Released in the UK in 1979, the song “Boys Don’t Cry” tells the story of a man who tries to conceal his true emotional state of being depressed about losing his loved one. Why so? Because showing vulnerability has prevalently been seen as a weakness in our society, especially among men. We grow up listening to sayings like “Be a man” and "Man up" as if demanding a guy to adhere to masculine ideals and be tough, and learning that all men shouldn’t be emotionally sensitive or fragile. Therefore, lest he should be teased at or penalised for acting outside the traditional sex types, he “tried to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies, and hide the tears in his eyes” since these are what’s expected of him as a man. This song was a big hit that ranked 22 in the UK Singles Chart in the 1980s!

The song “Let It All Go” details a couple on the verge of a breakup and depicts the stagnation in the heterosexual relationship from both points of view. It starts with Birdy singing the lead, expressing that she is sleepless at night as she’s been “waiting on you (her male partner) just to say something real”. While the female is represented as a dependent and submissive individual who is indecisive about whether to end a romantic relationship or not, the male corpus is followed by a proactive and determined attitude as reflected in the lyrics “there’s still a fire in my heart, my darling, but I’m not burning for you”. These lyrics unintentionally demonstrate the belief of power imbalances in relationships, in which women act upon men’s behaviours and decisions.

Up until 2021, gender stereotypes in the language of pop music can still be prevalently seen. Being the first drill song to reach the top of the UK Singles Chart, it has inspired a number of viral social media trends and a huge listener base due to its vibrant beats and speedy rap. Yet, little may notice the extensive objectification and stereotypes of women in its lyrics. It shows highly sex-typed portrayals of females as seductive and objectifies women as the fluted Coca-Cola bottles in the chorus (Krasse, 2019). The line “Have you seen the state of her body? (Mad)” resonates with the “Male Gaze” theory proposed by Laura Mulvey (1975), which suggested that women are always displayed as passive objects to be looked at for satisfying male gazers’ sexual desire. Lyrics like “I don’t like your tone, girl, talk a little lower” and “She like a little pretzel” also show conformity to the female stereotyping that they should be quiet and appear to be fragile. 

British pop songs do reflect gender stereotypes in a certain extent, nevertheless, we can observe a positive trend that musicians in the UK are producing more songs to combat stereotypes and sexism. Regardless of sexes, all persons shall not be confined to social expectations and perceptions of the mass media. No one is authorized to define your roles and positions, but yourself. Songs entertain people, and more importantly, spread messages. It is hoped that the above findings help raise awareness of subconscious gender stereotypes, particularly in the pop culture.