“Boyfriends” by Harry Styles

All things considered, it’s safe to presume that Harry Styles isn’t gay, as in being a guy who is sexually attracted to other males. However, he is known to be sympathetic to the LGBT cause. So considering that this track (“Boyfriends”) is in fact about a male romantic interest, some people seem to be taking it as an acknowledgment of the Harry’s bisexuality or what have you. Such postulations are understandable when you also take into consideration stuff like Styles premiering this song while “wearing a rainbow jumpsuit”.

Lyrics of “Boyfriends”

But that noted, the lyrics don’t even come off as if the vocalist is actually singing about a guy that he is dated. Instead, it’s as if Harry is criticizing “boyfriends” in general. These days, it’s common to hear people say things like men are not ideal romantic partners. Such is apparently for instance why some say many women turn to lesbianism. And it is that notion which this song is based. Simply put, it is based on how “boyfriends” can be jackas-es, if you will.

And the song’s first two verses illustrate the point perfectly. In the first verse such individuals are depicted as being unappreciative and “misunderstanding” of their faithful partners. In the second, boyfriends are shown as being hard to comprehend themselves. And that reality is even exacerbated by the fact that they enjoy boozing. 

Meanwhile his romantic interest, presumably a female, has found herself in “love [with] a fool”. Indeed as the story progresses, what it reads like, even though no gender pronouns are used in describing the boyfriend’s romantic partner, is the case of a woman who is faithful to a guy that is basically using her. As such, she is stuck in a very unenviable position. The said position is about her being unconvinced that the man she’s smitten by is really serious about their relationship.

Takeaway

To reiterate, outside of references to the ‘boyfriend’, there aren’t any gender pronouns used in this song, i.e. clarifying whether he is dating a male or female. Under normal circumstances, we could take it that the other party involved is a female. However, as implied earlier such cannot be taken for granted in this case.

Maybe Harry is saying something like guys can be toxic partners even when dating each other. But logically speaking, it does seem as if he is referring to the romantic mistreatment of a female by a male, i.e. a situation whereas the victim would be less emotionally assertive than the ‘boyfriend’. So conclusively, it’s as if Styles is sympathetic to the romantic plight of women.

Release of “Boyfriends”

This song is from Harry’s “Harry’s House” project. This project is the third studio album of Harry’s career.

The lyrics of this song were made available about a month before its official release date. This is because Styles debuted it on 16 April. The debut happened during his first appearance at the Coachella Music Festival, an event which is the most-popular of its type in the United States. And as a side note, concurrently he also used the opportunity to debut another track called “Late Night Talking“.

In addition to “Boyfriends”, another very popular track from the album in question is its lead single titled “As It Was“. The said single came out in April of 2022 and instantly became a number 1 hit!

Credits

Sole writing credit for “Boyfriends” goes out to Styles.