Ryan Wilburn

Capstone

Bednar

9 February 2021

Context/ Description: Harry Styles in Vogue

Introduction

This paper will provide context and a greater understanding of my research object, which is a collection of responses on Twitter to Harry Styles on the cover of Vogue magazine wearing a ​ ​ dress. The tweets cover a range of responses and engage in the discourse surrounding hegemonic masculinity, toxic masculinity, and gender performativity. This is a productive site for analysis because I believe these conversations are becoming more common and that it is important to understand the deeper rhetorical meaning behind public reactions and comments to performances like Styles’. Throughout this paper, I will explore some history of Vogue, notable reactions to ​ ​ Styles’ Vogue cover, Styles and his stylistic choices, as well antecedent and adjacent acts of ​ ​ queering normative gender expectations through clothing.

Context and Description

For the December 2020 issue, Harry Styles, ex-boyband heartthrob, appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in a blue Gucci dress and black jacket. He made history as the first ​ ​ man to appear solo on the cover of the 127-year-old publication, which has only featured men on its covers 10 times (Countryman). Vogue magazine was founded in 1892 as a “dignified ​ ​ authentic journal of society, fashion, and the ceremonial side of life” and has since showcased on its cover everything from actors to dogs to editors to athletes (Borrelli- Perrson). There have been a total of 7 editors of the magazine, including the current editor, Anna Wintour. Wintour’s first Vogue cover, in November of 1988 “broke all the rules” in her own words, by shaking up ​ ​ what was expected of a cover image; centering a model with windblown hair, stonewashed

Guess jeans, and ‘effortless’ hair and makeup all alongside an haute couture jacket (Wintour). It is clear that Harry Styles’ appearance on the magazine’s cover was not the first time Wintour made unprecedented choices that turn the heads of readers, she has been doing this since her first day at Vogue. ​ The December 2020 cover received attention from far and wide, especially on social media. Vogue and Harry himself tweeted out the cover image and a link to the cover article on ​ ​ November 13th, 2020, sparking conversation among Twitter users, both fans of Styles and those who found issues with the cover (@voguemagazine). As a means of finding valuable responses amongst thousands of retweets and comments between the two original Tweets, I found a video on YouTube that attempts to overview the controversy, showing responses on both sides of the conversation, allowing me to source those directly to Twitter. The video, titled “ Harry Styles

DRAGGED Over New Photos, Shuts Down Hater with 1 Tweet,” has an interesting thumbnail image: a picture of Styles (not from the Vogue shoot), a picture of Candace Owens, conservative ​ ​ commentator and a notable player in the controversy, as well as two Tweets, one reading “He looks so stupid,” and the other, from Olivia Wilde, reading ‘You’re pathetic.” (“Harry Styles

DRAGGED Over New Photos, Shuts Down Hater with 1 Tweet”). Styles and Wilde are reported to be dating, so her Tweet on the cover image is eye-catching (Slater). Her Tweet was not in response to Styles or the image itself, but rather to Candace Owens’ personal take on Styles on the Vogue cover. Owens states in her own tweet that “there is no society that can survive without ​ ​ strong men,” and that Styles in a dress represents the “steady feminization of our men” (@RealCandanceO). “Bring back manly men,” she continues, making clear her stance on the matter, that no man in a dress can be seen as manly (@RealCandanceO).

Candace Owens was not the only conservative voice making their opinion known about

Styles wearing a dress on the cover of a magazine. Ben Shapiro, another conservative commentator and host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” felt that Styles' cover image was “a referendum on masculinity,” and continued to defend his opinion on masculinity in a thread of

Tweets, in response to Owens’ Tweet (@benshapiro). Shapiro also uploaded two YouTube videos to his channel about the topic, one being over an hour long and titled “The Attack on

Masculinity.” Both Owens and Shapiro seem to thrive off of controversy and their personal takes on current events. Recently they have both taken to the internet to express their distaste with rapper Cardi B. Shapiro tweeted and made a video about Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s hit track “WAP,” even going so far as to read the (censored) lyrics aloud and making claims about feminism and misogyny (Mamo “Ben Shapiro Reads...). Owens launched a string of tweets attacking Cardi B for her political “pandering,” which created a back and forth between the two about politics, intellect, and WAP (Mamo “A Timeline of Cardi B & Candace Owens' Political

Debate”). These two commentators have a rich history of broadcasting their opinion on controversial matters and Styles’ masculinity is the most recent iteration.

