Wilburn 1 Ryan Wilburn Capstone Bednar 1 April 2021 First Full Draft
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Wilburn 1 Ryan Wilburn Capstone Bednar 1 April 2021 First Full Draft For the December 2020 issue, Harry Styles, ex-boyband heartthrob, appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in a blue, lacey, floor length Gucci dress. The cover received attention from far and wide, especially on social media. Vogue and Styles tweeted the cover image and a link to the cover article on November 13th, 2020 (Figure 1), sparking conversation among Twitter users, both fans of Styles and those who found issues with the cover. I analyzed a set of responses on Twitter to Harry Styles’ Vogue magazine cover photo and the ensuing controversy over gender performance and masculinity. I followed Gillian Rose’s method of discourse analysis, Discourse I, and worked through the lenses of hegemony, hegemonic masculinity, and gender performativity to answer the following research questions: 1. How does hegemonic masculinity shape the way Twitter users respond to non-normative presentations of masculinity, like Harry Styles wearing a dress for Vogue? 2. What does hegemony look like on Twitter and how might that differ from society as a whole? What is dominant in this particular space? In my experience as a Twitter user, the platform is used in an incredibly unique way. As a social media site, it affords a possibility of wide reach for posts, allowing people to connect with posts from users they have no previous connection with, even no mutual friends with. The short, quick post style allows users to post their responses to an original post with lighting speed and share that thought with their followers. This makes for a unique creation of discourse and that is Wilburn 2 why I chose this platform for the site of my research. I was initially interested in identifying the ways normative ideologies of masculinity and gender are projected in a space like Twitter because as social media expands and adapts, users do the same and find unique ways to use the platforms, both for positive outcomes like the creation of community and validation of identity, but also in harmful ways, such as the spread of misinformation and the perpetuation of stereotypes and damaging social norms. Social media affords users varying levels of anonymity, allowing them to generate these responses without the social repercussions that might arise in physical interaction. In this case, users responded to Harry Styles’ performance and to other opinions stated on Twitter by other prominent figures. I argue that every user who commented on Harry Styles’ Vogue cover did so in relation to hegemonic masculinity, regardless of the camp of responses they fall into, as hegemonic masculinity is what informs the thought processes of the users. I also believe that hegemony on Twitter takes the form of short statements of opinions or arguments, rather than deeper discussion because of the platform’s unique character limit. Figure 1. Original tweet from @voguemagazine, including photos from Styles’ shoot Studying Twitter and Social Media Wilburn 3 In order to identify how hegemonic masculinity and dominant ideas function on Twitter, we must understand Twitter as a platform and how it is studied in previous scholarship. Twitter, the popular social networking site known for its strict 280 character limit (previously 140) and wide reach of topics and posts, is at the center of many studies, including my own. Arvidsson et al find that Twitter allows public participation in virtual crowds, often fandoms of celebrities like One Direction and identify that technological affordances, like “Twitter’s list of trending topics [provide] the crowd with an objective and direction” (Arvidsson et al). Arvidsson et al and Brock both discuss the importance of hashtags as a way to engage in conversations occurring on the site, allowing users to identify with other users even if they are not following them. Brock specifically studies identity formation among Black users, who make up what they call ‘Black Twitter.’ They argue that Black Twitter “illuminates Twitter’s role as a cultural communication medium…. allowing users to participate in open-ended community-building discourses in near real-time” (Brock 545). This unique attribute of Twitter that Brock notes is essential to my study of the platform, as that discourse is what occurred in response to Styles’ Vogue cover. As Brock identified what is considered hegemonic within a subsection of Twitter, I aim to identify what is hegemonic within the confines of the discourse surrounding Styles, even as those concepts may not be what is dominant on the site as a whole. Hoffman et al’s study of real-time Tweets in response to the medical drama Code Black provides a useful framework for methods of coding response and analysis of Twitter trends. Additionally, they found that the tweets they studied provided insight into discourse created by the viewership of the show. Foote et al.’s study on Twitter reactions to Adrian Peterson’s suspension from the NFL for allegations