Mandatory Man: Harry Styles Has More Balls Than Any Guy After Wearing a Dress on the Cover of ‘Vogue’ (But Got Plenty of Hell For It Anyway)

Harry Styles recently made history by being the first man to appear solo on the cover of Vogue. “Harry Styles makes his own rules” declares the December issue of the magazine. The former One Direction heartthrob appears in a lacy dress and vintage blazer, both by Gucci.

.@harry_styles is our December issue cover star!

Read how the star is making and playing by his own rules: https://t.co/tQPLi5OEtj pic.twitter.com/AxZgxE68Rx

— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) November 13, 2020

“Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with,” the 26-year-old explained in the interview with the mag. “What’s really exciting is that all of these lines are just kind of crumbling away. 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.”

The Brit’s trailblazing feat was accompanied by a lot of heat, however. No sooner did images of Styles spread through the internet than a slew of naysayers popped up, criticizing the singer for wearing what would traditionally be considered women’s clothing.

“There is no society that can survive without strong men,” New York Times bestselling author Candace Owens tweeted. “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.”

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. https://t.co/sY4IJF7VkK

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 14, 2020

What Owens failed to realize is that it actually takes a lot of balls for a man to shed the trappings of masculinity so blatantly as Styles did. Women have much more freedom to appropriate men’s clothing (and were once ostracized heavily for it) than men do to experiment with women’s fashions. The fact that clothing is still gendered is pretty outdated given the gender fluidity of modern society.

Twitter was quick to clap back at Owens and come to the defense of Styles.

You’re pathetic.

— olivia wilde (@oliviawilde) November 16, 2020

Yeah,we need to go back to the good old days when men dressed manly like real men pic.twitter.com/W0pBpn5gSJ

— SalleS (@Rex_Portugaliae) November 17, 2020

And what about THIS manly man?! pic.twitter.com/JTfFeXDPu4

— ktinthebay (@ktinthebay) November 16, 2020

tell me why society can’t survive without ‘manly’ men? brute strength doesn’t maintain or improve our existence. intelligence does. innovation does. creativity does. these things are not gendered. nor are they determined by attire. so what exactly is harmful about femininity?

— ciara (@rosesIotus) November 14, 2020

i think you’ve missed the definition of what a man is. masculinity alone does not make a man

— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) November 16, 2020

I could only find you wearing suits bring back feminine females pic.twitter.com/kQ326XPWqb

— El ︎ (@nialls_hoover) November 16, 2020

idk about you but i think that there is nothing more manly then a man being so secure with his masculinity that he can wear a dress pic.twitter.com/4kttEE85nn

— phia✰ (@tbslonelyheartt) November 16, 2020

Our whole lives boys and men are told we need to be manly. Life is short. Be whatever the fuck you want to be. pic.twitter.com/oY6ji3tpaI

— Zach Braff (@zachbraff) November 16, 2020

We say go on with your bold self, Styles. Owens is just jealous that you look better in a dress than she does.

Cover Photo: Tyler Mitchell for Vogue

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