© 2021 Chaos+Comrades. All Rights Reserved
Political commentators Candance Owens and Ben Shapiro received backlash on social media after they criticized the widely-celebrated Harry Styles Vogue cover shoot, in which the British pop star made history as the first male to independently grace the magazine’s cover.
Styles, 26, who has built his public persona around rejecting normative gender labels, posed in a dress and other articles of clothing outside of what may be considered traditionally masculine. This isn’t the first time he’s knowingly gone against the status quo; Styles has spoken about fashion and sexuality many times in the past, acknowledging his desires to explore all sides to what each has to offer.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, Styles said he doesn’t really care who an article of clothing is supposed to be made for: if it works, it works. He also told The Guardian that, “ If I see a nice shirt and get told, ‘But it’s for ladies.’ I think: ‘Okaaaay? Doesn’t make me want to wear it less though.”
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the conservative commentator, author, and political activist Candance Owens trashed Styles for its “femininity” on Twitter.
There is no society that can survive without strong men. 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. https://t.co/sY4IJF7VkK
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 14, 2020
Her tweet was immediately met with outraged fans, some widely known, jumped to Styles’ defense and bashed Owens’ offensive comments.
https://twitter.com/oliviawilde/status/1328174367017037829
https://twitter.com/elijahwood/status/1328418900552269825
Owens later addressed her previous tweets and clarified their meaning, adding that she was sorry for not being sorry.
https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1328348630567309315
Ben Shapiro, conservative political commentator, media host, and attorney joined Owens in critiquing the monumental Vogue cover and called Styles’ wardrobe an attack on masculinity.
https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1328342542287589381
Shapiro, who is a Trump supporter and self-proclaimed right-wing libertarian, is known for his cut-throat approach to politics in which “facts don’t care about your feelings.”
Both political pundits and defenders of normative masculinity were also subject to meme treatment after their attacks.
https://twitter.com/tuckerhaleyy/status/1328424200919511040
https://twitter.com/hsbabybun/status/1328359487913271297
Styles, although certainly not the first man to ever wear a dress, nonetheless received praise from all corners of social media for his cover story.
© 2021 Chaos+Comrades. All Rights Reserved
