#harry discourse

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

Hey Ella. I thought I'd come to you with this because you always give off a kind and sympathetic nature so at the very least I won't be treated like a shitty person for what I want to say.

I'm really struggling with Harry atm and it's actually kinda devastating because I never saw this happening. There is so much around Harry that I vehemently dislike, from the people around him to aspects of his public image and narrative. I was so good at separating all that from Harry himself but lately I've been feeling my bitterness bleeding onto Harry. I've seen this happen so much. People who were originally fans getting annoyed at small things and that growing bigger into bitterness and hate. I don't want to be one of these people.

What is making this worse is that I as a person do not place a high value on things like career and ambition. Not in my own life and not in others. So it's getting hard for me to relate and support Harry in his ambition as to me there are infinitely more important things in life. This wasn't a major factor before because his fame and success wasn't at the level it is now.

I honestly don't know what I'm trying to do with this message. I guess I would just appreciate some perspective if you're willing because I genuinely do not want to start resenting Harry. Honestly just typing this is making me tear up.

hi kind anon, i think you're dealing with a pretty common problem in the fandom these days. it's tough to feel like you don't relate to someone you really always felt comfort with. maybe a first step is to take a breather from the fandom as well as gp/main media talk about harry. no twitter (and i'm not saying this bc i have a weird biased thing against twitter. it's a place where opinions are thrown around like it's something ppl have been begging for, like it's fact, and it's really hard to keep reading opinions and debates without getting influenced), no harry content on instagram, no tiktok. i am not interested in anything others have to say about him, and i actively shield myself from it. i don't watch videos others have made with commentary, i don't read articles, i don't even read discourse on here usually. i think the habit of picking everything apart, of making sure you focus on the negative to properly enjoy the positive, is unhealthy, or at least for me. i know myself enough to not fall into blindness or naivety when it comes to what's wrong with enormous success and the industry. i just don't feel the need to get into it every time harry achieves something.

when it comes to harry's ambition and success, i just know (from what he's shown over the years, but the full extent we never will) how much it means to him. i think it's also a mix of actually wanting to be big for him and getting as high as he can to prove that he can to everyone who told him he couldn't. i don't relate to it either, and i don't think it's cool to have all those riches, but i still cry with harry when he cries of joy at his madison sq garden banner. i'm okay living with that nuance without always debating it. i love his music, i love his artistic vision, i love his lyrics, i love the way he carries himself. i also know i don't know him, that i never will, and that there are things he does and says i don't agree with. i have the exact same thing with some of my lifelong best friends, as they have with me. i'm okay with that. happy, even, of how unique and imperfect we all are

what i do, and what keeps me so in love with harry beyond the noise of the gp and the fandom, is focus on what makes me love him. remember that this is an interest, something that makes you happy, and not your object of study, or your career in politics. enjoy it all for you, enjoy it offline as well. and then, i guess, if that doesn't do the trick, a few steps away from harry and all that surrounds him might be necessary to let go of the bitterness. bc you can also just stop liking something, and that's also okay

[anexlarrieblog]

gay men have a great admiration for certain straight women (dolly parton, debbie harry, cher, britney spears) i see harry as that for gay youth today (not saying that harry is straight btw!) i think gay people gravitate toward certain celebs regardless of that celeb's sexuality, it's a good thing, it has little to do with how harry actually identifies. i think conspiracy theorists have turned spaces where gay ppl expressed those feelings into misogynist cesspools and "proof" their ship is real

Yep people have defos been amazing LGBT+ allies and icons without actually being a member of the community. Harry has never labelled himself one way or another but I think the fact that he embraces the LGBT+ community etc at his shows and basically breaks harmful stereotypical gender norms in terms of painting his nails and generally not giving a fuck makes many people feel safe, regardless of how he identifies himself. Harry’s pretty unapologetically himself and I like that about him.

[halfahundredcats]

ANywaY, if you think Harry is “uncomfortable” with Lizzo, I’d like to suggest that you examine whether it is, in fact, YOU who is uncomfortable with Lizzo. And perhaps consider the reasons why you might feel discomforted by a fat, dark-skinned black woman who is utterly unapologetic about her size, her color, her sexuality, her personality. Consider why it makes you uncomfortable to see her having a friendship—even a flirtation— with the conventionally handsome white boy you stan.

Lizzo is one of the most positive celebrities out there. She is so uplifting to so many people. She’s funny. She sure seems like someone I’d want to spend time with. And yet y’all can’t see why Harry would like her?

[roseandbee]

Okay HSHQ and Harry, oh honey, no

I cannot believe I just had to direct that at you- never thought I'd see the day, but everyone fucks up, so. Hugs 💕

Anyway, moving forward, imho:

If any of these shirts have been produced, donate them. Quietly. Prolonging this helps no one. Refund sales.

In any case, just acknowledge the fuck up. Maybe this was in the works long before shit hit the fan so bad, idek, but. Please apologize. Probably a signed letter. Something longer than a tweet.

If you want to tie TPWK into this, awesome. I fucking love TPWK, and that's why this gets to me extra. Say any TPWK merch sales profits (from stuff previously in the shop) will go to WHO. Boom. (Yes, you should've just done this to begin with)

State no production of any merch until at least the factory zone and initial shipping hubs are declared safe by government officials bc workers should be safe.

