<aside> 💡 Analysis - Sirens are mythical creatures who were depicted as women (sometimes part-fish, sometimes part-birds) who had such beautiful voices that they would lure sailors to jump out of their ships and drown. In this context, Taylor’s allusions to sirens could indicate that she views her female muses as sirens - tempting her to destroy herself (aka her career) in order to dive in and pursue love with them. A few times, Taylor references a muse using ocean imagery, making her concerned about sinking or drowning. This could symbolise Taylor’s fear of her queer feelings resulting in her career’s demise. Examples are: Gorgeous - Ocean blue eyes looking in mine I feel like I might sink and drown and die
Gold Rush - Gleaming Twinkling Eyes like sinking ships On waters so inviting I almost jump in
Willow (original demo lyrics) - I never would’ve known from the look on your face drown in your current like a priceless wine Evermore - And when I was shipwrecked, I thought of you In the cracks of light, I dreamed of you. An interesting point to make here is that when Taylor first publicly interacted with Karlie Kloss at VSFS 2013, her most publicly rumoured Sapphic relationship, she sang the lyrics “Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why You're drowning, you're drowning” just as she was dancing with Karlie. Karlie later walked in a segment titled “Shipwrecked”, in a costume inspired by sirens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren_(mythology)
https://www.montereyboats.com/news/view/sirens-of-the-sea/
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<aside> 🌈 Queer History: -1830: Alfred Tennyson, speculated to be queer in some way, wrote a poem called The Mermaid that critics interpret as an expression of his queerness:
https://vqa.dickinson.edu/poem/mermaid#:~:text=“The Mermaid” itself is not,of “Lady of Shalott.”
-Renee Vivien, a poet who is considered the first lesbian to translate Sappho’s poetry, wrote a few poems about Sirens, one of which was called “Vers les sirènes”: https://www.cordula.ws/poems/vsirenes.html
http://www.gillianspraggs.com/translations/naiade.html
Queer as Folklore - Episode 4: Mermaids
Here’s another summary of the significance of this connection:
https://www.nylon.com/articles/mermaids-unicorns-millennial-pink-lgbtq-queer-culture
Maya Hawke has explored mermaids in her discography, and others have picked up on the queer undertones of this. I’ve included a few excerpts in this toggle, but if you have the time I’d recommend reading this analysis here: https://sbpress.com/2023/04/maya-hawkes-mermaid-allegory-embodies-the-magic-of-queer-community/
Little Mix released a music video for “Only You” following a queer love story between a mermaid and a human teenager: https://youtu.be/T2sO8gK2IKk?si=3M_6Begpy01IpdEt
Harry Styles has made multiple references to mermaids:
‘The Year of the Mermaid’ is a poetry collection published by queer, feminist writer, Ashley Catherine in 2013.
‘Bestiary’ a book by Donika Kelly, a black, lesbian writer, is a poetry collection that includes a poem from the perspective of a mermaid called “Love Poem: Mermaid”. It has allusions to the sirens in the Odyssey. This book won “The Audre Lorde Award” in 2017.
“We Are Mermaids” is a poetry collection published by trans poet, Stephanie Burt in 2022. A beautiful analysis of how she uses mermaids to represent the trans experience and queerness can be found below:
Chappell Roan “Casual” MV (2023)- features a siren who kills/dismembers men and has a fling with Chappell but doesn’t want to commit to her & also sang ‘Part Of Your World” on a TikTok
Sailor Song by Gigi Perez has been analysed as including siren imagery or what could be an interpretation of sirens singing at the start of the song </aside>
<aside> 👸 Relevance to Taylor’s Life: Taylor has dressed up as The Little Mermaid and made references to it in her art (see more intertextual analysis here: The Little Mermaid). The Disney film adaptation was released in 1989, the year Taylor was born.
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<aside> ➕ See also: Ships/Boats/Shipwreck/Maroon/Pirates/Unmoored/Harbor/Sink/Yacht Shiny/Shimmer/Glisten/Sparkle/Shine/Polish/Gleam/Glimmering/Glow/Radiance Drowning Sea/Ocean/Water/Dive/Jump In/Drown
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<aside> 📱 Social Media:
[https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe5NTpdQ/](https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/354fae4d-924e-4e87-8b7f-c264c2c5103b/47df9ada-210a-4853-82c4-cb966d0c3b70/IMG_4216.mov)
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe5NTpdQ/
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Whilst Taylor wasn’t a part of this segment, she interacted with Karlie when she was singing “I Knew You Were Trouble” when she sang the lyrics “Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why You're drowning, you're drowning” - potentially alluding to Karlie being a siren on this evening, that would lead to Taylor’s (as the sailor) eventual demise due to her forbidden desire for a woman.
2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show "Shipwrecked"
