Haylor

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Pairing
Pairing: Harry Styles/Taylor Swift
Alternative name(s): Haylor
Gender category: Het, M/F
Fandom: One Direction, Taylor Swift RPF
Canonical?: Yes
Prevalence: Rare
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Haylor is the pairing name for the whirlwind romance between One Direction bandmember Harry Styles and singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The pair began dating in late 2012, before breaking up while on holiday together in the Virgin Islands in January 2013. It has been rumoured and implied by Taylor herself that their relationship was tentative, tumultuous, passionate but ultimately not built to last.[1] Full timeline with pictures, dates and links can be found here or here

Documented highlights of the relationship include a walking first date in Central Park [2], Harry giving Taylor his airplane necklace [3], the two of them being in a snowmobile accident while on holiday together [4], Taylor going home to Harry's hometown [5], and countless others.

Many of these moments would later be referenced in Harry and Taylor's songs and music videos. As Taylor says in one video discussing the song "Out Of The Woods," "the number one feeling I felt in that whole relationship was anxiety because it felt very fragile and tentative and like, okay, what's the next roadblock, how long do we have before this turns into an awful mess and we just break up." [6] This unease and vulnerability permeates every song rumoured to be written about Harry: for example "Style," "Out Of The Woods," "Wildest Dreams." The "Out Of The Woods" video features the paper airplane necklace he gave her; the coyly named "Style" features a young man with tattoos and dark, curly hair.

Although Harry has been relatively tight-lipped about their relationship (the one exception being his 2017 interview with Rolling Stone magazine), he has responded with two songs of his own: One Direction's "Perfect," which includes the lines "If you like cameras flashing everytime we walk by / If you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about / Baby I'm perfect," and his solo song "Two Ghosts" which makes direct references to lyrics from "Out of The Woods" and "Style."

It could be argued[7] that their dialogue continued on Taylor's 2017 album Reputation, "Well if he's a ghost, then, I can be a phantom holding him for ransom" from "Ready For It". Fans continue to debate whether songs such as "Question...?" from Taylor's 2022 album Midnights are about Harry. The 2023 re-recorded 1989 (Taylor's Version) contains new "vault tracks" with specific references to Harry and Taylor's relationship such as a paparazzi photo taken during their Virgin Islands breakup ("blue dress on a boat").[8]

Haylor tinhats do exist,[9] but there aren't very many. They do not tend to believe they are still together, preferring to instead search for Haylor clues in their music, claim they are still secretly very close, and theorize that the relationship went on longer than many people thought.

Intra-Fandom Animosity

While Styles and Swift seem to be on relatively good terms,[10][11] the same could not be said for their fandoms. Swift and Styles' relationship triggered a wave of harassment from One Direction fans.[12] After they broke up, Swift implied to the media that the song "I Knew You Were Trouble When You Walked In" was about him, even though timeline-wise that would not have been possible,[13] which led to more backlash from Directioners. Additionally, Larries and Gaylors (e.g. conspiracy theorists who believe Taylor Swift is gay) often believe Taylor[14] or Harry[15] was a beard and is exploiting the relationship for publicity. Their musical dialogue has kept the short-lived relationship alive in the public eye, which inspires a lot of resentment from people who don't like Harry, Taylor, or Haylor generally. However, for reasons that are unclear, there seems to be a lot more resentment from the Swiftie side of the fence, with it being far more common for Taylor Swift fans to dislike Harry's music and public image than it is for Harry Styles fans to dislike Taylor's music and public image.

All of this has had a fairly negative impact on the smaller Harry fandom, as a decade on Swifties have grown up and become music reviewers for sites like NPR[16] and Pitchfork[17] as well as moderators for music discussion boards like r/popheads and r/popheadscirclejerk where mockery of Harry is condoned (and often encouraged.)[18] The hatred has been particularly aggressive from the Gaylor fanbase, with an fan letter to a popular Gaylor podcast "The Lavender Menace" explaining why in their May 2022 episode, "Lesbians against Harry Styles, Russian Doll Season 2 review, & matriarchies."