Additional PR opportunity: it's the year of the nurse and the midwife for World Health Organization and they deserve absolutely all of the love right now bc they're risking their lives even more than usual. Acknowledge that. Simple retweet would be fine.

Practice what you preach. Always.

Stay safe 💕

[formerdirectioner]

Oh my God his career is hardly stalling and he of course has new fans see you just simply refuse to like him that's all there is to this you simply refuse to I don't know what the hell happened along the way for you to dislike him so much now I have no idea but you literally have no idea what you're talking about at all. I think people put way too much on social media presence anyway he doesn't have to have it if he doesn't want to I personally think he enjoys the face-to-face with people

His career is stalling. He didn’t do as well as any of the other boys on the charts or streaming. He gets some promo sometimes because he’s friends with Nick and on a major label, and his album sales go up a bit every time he does, but just look at what’s actually happening. His singles don’t get radio play. I heard SOTT a few times when it first came out but I’ve never heard Two Ghosts or Kiwi. Neither Two Ghosts or Kiwi have been on the Billboard charts at all. Flicker and Mind of Mine have done just as well as Harry’s album but Niall and Zayn also have hit songs under their belt whereas Harry doesn’t.

And I like Harry. His solo music is my favorite. I think he was amazing in Dunkirk. I think he’s attractive as hell and I love that he tries to make concerts a safe space for all his fans. But I can also look at things critically. He’s not doing as well as Niall, Zayn, or Liam because his promo is awful. Even his Rolling Stone piece was bland as hell because he’s so scared to be honest with his fans that he comes off as one of the most boring celebrities out there. His fans like to write it off as “oh his music just isn’t radio friendly” but that’s not really necessarily true. It’s not 2010 anymore and there are a lot more rock songs and ballads on the radio than this fandom likes to believe. 

It’s clear that his team thought he could coast by on 1D fans and maybe gain some fans of classic rock with all the reviews full of “sounds like Bowie, sounds like the Rolling Stones, sounds like Prince, sounds like the Beatles, sounds like any classic rock artist with some clout we can think of that’ll get people interested.” 

Add in some of the scandals he’s had (BLM, the times he’s been called out for ripping off other musicians, the “hard candy” line & Kiwi music video) and he’s even lost some of the people his team thought he would ride on. 

Moral of the story, there’s a difference between keeping your personal life private and refusing to even share your personality or do promo with people who aren’t your friends and the latter will affect your career.

[thotshire]

do you think harry is gay or is he bi?

Realistically, I definitely think Harry is one of those people who doesn’t give his sexuality much thought other than the fact that he has one. He’s said on numerous occasions that he doesn’t label his sexuality nor is he opposed to relationships with guys, he just sees people as people if that makes sense. I definitely picture him as someone who is both self-assured and submissive in relationships, so to answer your question I don't think he’s Straight™. 

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

MUNA literally liked a tweet shitting on Harry saying he was queerbatting. And now they are back at complimenting him ? Hypocrites. And fuck them for using Harry's name for attention.

you seem angry. i also was upset about them liking that tweet. but, as far as i can tell, they haven't used his name for attention. note how that podcast has been out for a week and no one even noticed they talked about harry. i agree that their 'stance' (one person controlling their twitter acc liked a tweet) on the queerbaiting issue was wrong. to be honest, i think they were bitter because they have been labeled as a queer band for their entire career, which is a label they celebrate, but which has definitely pigeonholed them. they've been a band for more than ten years and it's only now a job that can properly support them. they've had a rough ass time bc the industry hates queer people. remember how other queer artists attacked harry as well? attacking an artist, missing the point entirely, since they should've been attacking the industry and its biases? but then, back in 2017-2018, josette is quoted saying that harry choosing a queer band speaks volumes, but due to the position he's in he can't say more than that. he speaks through actions. the whole craze about queerbaiting only started a few years ago, and despite them knowing that harry can speak through actions, they still got things mixed up. people are human and complex, bitter and jealous and they lose the plot. then they find it again. i don't agree with everything every member of muna says all the time, every day. but i do see how they loved their time with harry and endlessly respect him and what they taught them. so... you see how there's a lot of nuance here? feels good to recognise the world in its complexities and not in tweet-length statements

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

hello i agree so so much with what you said about how harry shouldn’t be asked to censor himself any more than he already has to. it sucks because in his situation the only way he can get close to honesty is by using super vague and coded language (aka “people like me…”). but the cost of vague statements is that they, by their very nature, can be twisted in other directions by people that want to put him in a negative light. which is a shitty price to pay but he knows that and he knows people are gonna be assholes. it’s not about a lack of media training or a lack of perspective, he has plenty of both. he shouldn’t have to be the perfect little all-pleasing robot the gp thinks he should be. (he talks so much in his music about this exact damn thing. about the war between playing the role that, whether it’s actually the case or not, got him where he is and being his actual self which he believes, or has been told, would leave him sleeping in the dirt.) So, in one of the biggest most meaningful most emotional moments of his career thus far he just wanted to, for a moment, come out from under that facade to say something, anything, true. i also don’t think it was the perfect vague-but-honest statement for him to make but i’m very much inclined to believe there is no such thing. 

*sad nods* yeah... yeah. he's caged, whatever he does, and he knows more than anyone how there's no Good or Right way to be who he is. whatever he does, he'll get shit poured over him. he knows that. so. yeah