"How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990).
It was released in the United Kingdom on 11 March 1991 as a double A-side with "Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)", serving as the third single from Behaviour.
It was subsequently released as a single in its own right in the United States and France. The single later peaked at number 93 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
As "Being Boring" and "It's Alright" were not released in the US, tracks from these releases were used on a number of US releases. The accompanying music video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe.
Neil Tennant later said that the track "was inspired by a female pop star from 1989". Of interest to collectors, EMI USA commissioned dance DJ David Morales to create five remixes that were released to clubs and DJs on a limited promotion 12-inch. Morales would later work with the duo co-writing and co-producing the 1999 single "New York City Boy".