of child abuse highlights a similar discourse of masculinity as I have identified surrounding Styles’ own masculinity. This study identifies a common theme among the tweets Wilburn 4 studied of a “lament that American culture has grown increasingly weak” because of the actions taken by the NFL. (Foote et al. 276). Many of the tweets identified in their study bear significant similarities to negative comments about Styles I have identified for my own research. Foote et al. conclude that, in regards to hegemonic masculinity, “there is a significant risk that Twitter conversations can reify and rationalize problematic behaviors” (281). I believe that this finding is valuable to my study of how discourses surrounding masculinity are created and shared on Twitter especially in reaction to what is considered a ‘hot button topic” a cisgender man breaking free from normative gender expression. Although not focused on Twitter, but rather a different social media site, Morris and Anderson find evidence that among the four male YouTubers they studied, YouTube enabled them to develop and exhibit “inclusive masculinity.” The young men represent an expansion of the traditional understanding of masculinity to include association with homosexuality without fear of homosexualization, association with femininity, and displays of inclusive masculinity, all in a casual way through their video blogs that are broadcast to thousands of viewers. Morris and Anderson argue these YouTube stars’ authenticity and displays of inclusive masculinity are a major factor in their popularity among young audiences, which they suggest are becoming more inclusive (1213). Their analysis identifies social media as a possible site for the expansion of masculinities and applies to my question of the function of hegemony on Twitter. The Who, What, Wear of the Controversy Harry Styles was born in Worcestershire, England in 1994. During his school years, he formed a band with schoolmates, called White Eskimo (Biography). This would be the start of Styles’ smashing success as a singer, musician, actor, and most importantly, teenage heartthrob. At 16, Styles auditioned for the UK competition show The X Factor where he was thrust together Wilburn 5 with four other solo auditioners to form the now iconic boy band, One Direction. The boys were known for their coordinating outfits, skinny jeans, and spectacular hair, although their styles changed throughout their years as a group. They checked all the boxes of a boyband, with their gushy romantic lyrics, loyal fanbase, merchandise in every form possible, and more money and fame than twenty-somethings would know what to do with (Lamont 2014). Together, the band produced five wildly popular albums, multiple world tours, a 3-D tour documentary, and garnered the attention of teenage girls worldwide before announcing a ‘hiatus’ in 2015, intended to only last a year (Cunningham). Having already lost one member, Zayn Malik, to a solo career, the other members began to release their own solo music and since 2015, they have each gone on to create full-length albums, go on tour, and maintain their boy band success. Harry Styles’ own solo career took off, landing him wildly popular singles like “Sign of the Times” and two consecutive Billboard 200 No. 1 albums (Rolli 2020). His first tour, which sold nearly 1 million tickets, was proof enough that he could succeed outside of the boyband constraints (Rolli 2018). He was set to embark on another tour for his sophomore album Fine Line but rescheduled due to COVID-19. Fine Line garnered Styles three 2021 Grammy nominations and one win, for “Watermelon Sugar”(Grammys). He also has a budding acting career, having starred in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, currently filming Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling, and set to star in the upcoming My Policeman, directed by Michael Grandage (“Harry Styles Filmography”). Although Styles was often lauded as a fashion icon from the start, phasing through different styles during his time in One Direction, his style truly started to turn heads on his debut solo tour. His signature tour ensemble was eye- catching suits, but they were far from the skinny black tie looks he sported with One Direction. These suits, often custom-made, were covered in Wilburn 6 florals, plaid, glitter, and leopard print, all mixed with bold neckties and bows. He sported high fashion labels like Gucci and Saint Laurent and even donned a kilt for his show in Glasgow (Ceron). For the 2019 Met Gala, which he co-chaired, Styles donned Gucci high waisted pants, heeled boots, and a sheer ruffled, lacy top and finished the “femme look” with rings, multicolored nails, and a single pearl earring (Donahue). Harry Lambert, Styles’ fashion right- hand since his days in One Direction, collaborated with Styles and the team at Gucci to create the look. Lambert says that Styles is always “keen to experiment with fashion and is never scared to try something new” which can be seen in the changes in his style over the years and leading up to the Vogue cover shoot (Pike).