How can the same company who made someone person of the year, publish a truly insensitive piece a few weeks later? Well, for The New York Times apparently it’s quite easy.
Taylor Swift has had many articles published about her. The most prominent being 2023’s Time Magazine Person of the Year. The article was beautifully written with quotes from Taylor Swift about her life and her loving fans. Many Swifties flocked to stores to get ahold of this masterpiece to have in their collection. The next article published, however, does not have Swifties running to get the magazine in their collection.
On January 4, 2024 Ms. Anna Marks, an editor in opinion for Times, published an article titled, “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do.” In this 5,000 word article, Marks argues why Swift is a closeted queer artist.
When scrolling through feeds on any social media, you may come across someone claiming that they think Swift is a part of the LGBTQ+ community. You may or may not believe it because it’s just a theory. However, many did not even imagine that a company as reputable as The New York Times would publish such an invasive piece.
The article is under the opinion section, which means it’s protected because it’s Marks’ opinion, nothing else. But that also means this article will be up forever. Swift will have to live a life knowing that there are even more rumors flying around about her, this time about her sexuality.
The points Marks makes in this article is just speculation led by unfair assumptions. The first topic she explores is Swift’s Lover Era. In Swift’s first two videos (“ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down”) there are a lot of scenes that show Pride. This was the first time Swift could openly show people who are a part of the community because she left Scooter Braun and his label. It was a big step by Swift and it was supported by many.
Speculations about sexuality and identity with celebrities have gotten out of hand, and “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do” proves that even more.
Marks claims that the same sex kiss in “ME!” and the queer celebrities shown in “You Need to Calm Down” proves that she is a part of the LGBTQ+ community. This however, is not true. Swifties who have seen the documentary, Miss Americana, know this for a fact. In this documentary Swift explains that scenes like this were strategically placed in her music videos to show that she does support the community and wants it to thrive.
Swift is known for being a huge ally to the queer community. Whether it be those music videos, messages at the end of video, acceptance speeches at various events, speeches at various tours, and even song lyrics. However, she has made one thing clear the entire time, she is a straight ally. She is not queer.
Marks totally ignores that fact when she wrote her piece. She found the nitty gritty details in songs to try to prove Swift is queer. It is seen by many, including Swift and her associates, as extremely cruel.
Her associates spoke out with CNN saying, “this article wouldn’t have been allowed to be written about Shawn Mendes or any male artist whose sexuality has been questioned by fans.”
Speculations about sexuality and identity with celebrities have gotten out of hand, and “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do” proves that even more. Swift is just a human being who loves to support a community. So let her do that. Let her support and show love to a community who gets hate in other places, but leave her sexuality out of it. She is just trying to live her life peacefully.
