Gaylor (theory)

Gaylor is the fringe theory that American musician Taylor Swift is gay or otherwise not heterosexual. Fans of Swift, or "Swifties", who subscribe to this theory are called Gaylors.^[1]

Gaylor theory originated online in the early 2010s, and initially revolved around a rumored romantic relationship between Swift and actress Dianna Agron of Glee. The theory gained more traction in 2014 when tabloids released photos that allegedly showed Swift and model Karlie Kloss kissing at a concert, which came to be known as Kissgate. The most notable relationships Swift is believed to have been involved in were with Dianna Agron of Glee, a relationship that Gaylors refer to as "Swiftgron", and Karlie Kloss, which has been named "Kaylor."^[1][2][3] While the names given to these relationships use name blending, a naming convention used by shippers, and the theories are often mistakenly referred to as shipping, they are distinct from shipping in that Gaylors don't want these relationships to exist, they believe the relationships did occur.^[3]

History

Origins and Swiftgron

Gaylor originated on blogs in the 2010s, around the time Swift was rumored to be dating Dianna Agron.^[4][5] Fans speculated about a relationship between the two after Swift named Agron in the liner notes of her album Red (2012). Fan theories arose about themes in Swift's music, social media posts, and a tattoo that Agron got removed that allegedly pointed to a romantic relationship.^[6]

There was also a rumor that Swift and Agron were involved in a love triangle with NFL player Tim Tebow, which Agron denied on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Tebow denied on Good Morning America.^[7] In an interview for Rolling Stone in 2023 Agron was asked how she felt about being the inspiration for one of Swift's songs and about the theory that she and Swift had dated.^[6][8]

Kissgate and Kaylor

One of the first significant controversies in Gaylor theory occurred in December of 2014, when pictures and video were made public that allegedly show Swift and Karlie Kloss kissing at a The 1975 concert,^[9][10][11] an event that some referred to as Kissgate.^[1][2] Swift and her publicist both responded shutting down the rumor.^[12][13] Some believe Swift and Kloss had a glass closet relationship, knowing the media would straightwash them as they have done with celebrities like Kristen Stewart and Demi Lovato.^[3][14]

In 2016 Swift moved to Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village, half a mile from Kloss's home,^[15] which some Gaylors believe was indicative of a romantic relationship.^[3]

LGBTQ+ activism and coming out speculation

Some believe Swift swapped a lyric in her song "New Years Day" from "I want your midnights" to "I want her midnights" during a performance at the Time 100 gala on April 23 2019,^[16][17] which followed an uptick in rainbow imagery on her social media.^[16] During this time Swift was also teasing a big announcement for April 26 2019, lesbian visibility day, and there was speculation she was planning to come out.^[2] The announcement ended up being the release of her single "Me!" off her Lover album.

Swift released the single "You Need to Calm Down", a song in support of the LGBTQ+ community on June 14th 2019, during Pride Month. In the lyric video for the song she spelled the word "glad" as "GLAAD," which resulted in surge of donations for the organization.^[18][19] The same night she appeared as a surprise guest at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Stonewall Riots at the Stonewall Inn, where she performed "Shake It Off" with Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family.^[20] Swift released the music video for "You Need to Calm Down" on June 17, which shows her wearing what some identified as the bisexual pride colors in her hair.^[21] In the video she features almost 30 queer and trans celebrities, as well as several references to queer culture. The video ends with a link to a change.org petition in support of the Equality Act, which she also wrote an open letter to Senator Lamar Alexander in support of.^[19] While some believed Swift's increased support for the LGBTQ+ community was indicative of a queer identity^[22] or simply an example of positive example of allyship,^[23][24] others criticized her actions, particularly "You Need to Calm Down," as being performative activism or queerbaiting.^[25][26]

External factors

Swift's relationship with her fans

Swift, despite being one of the biggest musicians in history, closely follows her fans on social media, which has been dubbed "Taylurking," and she sometimes even interacts with them directly. She also sends her fans packages and donations, hand selects fans to do free meet and greets with at her shows, and after following and vetting individual fans for periods of months online, invites them to her home for gatherings and performances.^[27] Swift has said that she is "really in touch with [her] fans." This has been cited as one reason for the persistence of Gaylor.^[27][28] The Swiftie fandom started to grow during the era of Myspace, and with the rise in popularity of Tumblr Swift's fandom found a place to build a community while interacting directly with Swift.^{[citation needed]}

Easter eggs and the Reputation era

A key component of Gaylor theory is the belief that Swift uses easter eggs as a form of queer coding, to communicate messages about her sexuality or secret relationships to her LGBTQ+ and ally fans without outing herself.^[1]

Easter eggs are an integral part of Swift's career and her legacy.^[29][30][31] Swift has said she "trained" her fans to look for hidden meaning in everything she does. Her use of easter eggs extends far beyond her body of work.^{[32][33][34][35]} Gaylors have latched onto Swift's intentional use of easter eggs, as well as reputation for being in tune with her fanbase,^[36] as evidence that the queer subtext they see is being planted for them to find.^[1]

Swift began using easter eggs in the CD booklet for her debut album (2006). She stylized the lyrics in all lowercase and used uppercase for seemingly random letters to spell out secret messages to her fans, which is a form of easter egg she continued to use with some of her other albums. During her Reputation (2017) era, Swift drastically expanded and increased her use of easter eggs, starting with the lead single "Look What You Made Me Do" and its music video. This increase in easter eggs was born out of her desire to continue to communicate with her fans during a time when she was not giving interviews.^[37][38] Reputation was a pivotal moment in Swift's career^[39][40][41] and for the Swiftie fandom, who grew more tightly knit as a result of Swift's disappearance from the public eye. Reputation was also a significant moment Gaylors evolution, because with the increase in easter eggs there was an increase in things to be interpreted through a queer lens. Several ongoing themes in Swift's work that are often cited as Gaylor evidence arose during the Reputation era.^[1]

Related theories

Larries are a closely related community to the Gaylor community. Both are founded on the belief that well known popstars are queer and have been involved in closeted relationships with other high profile celebrities. Both theories are often referred to by the broader fanbase of those celebrities as tinhatting.^[3]