How Styles Revolutionized Style: Breaking Toxic Masculinity
Laila Sayegh, Entertainment Editor
Toxic masculinity is an attitude and a way of behaving that is stereotypically associated with or expected of men, thought to have a negative impact on men and society as a whole. Strict ideas of masculinity are deeply rooted in our society. Ideas such as the fact that men shouldn’t cry and can’t express themselves thoroughly through their clothing have stifled their humanity, as they feel obligated to comply with society's unrealistic norms for them. When men go against these standards, they are automatically assumed to be weak and lacking the strength to be a “real man.” However, especially in the twenty-first century, men have begun to challenge these concepts, expressing themselves in ways that wouldn’t be seen as acceptable to traditional social norms, no matter their sexuality or how they identify. Whether it be TikTok “femboy” culture, or male celebrities making bold statements with their feminine clothing at events like award shows, our generation has seen a rise of sentiments against toxic masculinity.
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After being a pop sensation for the past ten years, kicking off his career with his band One Direction, Harry Styles has been a pillar and leading force in combating toxic masculinity in the media. Since his band's hiatus in 2015, we saw a shift in Styles’ style as he began to wear more striking clothing. This can especially be seen in his Met Gala 2019 outfit, which consisted of a sheer Gucci blouse with lace bordering the sleeves, a single pearl earring, his infamous gold rings, and black and blue nail polish. He received a lot of praise for this by his fans, applauding him for his advanced sense of fashion and adventurous taste.
Yet Styles truly broke the barriers of men’s fashion when he became the first man to have a solo cover on Vogue Magazine in December 2020. A series of photos were released of him flaunting skirts and long coats in an outdoorsy setting, but the most notable of the outfits in his Vogue shoot was his ruffled dress. Styles flaunted a lace ball gown by Gucci which he attributed to his “flamboyant” idols such as David Bowie and the lead singer of Queen, Freddie Mercury. Many honored Styles’ brave step, as he was able to feel so confident in his own skin and not feel oppressed by toxic masculinity. In fact, it can be argued that him wearing a dress made him even more manly in the sense that he was self-assured in his own masculinity. He was secure enough with himself to wear a dress publicly despite knowing he would receive backlash, which is exactly what happened. Apart from the praise he received from his own fans, Styles faced backlash from political figure Candance Owens who stressed the phrase “Bring Back Manly Men” to oppose the feminine Vogue cover. She and her supporters pressured the idea that Styles was destroying the idea of what a true man is, or at least what they thought a true man is. Styles’ public femininity threatened their conservative model for gender norms.
Styles was quick to prove he was unbothered by taking to Instagram to respond. He posted a photo of him dressed in a baby blue pleat hem suit for his Variety Hitmaker of the Year shoot cover, and captioned it “Bring Back Manly Men,” mocking Owens’ statement. All in all, Harry Styles and other male celebrity figures like Kid Cudi (who rocked a dress during his Saturday Night Live performance) are paving the way for the demise of toxic masculinity through their fearless expression and resistance to societal norms.
Image courtesy of Variety
