Home » “Better Representation In Media!” Vogue Cops More Flak Over Harry Styles’ Frock Cover

18 November, 2020

“Better Representation In Media!” Vogue Cops More Flak Over Harry Styles’ Frock Cover

Harry Styles’ decision to wear a Gucci gown on the cover of the last edition of US Vogue continues to cause a stir.

On Tuesday, B&T reported comments from rightwing commentators in the States who were less than favourable of the magazine’s cover shoot and its representation of modern manhood.

“There is no society that can survive without strong men. It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men,” wrote one angry commentator.

Another added: “Anyone who pretends this is not a referendum on masculinity for men to don floofy dresses is treating you like a full-on idiot.”

Others suggested Styles had hijacked queer culture in an attempt to appear more “woke” and sell more albums.

And now Styles and Vogue have drawn further criticism and from an unlikely quarter.

Members of the America’s LGBTQI+ and trans community have questioned why the magazine would host an apparent straight man in a dress but continue to ignore them and their decades of struggle for acceptance.

Performance artist and author Alok Vaid-Menon led the backlash amid calls for better “representation”.

“Am I happy to see Harry be celebrated for openly flouting gendered fashion norms? Yes. Do trans femmes of colour receive praise for doing the same thing every day? No,” Vaid-Menon wrote to Instagram.

“Make no mistake: trans femmes of colour started this and continue to face the backlash from it. Our aesthetics make it to the mainstream, but not our bodies,” he said.

Others claimed Styles was hijacking queer aesthetics that many in the community had fought decades for and had now gone mainstream.

“Ok ya HarryStyles’ Vogue cover is awesome and I love him but PLEASE don’t act like he is the first to break these boundaries when queer and trans people, especially those of colour, have been fighting for fluidity and free expression in fashion for decades,” tweeted one.

Another added: “Not to hate on Harry Styles AT ALL but is everyone really celebrating the fact that Vogue finally put its first cis man on the cover when they’ve literally never even welcomed a trans woman on it?????? Just like….. why?”

“Being proud of Harry for being the first solo man in the cover of Vogue and wearing clothes that blur the line of masculinity and femininity and also wishing for better representation in the media are two thoughts that don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” said another.

While Kalen Allen, who found fame as Ellen DeGeneres show biz reporter, added: “The thing about this Harry Styles debate is black boys dress like that all the time.

“But when we do it we are seen as emasculating the culture, less than, and feminity is seen as unattractive. That’s not a Harry problem, that’s homophobia and a double-standard problem,” Allen wrote on Twitter.

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