Being involved in Taylor Swift’s fandom goes one of two ways: either you dig your nails into every letter she writes, or you choose to live simply, taking her lyrics at face value. I have never made things easy for myself, building spreadsheets to calculate her easter eggs.
Swift starts strong with a potential reference to queer culture with the song titled “Lavender Haze.” Lavender is arguably the most important symbol for queer women, as some being called lavender menaces, a reference to their overt queer lifestyle they refuse to hide. Swift even uses lavender in merchandise related to this album, from vinyl pressings to candles to sleep masks.
Sure, lavender doesn’t have an exclusively queer meaning, but with Gaylor theories becoming more mainstream, it’s a very interesting choice for her and her team to make. She has come forward and said the lyrics are based off a line from the TV series “Mad Men,” making this song one of two big references to TV shows on the album.
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Tina Fey’s writing slips into the song “Anti-Hero” with Swift’s lyrics referencing “a sexy baby.” Initially controversial, this lyric was discovered to be a direct reference to “30 Rock,” comforting distressed fans. “Anti-Hero” would continue to come under fire for potentially fatphobic messaging in its music video released in tandem with the album. Swift has come forward about her years of battling an eating disorder, but some fans felt the music video took it too far, showing a scale weighing her as “fat.” Swift has since edited the video, no longer showing the close-up of the scale.
“Maroon,” “Question...?” and “High Infidelity” all have been speculated to include queer messaging. “Maroon” does not mention anything identifiable about the person she sings about, but it makes note of “The lips I used to call home / So scarlet it was maroon.” Who knows who it’s about, but I don’t believe it can be about a man she has publicly dated.
“Question...?” could be about Kissgate, a fandom term for the 1975 concert Swift and Karli Kloss attended together, caught potentially kissing. The pictures are so blurry, but the story would make sense, since the song mentions kissing in a crowded room. Adding fuel to the fire, the first line samples “I remember,” an iconic line from “Out Of The Woods” off of her album “1989.” This song was interpreted to be about Dianna Agron — since the two shared scissor necklaces — another sapphic symbol. However, “Out Of The Woods” is more commonly thought to be about Harry Styles. The reference leaves ambiguous meanings, but a cool intro nonetheless.
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“High Infidelity” talks about cheating on a partner, with April 29 being a very intentional event. This seems to mean one of two things: Swift cheated on Calvin Harris at the 2016 Met Gala, where she met Joe Alwyn for the first time, or it’s referencing Swift attending Dianna Agron’s 26th birthday party and leaving with a hickey. It’s more likely to be the former than the latter, but no one truly knows other than Swift.
That’s the important thing to remember at the end of the day: no one knows the meanings other than Swift. Until she reveals them, all we’re left to do is speculate.
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