Despite these negative comments about the downfall of masculinity, other celebrities defended Styles on Twitter, including Jameela Jamil, Zach Braff, Chasten Buttigieg (Wong). The general population also weighed in on the situation, many coming to the defense of Styles and others agreeing with Owens and Shapiro. The YouTube video I am using to source these responses covers a wide variety of Tweets, allowing me to find meaning among the thousands of replies. Styles is not known for being active on social media, typically only jumping on for holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions like new music or the 10 year anniversary of One

Direction, always with a brief message and signature. In his only and final response to the hate he received, he tweeted a photo of him, eating a banana and wearing a powder blue suit with a frilly white shirt peeking out from the sleeves, with the caption: “Bring back manly men”

(@Harry_Styles). The Tweet received 1.1 million likes and thousands of retweets and quote tweets, a testament to his loyal fanbase and general support for his Vogue cover and his overall ​ ​ stylistic choices.

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 ​ ​ with four other solo auditioners to form the now iconic boy band, One Direction. The boys were known for their just coordinating outfits, skinny jeans, and spectacular hair, although their styles changed throughout their years as a group. They checked the boxes of a boyband, with their gushy romantic lyrics, loyal fanbase, merch 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 for some even start families.

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 second album “Fine Line” but rescheduled due to COVID-19, pushing the concert dates back by almost a year. 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,” (“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 look was matching suits, but they were far from the skinny black tie looks he sported with One Direction. These suits, often custom made, were covered in 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, Styles settled on yet another eye-catching look. The annual Met Gala is intended to be a spectacle for celebrities to turn heads and raise eyebrows, and 2019 was no different, with Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Alessandro Michele, Serena Williams, and Anna Wintour acting as co-chairs of the event. Styles chose a sleek black look, Gucci of course, with high waisted pants, heeled boots, and a sheer ruffled, lacy top and finished the

“femme look” with rings, including his signature “H” and “S” initial 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). Although Styles made Vogue cover history and sparked a dialogue about men in dresses, ​ ​ he was by no means the first man to bend gendered expectations of what men should or could wear. Styles’ fashion choices bear resemblance to David Bowie’s 1970s looks: bold suits with nontraditional silhouettes, eccentric patterns, heeled boots, and other head-turning stylistic choices (Graff). Around the same time as Bowie was stepping out in these looks, Prince was

“making the world think about how a man or a woman should dress, pushing the boundaries of taste and acceptability,” wearing lace gloves, frilly shirts, sparkle vests, and a now-iconic smudged, smoky eyeliner (Elan). R&B artist Frank Ocean even shared that Prince’s on-stage performance made him feel comfortable with his own sexual identity because Prince displayed a freedom from “archaic” gender conformity (Spanos). These men were musicians and performers who set the stage for performers like Styles to continue this androgynous legacy. But again,

Styles is not alone among male musicians today. Hip Hop artist Tyler, the Creator, is described as “a style renegade” and has created his own fashion and lifestyle brand that prides itself on flouting traditional expectations of streetwear and “endangering a notion of masculine beauty that is at once tender and tough” (Nnadi). His performance looks, which include wigs, color-blocked suits, and colorful nail polish, are all styled by him personally and do not fit the mold of what is expected of Black men in hip-hop. Despite controversial, anti-gay lyrics in the past, Tyler has made several social media posts about “coming out” and written other lyrics hinting at his sexual preferences (Nnadi).

Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican trap artist, is no stranger to flashy, bedazzled suits, painted nails, and other ‘feminine’ aspects of his style, all of which garner both positive and negative attention, especially from a Latinx audience. Bad Bunny’s presentation of masculinity disrupts the tradition of machismo that his Latin American culture is framed by, which discourages men from anything remotely feminine (Rosales). Although not monumental, Bad Bunny’s stylistic choices have meaning, especially within his genre and cultural background. In a recent music video, he dressed in drag, prompting him to share more about his personal identity: "I have ​ always felt like there [was] a part of me that is very feminine," he said, "but I never felt as masculine as I did the day I dressed up like a drag queen." (Bad Bunny qtd in Raga). Although he does not identify as gay, he is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and is queer in his presentation of masculinity (Raga). Jaden Smith, a young rapper and actor, has been debuting in ​ gender non conforming clothing, like skirts, prom dresses at prom, and has even created his own line of clothing, intended to be gender neutral (Moye). Smith represents the vitality of the movement of performers who continue to break gendered expectations of fashion. He claims that he wants to make changes now so that in the future, children who want to use fashion to shape their gender expression may not experience the criticism he has (Moye).

