Dua Lipa’s personal experience of feeling powerless or intimidated has inspired her songwriting.
The award-winning star has revealed that ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ – which features on her latest album, ‘Future Nostalgia’ – was inspired by some of her real-life troubles.
Dua, 24, told the August issue of ELLE UK magazine: "I often will speak up about female equality, especially in the workplace, but this song is talking about the personal experiences and growing pains of what it’s like to be a woman.
"I’ve spoken to my friends, and they’ve all done the same things, whether it’s holding keys between your knuckles or pretending you’re on the phone while walking alone at night.
"We’ve all tried to avoid confrontation, or worn something we didn’t really want to wear in order to protect ourselves. We’ve all been like, ‘Oh, I can’t bear the idea of wearing this short dress and then hopping on public transport to get to the party.’"
Dua has been alongside her boyfriend Anwar Hadid amid the coronavirus pandemic, and she recently admitted it’s been beneficial for their relationship.
She gushed: "It’s been really great – easy and fun and chill. We’ve been making the most of this because we got all this extra time that we weren’t expecting to just hang out. It’s been an absolute blast, and we’re learning so much more about each other."
The couple are spending most of their time binge-watching TV shows and movies, and are "slowly ticking things off".
The singer said: "We have a big list, and we’re slowly ticking things off. We’ve watched lots of series – ‘Ozark’, ‘Tiger King’, ‘Unorthodox’, ‘The Sinner’ – and then some older movies like ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ and ‘Snatch’ and ‘No Country For Old Men.’"
The August issue of ELLE UK is on sale on newsstands now or by visiting  www.ELLE.com/uk.