As It Is release new song about tackling toxic masculinity
Photo by: As It Is/Fearless Records

As It Is release new song about tackling toxic masculinity

British pop-punk band As It Is dropped the latest single from their third studio album, The Great Depression. “The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry)” ignites an important conversation about toxic emotional ideals placed on men.

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The song is packed with angry metaphors about dismantling gendered emotion. For years, men have been expected to “stay strong.” However, As It Is’ new track shows that embracing emotion is one of the strongest things that men—or anyone—can do.

With catchy riffs and an impassioned bridge, the song’s instrumental backbone carries Patty Walters’ imperative message. The song is an angsty ode to ripping apart the long overdue challenge of masculinity’s age-old code of ethics.

Along with the new single, the band released a powerful music video. Tackling other issues involving the song’s main point, such as rigid gender roles and violence, the video depicts a military officer at a boarding school stripping its students of their identities through the stereotypical ideals involved with toxic masculinity.

In a Twitter thread, the band openly talked about the song’s meaning.

In these increasingly disconnected times, where empathy is seemingly on a decline at many levels of everyday modern life, it is vital to stand up against such outdated tropes,” the band says.

The Great Depression will be out on Fearless Records Aug. 10. You can preorder your copy here.

You can check out the video below:

Vocalist Patty Walters and guitarist Ben Langford-Biss also answered some questions during a livestream earlier this afternoon.

They shared the band will be playing the new song on Warped Tour, and what was the inspiration behind the video.

“The song is broader than just one gender, even binary gender, it’s just about gender expectations,” Walters explained.

The musicians also talked about their favorite songs on the record, what fans can expect from The Great Depression, touring plans and even makeup brands.

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