What Dorothea's Lyrics From Taylor Swift Really Mean

First and foremost, in gay parlance, a "friend of Dorothy" is slang for a homosexual, as per Collins English Dictionary. Therefore, the choice of Dorothea as a name could be a lesbian reference. As Madison Malone Kircher argued in a piece for Vulture, "Dorothea" is a song told completely without male pronouns, "from the perspective of an unnamed narrator in Dorothea's hometown." Dorothea left to follow her passion and the narrator is wondering if she ever still thinks about her.

Twitter users immediately connected the song to "Betty," with one arguing that both songs are "for the sapphics." Malone further pointed out references to blowing off prom (possibly due to hetero-normative standards), secret make-out sessions under the bleachers, and shared trauma over not belonging. "I guess I'll never know," Swift sings at one point, "and you'll go on with the show," which might also be a reference to being in the closet.