by Angelina A.
Harry Styles is a musician who has been gaining a lot of popularity in recent years. After
splitting apart from One Direction, he has made a name for himself as a solo artist and developed
a cult following. One aspect that has gained Styles a lot of attention is his sense of style, as he is
one of the leading faces of Gucci. He has been known to dress in a manner that questions
traditional gender roles and norms. He has been seen wearing dresses, skirts, pears and frills, as
well as sporting traditionally masculine looks like suits and jeans. In this way, Styles can be seen
as performing a traitorous identity, by questioning what “is” or “isn’t” appropriate for men to wear.
Harry Styles is acting as a positive force of change in our society by making others question
gender norms and performing a traitorous identity.
In 2020, Harry Styles was the first solo male model to appear on the front cover of Vogue
Magazine, an important magazine in the fashion industry. Not only did he appear on the cover, but
he was wearing a long frilled ballgown, designed by Gucci. An article from Indian Express
explains that this magazine appearance caused uproar of conservatives and gender conformists
who bashed Styles for breaking the rules of traditional gender norms. Conservative spearheads
such as Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens called it “an attack on masculinity” and called to “bring
back manly men.”
People on the other side of the argument saw this as a step in the right direction for
breaking gender norms. Even in an act as simple as wearing a dress, Styles opened up a
national discussion about what it means to masculine today. Starting these conversations are
extremely important in changing public opinion and breaking out of constrictive gender norms.
Style’s androgynous way of dressing is further important in giving younger boys and even
adults the courage to dress however they please, regardless of social norms. Young men growing
up in a hetero normative world now have a role model that doesn’t conform to social norms of
masculinity. This normalizes dressing as one pleases without any regard to social expectations
and can give boys who wanting to dress more androgynous like, someone to represent them in
mainstream society. This representation is important for young boys to see as they are
discovering a sense of identity.
It also paves the way for other adult men who want to express themselves better with their
fashion. As seen in an article from US Weekly, there seems to be a trend nowadays of men
questioning gender norms through fashion, with the popularity of skirts and feminine colors in
men outfits. While Harry styles is the leading face of this movement, many other celebrities have
been following suit. Celebrities such as Timothee Chalamet and Billy Porter have also been seen
in outfits that traditionally would be seen as “feminine.”
While Historically, many celebrities have defied gender norms through fashion, such as Freddy Mercury and Elton John, today this normalization has seemed to spread more into mainstream culture and has become more normal even for men who are not celebrities.
In an interview with The Guardian, Styles explains, “I want things to look a certain way.
Not because it makes me look gay, or it makes me look straight, or it makes me look bisexual, but
because I think it looks cool…I just think sexuality’s something that’s fun.” Harry’s attitude of not caring about gender norms encourages others to think less about them as well. People should
dress however makes them happy and if that means breaking gender norms then so be it. The
pressure and focus is less on gender norms themselves, and more on self expression. This is a
positive way to look at expressions of gender and is a helpful mindset for others trying to navigate
how they want to present themselves.
Styles can be seen as one of many men in society performing a traitorous identity. He is
criticizing the way that men have historically been given tight constraints around the way that they
can dress and express themselves. By acting outside of the norm, Styles is saying that it is okay
to dress in a feminine way and that you can still be masculine by doing so. This puts less pressure
on people to conform to one idea of “masculinity” and “femininity” and to dress however they want
regardless. This act of a traitorous identity is extremely powerful due to Harry’s popularity as a
celebrity and how public his actions are because of it. He is using his platform for good by
encouraging others to care less about societal norms.