Hey everyone. Yet again, we are going to rant about Harry Styles, but this time I actually have a point. As some people may know, a few days ago it was announced that Harry was on the cover of Vogue for the December issue, and to include, makes history as being the first male solo artist to appear on the cover for American Vogue (aka A VERY BIG DEAL). Although I could rant about how beautiful he looks and analyze every single photo, we’re not here to do that today. In the cover photo, his outfit (not visible but shown in other photos) has been quite the talk lately: a dress. For some reason, this has become quite the controversy over the past week, with people on Twitter ranting for no apparent reason and Harry’s supporters, friends, and peers coming to his defense, as expected. One response that really stuck out to me is Candace Owens. To summarize, she says “Bring back manly men,” along with many other hateful comments. Of course, I could go on a whole rant about her and raise my blood pressure while I’m at it, but this tweet really has a deeper meaning. She’s saying that Harry is less “manly or masculine” because of his choice in fashion, the dress, furthering the stereotypes that men and women have in fashion. These stereotypes have been dug deep inside of our society for hundreds of years and Harry is trying to break those stereotypes, saying that he believes everyone should be able to wear what they want and are comfortable in. In the interview with Vogue, he says “When you take away ‘There’s clothes for men and there’s clothes for women,’ once you remove any barriers, obviously you open up the arena in which you can play,” and mentions how he’s had fun finding and expressing himself through his fashion choices. It’s really that simple: he finds clothes he likes, no matter the gender they're meant for, and wears them. This may just be my personal opinion, but I think that the clothes you wear don’t define you as a person, and genders shouldn’t be gatekeeping clothing items. Now, I feel like I should include the double standard that Candace Owens wears pantsuits all the time and receives no backlash. So, per her theory, that would make her more of a man than a woman, because only men should be wearing suits and pants and women should only wear dresses and skirts right? WRONG. Many people are holding her accountable and mocking her tweet by commenting things like “Bring back womanly women!” on her posts. Now I’m not saying people can’t have their own opinion. If you think men shouldn’t wear dresses, there’s not much I can say to sway you, so just move along. Scroll. Get on with your life. But don’t bash people for wearing things they like when it CERTAINLY doesn’t affect you. To summarize, my frustration stems from the fact that I personally believe that no one should be judged for what they wear. It’s not your business, not your problem, and to be frank, no one really cares what you think. And at the end of the day, it’s just fabric. If you’re getting angry about cloth, maybe find a hobby. <3
Do you think clothes should be exclusive to one gender? What do you think about Harry's cover?
You can read Candace's full response here if you'd like (https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1327691891303976961)
Ellie, I completely agree. When I saw the announcement and his outfit, I was so happy and proud. The fact that Harry is making history and breaking gender stereotypes by being the first male on the cover of Vogue and in a dress makes me support him even more. I didn't think twice about his fashion choice, and seeing the backlash he is getting makes me so upset. I genuinely just don't understand why people can't wear whatever they want without being judged or without it being gender specific. I wish people could move on and understand that clothing is meant to be worn by whoever feels most comfortable in it. Speaking of Candace Owens, her response after her tweet made me even more disappointed because she stated that men in dresses isn't "normal" and she would never let her child near a man in a dress because that is crazy. The standard of "normal" has been created by society, and who is to define what "normal" is? In another video she was saying that feminine boys make society "soft" and other comments that are wrong and hateful. I could go on and on, but I believe that clothing should be worn by whoever wants to wear it, and if you don't like it, just move on.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you and Romy - this is ridiculous. Clothing shouldn't have gender. My 12 year old buys all her clothes in the boy's section because they are more comfortable and she likes the stuff with astronauts and dinosaurs and video games and cartoon characters rather than pink and floofy. Are Scottish men not manly? They wear skirts! Heck, I have friends who own kilts because they are comfortable. *shrug* who cares? This gives me such respect for Harry Styles, to be honest. I love that he stepped outside the norm in such a big way, just to make a statement about the stupidity of gender norms!!
ReplyDeleteI agree :). I was so happy when I saw his outfit! Clothes are for all, and it doesn't matter what you wear, it matters who you are. I'm not really a big fan of Harry, but I love his message to his fans!
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