"Bring back manly men," quipped Styles
Sharing a photo of himself donning a ruffled powder blue suit with a banana in his mouth, Harry Styles took a swipe at recent comments made by Candace Owens, the conservative political commentator who took issue with the singer's latest Vogue cover.
On it, Styles was photographed wearing a dress. But not just any dress - a Gucci ballgown paired with a blazer. He was also blowing up a balloon.
It was the first time that a man had ever graced the cover of Vogue solo, but it wasn't this that Owens (and a good few others) took issue with - it was the fact that a man was wearing a dress, and that people were enjoying it.
"There is no society that can survive without strong men," she said.
"The East knows this. In the West, the steady feminisation 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."
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Owens' comments were echoed by Ben Shapiro, another popular conservative commentator.
However, in his interview with Vogue, Harry Styles criticised the notion of gendering items of clothing.
He said: "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."
To Styles, it's pretty clear masculinity means the ability to challenge preconceived notions about how men are "supposed' to act. It must mean having the balls to wear a Gucci dress on the cover of Vogue.
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As time goes by, it becomes increasingly clear that there is little room for the policing of style, of expression, or of those who want to challenge societal norms that have for too long restrained men and women alike.
There is, however, room for these men, there is room for other men, and there is room for the men in dresses.