I just hate Harry Styles, and all his fans, and how they claim he is queer, not Taylor, #misogyny. This is why bisexuals go crazy for this man and then proceed to tell me 11 time Grammy nominee, singer-songwriter, creator of Evermore, is not queer. [. . .] I hate how they glorify him and claim he is the new David Bowie when in fact he is a sad white boy who doesn't even write his own music.[19]

This is not just restricted to fan podcasts. In May 2022, NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour episode reviewing "Harry's House" was co-hosted by a Swiftie journalist who seemed to have a similar bone to pick:

Maybe he's not so much of an artist as just a performer. It got me thinking about how much of his success or his appeal is just tied up into the idea of like the way he plays with gender and his performative masculinity and just how fun his live shows are.[20]

While Harry fans a decade after the relationship do not have the same platform that Taylor's fans have, they do still spread malicious talking points at times. Most commonly, Harry's fans bring up the four-year age gap between Harry and Taylor, claiming that she "groomed" Harry into dating her. This is a particularly popular accusation among Larries, although it is not exclusive to them:

I like how haylor is PR and fake and taylor's just a beard for harry until they realise that they can use it to accuse her of "grooming"

evermorera13 [21]

Bringing Haylor themed signs (most commonly, "I am a child of divorce" with both of their faces) to Harry's concerts does occasionally occur, but the practice is very controversial.[22]

Fanworks

Fanfiction

Haylor fic often focuses on the tragic nature of their romance, on two characters who care for each other but are torn apart by their youth/inexperience, circumstance or inability to commit. Sometimes Haylor appears in fics that are endgame Larry Stylinson or Gryles.

Fan Videos

Fannish Resources

References

  1. ^ Out of The Woods, performance at the Grammy Museum, 2015
  2. ^ Harry Styles and Taylor Swift Rendezvous in Central Park, US Magazine, 2012
  3. ^ Here'sHere's Harry Styles' Paper Plane Necklace Taylor Swift Is Singing About, Buzzfeed, 2014
  4. ^ Ouch! Harry Styles smiles through the pain as he displays bandaged chin following skiing injury, Daily Mail, 2012
  5. ^ Taylor Swift to romantic birthday meal at Cheshire pub after 'spending £1000 on her gifts', Daily Mail, 2012
  6. ^ Out of The Woods, performance at the Grammy Museum, 2015
  7. ^ Taylor Swift Releases New Song and Its Definitely Maybe About Harry Styles, Vogue, 2017
  8. ^ How Taylor Swift subtly addresses her iconic sad boat photo on 1989 (Taylor's Version), Entertainment Weekly, 27 October 2023.
  9. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/meet-me-in-the-kitchen/621031685129125888/haylor-thoughts-masterpost
  10. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br4XyByO8rk
  11. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joDvBmVbmXE
  12. ^ https://www.tumblr.com/haylorinthewoods/627335992056102912/ive-been-a-haylor-since-rumors-started-in-mid?source=share
  13. ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/87ak2s/comment/dwcwh0q/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
  14. ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/larrystylinson/comments/po5zi9/the_ultimate_haylor_denial/
  15. ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/GaylorSwift/comments/u9bjeo/harry_styles_him_leak_from_a_gaylor_perspective/
  16. ^ https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1100686530/on-harrys-house-styles-faces-the-perils-of-pastiche
  17. ^ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/harry-styles-harrys-house/
  18. ^ https://www.reddit.com/r/popheadscirclejerk/comments/yn7174/harry_styles_in_20_years/
  19. ^ https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Y32nRgcG3JSIOWlvWeBKx?si=804dd041b40c44e4
  20. ^ https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YfOlZx1pCxrqTzxhiMH7l?si=49c4d630f58f4891
  21. ^ https://twitter.com/evermorera13/status/1367030238274719749
  22. ^ https://twitter.com/hurricaneffie/status/1449847045670461451?s=20&t=boqN3KxuK3IC9iuVfs4uqQ
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