Hetlor

English

Etymology

Blend of het (“heterosexual”) +‎ Taylor.

Proper noun

Hetlor

1. (fandom slang) Opposition to the Gaylor theory; belief that singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is not secretly gay.

   Antonym: Gaylor

   • [2022 October 31, Joe Packer, “How Gaylor Swift conspiracists think like QAnoners”, in Salon.com‎^[1], archived from the original on 2023-07-25:

     Of course, all these hidden messages could be nothing but the overactive imagination of a group of largely queer Swift fans that want to claim the singer as their own. The Gaylors refer to this as the "Hetlor" thesis (Hetlor being a deeply unfortunate portmanteau of heterosexual and Taylor). Just because people see hidden messages does not mean they are there.]

   • 2022 November 4, Patrick Lenton, “How 'Queerbaiting' Became Weaponised Against Real People”, in VICE‎^[2], archived from the original on 2023-05-02:

     Dr McCann raises the Taylor Swift fandom as an example, where the "Gaylor" faction (fans dedicated to queer readings of her songs) would butt heads with the straight "Hetlor" faction.

Noun

Hetlor (plural Hetlors)

1. (fandom slang) Someone who opposes the Gaylor theory.

   Antonym: Gaylor

   • 2021 November 22, Madison Malone Kircher, “Taylor Swift Has Led Her Fans Down Another Gay Rabbit Hole”, in Slate‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-06-02:

     If you know anything about Swiftdom, it may not surprise you that there are two camps that are having it out over this particular song currently. These are the Hetlors ("het" as in heterosexual), who are fans that affirm Taylor Swift's straightness and frown upon queer interpretations of her lyrics, and the Gaylors, who are, well, the opposite.

   • 2022 October 17, Nell Geraets, “Queer as Folklore: Why are fans arguing over Taylor Swift's sexuality?”, in The Sydney Morning Herald‎^[4], Sydney: Nine Entertainment, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-30:

     Several Gaylors used TikTok and Reddit to express their disappointment, triggering backlash from Hetlors and others who argued a celebrity's sexuality shouldn't be a topic for public debate.

   • 2023 May 24, Dani Di Placido, quoting @repromantic, “Taylor Swift's Matty Healy Controversy, Explained”, in Forbes‎^[5], New York, N.Y.: Forbes Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-24:

     "Gaylors, hetlors, normalors need to come together and not step off matty healy's neck until they break up," one Swiftie wrote on Twitter.

   • 2023 August 31, Frankie de la Cretaz, “Postcard from Camp Gaylore”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[6]:

     Many face harassment from a hostile cohort of Swifties known as Hetlors, notorious for a queerphobic insistence that Taylor is straight. Bullying from Hetlors has driven some Gaylors to go dark and wipe their social accounts, which explains why most here at Camp Gaylore have asked that Cosmo publish their first names only.