A New Anthem For The Gay Community

Monday. October 27th 2014. Midnight. At this time, the most exciting thing will happen in the history of pop music. Taylor Swift's first official pop album 1989 will release! During my last few posts, I gave some mixed feelings about the album, but overall I’m super ecstatic about her new sound and beat. I realize that this might not be so exciting for some of you, but for my fellow Swifties, this day will be the start of a new era.


During the last two weeks, Taylor released a few of the songs from the album. In one of the songs, she offers insight on something that she has never fully addressed before in her previous songs. She announces that she is an advocate for gay rights.


Welcome To New York is the first song on the album that depicts the feeling of arriving in the bright, hustling and bustling New York City. Taylor originally lived in smaller towns such as Wyomissing,Pennsylvania and Hendersonville, Tennessee. Moving to a larger city such as NYC is a great change. She mentions that there are new sites, different people, and bigger opportunities to take in and be a part of. You probably wouldn't find these things in small country bumpkin towns. In the second verse of the song, she mentions that “you can want who you want” including “boys and boys and girls and girls”. At first I didn’t really think much about these lyrics, but after stumbling upon some research, I read that these simple lyrics have a greater meaning.


According to an online news article from time.com, Welcome To New York is considered a new anthem for the gay community. The article mentions that the song isn’t about a “cry for marriage equality or an end to bullying”. This is true because the lyrics don’t talk about these specific topics. Instead, the message conveys the thought that you have the freedom to love anybody that you want. It’s okay if a guy has a boyfriend and, it’s okay for a girl to have a girlfriend. Throughout her discography, Taylor only wrote songs that depicted heterosexual relationships. I was surprised that she stepped out usual story of a boy girl relationship.


So why would I care if Taylor writes a song about gay rights? Well, since I believe that I’ve been personal with some stories throughout my posts, I will admit that I am gay. I like guys. According to Taylor, this is something that’s okay.  I really appreciate her for writing about something that, sometimes, can be an issue in my life. Some people judge others who are in homosexual relationships because this is not a norm for society. It’s true that it is widely accepted, but there are still naysayers. In this new era, Taylor addresses that you can be in any type of relationship that you want and that you should ignore the people who prevent you from having something that you want.


On that note, I suggest that you all should listen to Welcome To New York and see if you get the message about Taylor Swift supporting gay rights. It’s a truly euphoric feeling when you see that your favorite artist supports a kind of lifestyle that you live. After hearing this song, I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of the album now more than ever.