Harry styles going against toxic masculinity

 

Harry Styles history to appear solo on the cover in American vogue. In the vogue magazine you see Styles wearing feminine clothing and more expressive pieces. Harry has always had good taste in clothing ever since he was little he made outfits and liked to dress up. In the vogue interview Harry says “As a kid I definitely liked fancy dress,” Then Harry exclaims that he had worn tights his first time in a school play and he said “I remember it was crazy to me that I was wearing a pair of tights. And that was maybe where it all kicked off!” Harry said that he has gotten into clothing and different types of clothing this past quarantine and experimenting and exploring. People would describe Harry touched with his feminine side but it's something that just comes natural to him. Its always been there and that it’s just him. Harry has helped many girls and boys and fans feel comfortable with what they want to wear… “And he’s a big inspiration to a younger generation about how you can be in a totally free playground when you feel comfortable. I think he’s a revolutionary.” Says Michelle. In the interview they talk about toxic masculinity. Obviously harry has achieved that confidence of wearing feminine clothing and wearing clothes that goes against masculine stereotypes.

In the first picture you can see that Styles wears a dress going against toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is described as a “a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designating manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression.” You don’t see men wearing dresses that often not just because men don’t want to but the fear of being made fun of. In the second picture of Harry you see that he has painted nails and rings. Harry has been seen with rings and painted nails for a long time now. It’s one of his signature looks. Harry has shown others that they can go up against masculine stereotypes and wear more feminine things if that makes them happy and more like themselves. Painted nails and jewelry has been a feminine thing for centuries now. People would make fun of men for wearing things that are abnormal for men to wear. Styles has shown that he is over the toxic masculinity. In all of the pictures there is some type of clothing that Harry is wearing that is going up against toxic masculinity rather that being dresses and skirts or jewelry and makeup.

In the vogue  interview the people on the set say “I hope that this brand of confidence as a male that Harry has—truly devoid of any traces of toxic masculinity—is indicative of his generation and therefore the future of the world. I think he is in many ways championing that, spearheading that. It’s pretty powerful and kind of extraordinary to see someone in his position redefining what it can mean to be a man with confidence.” 

I totally agree with this statement. I do feel like toxic masculinity is getting better and you see more men and boys branching out and trying different types of things. Not just clothing but just also interests, status, and emotions.

Toxic masculinity has been a problem for years. People have gotten bullied, attacked, threatened, and even killed just for being themselves and being who they want to be. To this day I see toxic masculinity throughout our school. On social media comments on posts making fun of men fun of men. And they are boys commenting in my grade about these things. It’s always my first thought of like why do they care? Why do they get mad when another man wears something more feminine? Are they that uncomfortable with their masculinity? How does this affect them? All these times I have asked this question to them. It's always “It’s funny, It’s weird,” I seriously don’t understand why other boys aren't comfortable with their masculinity to the point they have to make humor out of someone expressing themselves. It just shows what society has come to. 

Here is an article describing more in depth toxic masculinity 

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/us/toxic-masculinity.html