Brittany Luce

Come be the man I need Tell me you got something to give I want

Okay, different vibes, but you could argue that these ideas, ranging from men are trash and men need to do better to please come through for me, please step up, are cut from a similar cloth.

And NPR music editor Hazel Sills told me that this trend has a name.

And these different approaches coincide with a pretty significant shift in women's mindsets when it comes to romantic love.

For instance, earlier this year, I saw so much chatter about a Wall Street Journal article titled, Are Women Giving Up on Marriage?

We even discussed it on this very show.

It was basically about how more women are choosing to be single.

So I had to know, how has this strain of heteropessimism made its way into the top 40?

And what does it say about where heterosexual women are broadly with romance?

Editor for NPR Music, Hazel Sills, is here to break it all down for us.

Well, buckle up, y'all, because whether you're straight, queer, or anything in between, we are here to complain with you.

Hello, hello.

I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.

We're going to get into all of it in a minute.

But first, I'm not going to lie.

It's been a tough year for NPR and our local stations.

But despite the loss of federal funding for public media and despite attacks on the free press, we are still here for you.

And we will never shy away from exercising the critical right to editorial independence guaranteed by the First Amendment.

And with your support, we will not be silent.

If you're already an NPR Plus supporter, thank you so much.