The Screaming Woods Can Be Such A Cosy Place

Zane Lowe: “Is Coming Up Roses a love song?”

Harry:

"NOO... THE SUMMER BEFORE!"

As far as I know, the word “unlabelled” has never come out of his mouth. The only thing Harry has ever said about how he personally identifies is that that he’s not bisexual. (He said that to GQ in 2013 so who knows if it was true then or now.)

The “unlabelled” thing comes from the time he told The Sun he has ‘never felt the need’ to label his sexuality for the press.

the full quote is:

Harry: No, I’ve never felt the need to, really. No, I don’t feel like it’s something I’ve ever felt like I have to explain about myself.

He’s responding to The Sun pressuring him to out himself on the spot, not making a statement about how he identifies in his private life.

Believing you’re not obligated to explain your sexuality to the press and personally identifying as unlabeled (rather than queer or gay or anything else) are two different things. 

In his more recent Guardian interview, he repeats his sentiment that his personal identity is not something he is currently putting up for discussion in the press.

He questions the press’ desire to know about popstars’ sexuality:

interviewer: You mean, why ask the question?

Harry: Yeah, I think I do mean that. It’s not like I’m sitting on an answer, and protecting it, and holding it back. It’s not a case of: I’m not telling you cos I don’t want to tell you. It’s not: ooh this is mine and it’s not yours.

At this point, Harry had publicly worn a gay pride pin and flown all manner of pride flags at every tour date of his solo career.  He’s not hiding. 

He’s challenging the press’ need to drag him through a round of ‘coming out’ press. He’s asking why queer people’s sexuality should be treated like an oddity by the median and why queer artists should be asked to subject themselves to that treatment.

Also, I think the line “It’s not a case of: I’m not telling you cos I don’t want to tell you.” is super telling because of what his first opening band, the queer girl group MUNA, said:

“In the position that he’s in, he can’t really say a lot, but you know, he chose a queer girl band to open for him. I think that speaks volumes,” Maskin says about Styles. 

“He’s using us as a way of saying something without actually saying it, which is actually very smart,” says Naomi.

With this context, I believe the unspoken part of what Harry said is that it’s not that he doesn’t want to address his sexuality, it’s that he can’t talk about it. 

The reporters asking these questions at least know that’s a possibility for him, but they continue to press him for an answer. In doing so, they try to drive him away from expressing himself as a queer person by setting up barriers for queer people to clear - like a formal coming out - before they’re allowed to simply be themselves in public.

Some people have interpreted that same Guardian quote as saying that he doesn’t label himself privately, but I believe the last comment Harry gave about his sexuality in the Guardian interview makes it pretty clear what he meant:

Harry: You respect that someone’s gonna ask. And you hope that they respect they might not get an answer.

He’s telling us that he’s not answering the question. He’s not commenting on his identity, whatever it may be, at all. 

And honestly? He doesn’t seem to care what other people think it is. So I’m not sure why certain parts of his fanbase are so concerned about convincing everyone else that they’re right about what it is.