Country Singer Chely Wright Calls New York Times Op-Ed Speculating About Taylor Swift’s Sexuality “Upsetting”
Country Singer Chely Wright Calls New York Times Op-Ed Speculating About Taylor Swift’s Sexuality “Upsetting”
The "Single White Female" singer and activist who came out in 2010 and has discussed mental health struggles around her identity was mentioned in the controversial opinion piece published Thursday.
cross-posted from: https://poptalk.scrubbles.tech/post/531576
For those here who don't know, there's a conspiracy passed around from a small group of Taylor Swift's fans that she is secretly queer and is too afraid/ashamed/unable to say it. They believe that she talks secretly to them through her music trying to let them know that she is not hetero and needs anything from support to convincing others that she is.
I'll leave my small rant below about my swiftie feelings about it, but it just feels like a complete 180 from what the core ideals of LGBTQ+ are. To allow someone to feel comfortable with who they are, to not pressure anyone, to not pull anyone out of the closet, and to not be gossips.
All people close to Taylor that have spoken about the NYT piece have confirmed that everyone is shocked and angry about the piece, and of course they are. Even on the slight chance that she is queer (which open goes against what she herself has told everyone), how are you being an ally at all by dragging them out of the closet?
I think it was awful of @nytimes to publish. Triggering for me to read— not because the writer mentioned my nearly ending my life— but seeing a public person’s sexuality being discussed is upsetting.
I think the Gaylors should be ashamed of themselves. They are doing exactly what LGTBQ+ have fought against for decades now - people making assumptions about their own lives and sexuality - but they're masking it because it's Taylor.
I'm in the camp of anything that's not public is just that - not public. Even if it were true (and all signs point to it not being true), then it'd be disrespectful of us to talk about it unless she made it public. Think about it, you're going out of your way to talk about something that she explicitly has hidden from the rest of the world. That doesn't make you a better fan, it makes you a gossip and not an ally.
/rant.
Here’s the opinion piece for the morbidly curious.
Goes without saying that it’s uncouth to speculate on anyone’s sexuality. Period. It’s their story to tell if they choose.
edit for typo
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Country singer Chely Wright, who came out in 2010 as gay, has called a New York Times opinion piece, that’s being criticized for speculating about Taylor Swift‘s sexuality, “triggering” and “awful.”
Wright, who first publicly discussed being gay in 2010 and shared her personal challenges around coming out as a Christian from rural Kansas in a Huffington Post blog, was mentioned in an op-ed the Times published Thursday titled “Look What We Made Taylor Swift Do.”
In it, the musician discusses the challenges LGBTQ country singers face in terms of receiving equal investment and support from the industry while also being open about their sexuality.
“Queer identity was still taboo enough in mainstream America that speaking about her love for another woman would have spelled the end of a country music career.
In the days since it’s publishing, the piece has faced increasing scrutiny, with some on social media calling for its retraction in light of its open speculation about a public figure’s private life and identity.
This person added: “There seems to be no boundary some journalists won’t cross when writing about Taylor, regardless of how invasive untrue, and inappropriate it is — all under the protective veil of an ‘opinion piece.
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That doesn't make you a better fan, it makes you a gossip and not an ally
Maybe I don't know proper up to date celebrity etiquette but isn't gossiping about celebrities already a thing? Why is gossiping about sexuality any more inappropriate? Like any gossip it can be denied, but just because it suggests someone might be queer it's seen as offensive.
They are doing exactly what LGTBQ+ have fought against for decades now - people making assumptions about their own lives and sexuality
???? Equating a mere suggestion to the persecution of queer people is just plainly queerphobic.
And judging by the comments on the article and a brief search on nitter, this seems to be a typical right wing outrage at hearing anything about queer people. I don't get why queer people are jumping on to defend don't ask don't tell.
and all signs point to it not being true
Can someone please direct me to a debunking of the nyt article? I mean it, this is my first exposure to this topic and it's convincing.
See for me, questioning people's sexuality shouldn't be a thing, celebrity or not. I think it cuts both ways, that it's wrong to assume someone's gender or assume someone is hetero and also wrong to assume that someone is non-binary or that they are queer.
At this point it's not just a suggestion, but that people are going out of their way to write articles about it, to make it headline news. I should reword - at that point it's no longer gossip but nearing slander. That's not a tumblr blog or tweet, it's an official publication making suggestions.
As for proof, well there is none. You either have a lot of gossip on one side, or you have what she says and does on the other. Personally, I think it's up to her to say anything if she wants to. But her friends are upset about it and calling on the NYT to take down the "article".
To me the issue is that outing people is something that not only takes agency away from queer people (with a media landscape that, at best, commodifies their queerness) and can be potentially damaging to their personal lives. When someone comes out should be up to them, not up to whether it's profitable to invade their privacy. It's a major decision that can have a huge impact on their lives.
Queer folks and allies are absolutely right to be wary of outing folks for money.