Taylor Swift’s Staff is Angry at the 'Inappropriate' New York Times Opinion Piece on Her Sexuality

Taylor Swift's team is reportedly angered by an opinion piece published by The New York Times earlier this week, speculating about the Grammy winner's sexuality. The source, as reported by CNN, expressed concern about the invasive and inappropriate nature of the article, stating, "There seems to be no boundary some journalists won't cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive, untrue, and inappropriate it is." The insider emphasized that the Times op-ed, which suggests Swift has been dropping hints about identifying with the queer community throughout her career, would not have been 'allowed' if it were written about a male artist like Shawn Mendes or any other artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.

Within the op-ed, Anna Marks provides what she perceives as supporting 'evidence' for Swift's purported affiliation with the LGBTQIA+ community. A highlighted instance in the article points to Swift dyeing her hair in the colors of the bisexual pride flag for the music video You Need to Calm Down. The author suggests that these deliberate artistic choices serve as expressions of Swift's solidarity with the queer community.

Marks pointed out Swift's motif of 'dropping hairpins,' a slang term for indicating queerness, to describe these actions. Marks wrote, "In isolation, a single dropped hairpin is perhaps meaningless or accidental, but considered together, they’re the unfurling of a ballerina bun after a long performance. Those dropped hairpins began to appear in Ms. Swift’s artistry long before queer identity was undeniably marketable to mainstream America. They suggest to queer people that she is one of us." 

In the prologue for her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Swift explained that she predominantly surrounds herself with women to discourage the public from inquiring about her romantic life.  As the controversy surrounding the opinion piece unfolds, Swift, who is currently dating Travis Kelce, emphasized in the prologue for her album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) that she made a conscious decision to 'swear off hanging out with guys.' Instead, she focused on herself, her music, personal growth, and nurturing female friendships.

Meanwhile, in a recent development concerning the growing academic interest in Swift's work, Harvard University's upcoming English class, Taylor Swift and Her World, has seen significant enrollment, with nearly 300 students signing up. Similarly, the University of Florida's course description intriguingly begins with a reference to Swift’s song from the album Reputation with the phrase "... Ready for it?”

Amid this academic acknowledgment, a TikTok user named Jessica McLane recently shared insights into Swift's high school years, claiming to be a former classmate at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee. McLane's TikTok video provides context for Swift's early career, noting that in 2006, when Swift was a junior and Teardrops on My Guitar had just been released, she left high school to pursue her music career after gaining significant popularity in the music industry with the said album.