missed those
The fact that QT knew all of the evidence makes me think she could be a secret gaylor lol
Haha I wish but I think she’s just a red scarf swiftie
@jackson wagon on the real though I'm only halfway through but this is such a great and nuanced look of everything. I've been a swiftie since debut but saw some hairpins around RED TV and never looked back.
You are so right for making this video.
PLEASE weigh in on TTPD
Hellooo… so with everything new that’s happened… are we getting a part 3?
I feel like more and more people are finally seeing that gaylor theory actually holds some water.
Yes part three is in the works!! I may post a couple shorter vids before then but it will be the next long video, hopefully up within the month
@@jacksonwagon omg i didn’t expect this response and so quickly! Thanks sm!
@@jacksonwagon will you be referencing the Lavender Haze mv and the mostly queer cast, and how it contrasts with her initial commentary on the song?
@@jacksonwagonI'm so excited for part 3, these videos are great
@@jacksonwagonyo we're still waiting
hi! a fellow gaylor and a larrie (unfortunately) (seriously, i want all the the sleepless nights i spent trying to figure out what was/is going on with these two back) here! i’m not trying to start anything here or convince anyone but i just wanted to kind of give you a broader perspective when it comes to larry? (also, i just want to preface that english is not my first language and i still have some issues with getting my point across in it so i’m sorry if it’ll just turn out to be and incoherent ramble.) it’s about the point in your and rowan’s videos talking about the artists trying to make the speculation go away. as we know, and as you pointed out, taylor usually chooses to either say very little when it comes to this topic or just remain silent and let only her actions speak (whether people acknowledge what she’s doing or not). with larry it’s always been a lot more tricky. what i mean by that, is that there has always been (and i mean always, ever since the very beginning of the band) a huge dichotomy between what was said and printed in the press and what h and l where actually doing (and i don’t mean just some niche evidence that you need to have a magnifying glass to notice). also, to my knowledge harry never actually said anything about larry (well, he was specifically asked once and instead of giving an answer he just talked around the topic without actually saying anything of substance), it was always louis who took it upon himself to give these denials. and i mean this, even when they were sitting next to each other it was always louis doing the talking (which is pretty interesting, but it may as well just be my delusion getting the best of me). anyways (i feel kind of sorry for anyone who actually read the whole thing), i just wanted to say that these two situations and speculations are similar and yet very different and j just don’t think that we should look at them through the exact same lens. did anything i just said make any sense? probably not. would all of this need a lot more context and examples? probably yes, but my thoughts are all over the place so, sorry again
p.s. i loved your video as whole
Thanks for the comment! I definitely don’t know much about Larrie theory, so I could be wrong. I tried to keep my discussion of Larrie short and vague because I don’t know much about it which is why I tried to use language like “it seems like x or y” when it came to Larrie stuff. Maybe I’ll do some more digging though
omgomgomg finally part 2
We get the same exact kind of hateful comments for suggesting that two fictional characters are gay/in love. (Dean Winchester and Castiel)
(And then they say we are toxic while they call us sick, twisted,
Delusional etc)
People who definitely have less English comprehension than us says that we are “stupid,” because we understand English better than they do. (“Implying is not the same as explicitly stating for example, lol)
49:44 I may need to sit down or I’ll faint❤
literally my reaction when I first heard it
YESSSSS I have been WAITING watching nowwwww but I won't be able to finish right away
I literally scared my boyfriend screeching YES when I got the notification for this video
Okay, Just finished. This changed my life lol.
By the way, I've really been enjoying your back catalog, I've watched (I think) everything now. The Lady gaga video was fantastic.