Good pop songs are good pop songs, regardless of whether the musical and/or visual style of the artist has them being marketed towards teenagers, women or men. 

Women from my parents’ generation thought Paul McCartney was cute, Bob Dylan was mysteriously handsome and Mick Jagger was sexy. But those artists are not seen as pop idols, because boys and men approve of their music, too.⁠ 

The idea that things women like, and things teenagers like, are silly and less valuable, is an idea constructed by patriarchal society. Fangirling over a boyband and unashamedly enjoying the music, can therefore be seen as a radical stance against the patriarchy. The girls and women are saying: “What I like is important and meaningful, and I will spend my time enjoying it, just for me”.⁠

Young female fans of pop music grow up to be teachers, writers, police officers, mothers, doctors, artists. Writing fan fiction, creating fan art and learning how to play their favourite songs are not just frivolous ways to pass the time, but opportunities to develop talent and practice future vocations.

“Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. […] How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future.”

— Harry Styles, 2017⠀