Treat People with Kindness

Harry Styles’ vogue cover met with controversy

A recreation of Harry Styles album Fine Line, illustrated on Adobe Illustrator.

Sami Bowlin

A recreation of Harry Styles’ album “Fine Line”, illustrated on Adobe Illustrator.

On Nov. 13, musician Harry Styles was revealed to be the cover model for the December issue of Vogue magazine. Styles is one of only 10 men to ever be on the cover of Vogue and is the first male to appear solo on the cover, according to variety.com.

Styles appears on the cover wearing a ball gown designed by Gucci’s Alessandro Michele, according to Page Six Magazine. Styles’ “gender-bending” looks featured in the magazine are inspired by famous musicians Elton John, David Bowie, Prince and Freddie Mercury, according to Vogue, but they have also stirred controversy on Twitter, especially with Conservative political pundit, Candice Owens.

“There is no society that can survive without strong men,” 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.”

Many of Styles’ fans and friends rushed to the singer’s defense via social media. Democratic politician Frangell Basora called out Owens, saying she was “inspiring violence against gender-nonconforming people” by using the phrase, “bring manly men back,” according to twitter.com.

In an interview with Variety, the singer reportedly responded to Owens.

“To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes,” Styles said, according to Businessinsider.com. “And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”

Styles responded again on Instagram with a post of him in a ruffled, baby blue suit with the photo caption “Bring Back Manly Men.”

“I think if you get something that you feel amazing in, it’s like a superhero outfit,” Styles said, according to Vogue. “Clothes are there to have fun with and experiment with and play with, 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.”