Billy Porter has long been making bold spectacles of his fashion, especially on red carpets. The singer and actor was the first openly gay Black man to win an Emmy Award for lead actor in a drama and has continued to blow audiences away with his style (Ilchi). Hee states that his red carpet style is “undefinable” and “unpredictable” but all of his looks have something in common: androgyny (Ilchi). He repeatedly arrives on the red carpet in floor-length gowns, bright colors and florals, and flowing trains. His 2019 Oscars style combined a tuxedo top over a strapless velvet circle gown at the bottom, purposely playing with masculinity and femininity as a form of political art, in Porter’s own words (Allaire). He also goes on to further explain his fashion choices in relation to his identity:

“I grew up loving fashion, but there was a limit to the ways in which I could

express myself. When you’re black and you’re gay, one’s masculinity is in question. I dealt with a lot of homophobia in relation to my clothing choices

...When I landed a role in Kinky Boots, the experience really grounded me in a

way that was so unexpected. Putting on those heels made me feel the most

masculine I’ve ever felt in my life. It was empowering to let that part of myself

free” (Porter qtd in Allaire).

It is not lost on some audiences that Porter’s identity as an openly gay Black man positions him differently than someone like Styles, who is white and despite rumors, considered to be cisgender and straight. Styles was seen as revolutionary for making stylized choices that many others, most notably trans femmes and drag queens of color, “have been mocked, ostracized, beaten, and even killed for doing” (Askinasi). Many people do not see a white man like Styles as the poster child for gender-neutral fashion when openly queer people of color are not afforded the same praise for doing the same thing (Askinasi). This represents a different camp of responses to the cover, in which Styles is not being criticized directly, nor is his masculinity in question, but rather wondering just how revolutionary this representation is and who is overlooked when someone like Styles is praised (Rodgers).

Styles has made clear, through monetary support of LGBTQ+ nonprofits, waving pride flags at concerts, and even helping a fan come out to her parents, that he supports the LGBTQ+ community, but has never made explicit whether he identifies as part of that community (Singh).

In an interview with The Guardian, he opened up about the constant outside questions regarding ​ ​ his sexuality. His response to those questions is a simple “Who cares?” He says he is “not sitting on an answer, and protecting it, and holding it back” and that “sexuality is something that’s fun”

(Styles qtd in Lamont 2019). He promises he is not “sprinkling in nuggets of sexual ambiguity to try and be more interesting” and that his choices of fashion, album covers, and more are stylistic choices, rather than an attempt to look one way or the other or make a statement about his sexuality (Styles qtd in Lamont 2019). Regardless of his sexual orientation or gender identity, his performances, the Vogue cover included, represent a queering of gendered ideologies. ​ ​ Initial Conclusions

As is clear through the context provided here, the dialogue surrounding Harry Styles appearing on Vogue in a dress is about so much more than a man in a dress on a magazine cover. ​ ​ The antecedent acts that frame Styles’ act are incredibly valuable to the understanding of the responses on social media that make up my research object. The intersectionality of Styles’ identity also brings in conversation about race, class, and sexual orientation, which decides who gets praise and who doesn’t. One pattern I noticed and hope to look further into is Bad Bunny and Billy Porter both saying that they felt most masculine when they embraced traditionally feminine aspects of appearance like heels and drag queen inspired looks. So much of the conversation that happened on Twitter, especially stemming from Owens and Shapiro was directly related to the deterioration of what they consider to be masculine, when there are men who say expanding their expression of gender makes them feel most ‘manly.’ I look forward to further engaging the concepts of toxic masculinity and hegemonic masculinity within the context of this discourse, as I see the threads of toxic masculinity running throughout my research object and in the surrounding context.

Works Cited

@benshapiro. “This is perfectly obvious. Anyone who pretends that it is not a referendum on masculinity for men to don floofy dresses is treating you as a full-on idiot.” Twitter, 16 ​ ​ November 2020, 8:21am, https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/132834254228758938.

@Harry_Styles. “Bring back manly men.” Twitter, 2 December 2020, 1:111pm, ​ ​ https://twitter.com/Harry_Styles/status/1334213571283091456

@RealCandanceO. “There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminization of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.” Twitter, 14 November 2020, 1:16 pm, ​ ​ https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1327691891303976961

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