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The love that dare not speak its name: why I’m coming out as a gay man who loves Taylor Swift | Joe Stone

She is tragically mainstream, allergic to ‘serving’ on the red carpet and certainly hasn’t thrived against the odds. It’s the antithesis of gay culture – so why do I love her?

Her own perceived sense of victimhood centres on tales of high school ostracism and being interrupted by Kanye West at an awards show in 2009 – an event that has been referenced on four of her subsequent albums, most recently last year. In a relative absence of a consistent stance on the matter, some Swifties – or “gaylors” – have constructed elaborate conspiracy theories about a supposed secret relationship between Taylor and supermodel (and former BFF) Karlie Kloss (arguably two of the straightest women to have ever lived). There’s joy at having found a sense of belonging that many of us were denied growing up, coupled with the insecurities that arise when a traumatised community starts to eat itself – imposing impossible standards about what counts as hot, aspirational or cool.

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