Let's Talk About Harry Styles

Let's talk about Harry Styles. Harry Styles has always been a character of his own, he’s always been and he’s always followed his passion. That is something I admire deeply. He’s not afraid to be authentically himself.

Recently, he was photographed for a magazine cover, wearing a dress. Specifically, Vogue. If you know Vogue, you know that getting on the cover is a lifelong career accomplishment. 

Unfortunately, as expected, there was varied reaction from the press and the public. Nowadays, everything anyone does is criticized in some way. While I fully support his style choices and him dressing however he feels, many people were not as supportive. It was really disappointing to see so many people negatively react to him purely being himself. 

Author, Candace Owens, who always has a lot to say and faces significant backlash for it, made comments that we need to, “Bring Back Manly Men.” As expected, the world did not have the best response to this ignorant comment made by her. Many said the comment was insensitive and alluded to the fact that a man in a dress or a man dressing differently doesn't classify as manly or as a man. She practically said that it made him less of a man.

What does a phrase like this even really mean? How can you generalize men? How can you automatically assume that a man wearing a skirt or a dress is less of a man? You can’t.

In a response to Candace Owens’ comment, Harry Styles uploaded a photo on Instagram of his in a different dress, captioning it, “Bring Back Manly Men,” the same four word utterance Candace Owens had said just a few days prior. It’s clear that Harry Styles was relatively unbothered by Owens’ comment and he made an ironic post about it, poking fun at her — seemingly showing that he simply doesn’t care what Candace Owens thinks.

On a more positive note, backlash wasn’t all Harry Styles received. He also received immense positive feedback from supporters and people all around the world. While some people view what he did as “unmanly,” many others are inspired by this. He could be inspiring a young boy who’s afraid to dress a certain way. He’s showing people to own who you are and express yourself however you want to. How you dress doesn’t make you any less of a man or a woman. There is no one thing or even two things that define what makes a man a man and what makes a woman a woman. At least not in my books. We all deserve to express ourselves how we want, and to live our lives just how we want.