Nick Vafa

Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason

WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

Images Referenced

Image 1: Image 2:

Image 1 & 2: https://www.vogue.com/article/harry-styles-cover-december-2020

Image 3: https://www.amazon.com/Mens-Vogue-September-2008-Issue/dp/B001ECRBNC
 Nick Vafa
Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason
WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

Cultural Representation of a Body: Harry Styles

While TikTok is most notably known for its dance trends and funny videos, it is also one

of the largest online communities with over 500 million users scattered across 150 countries (6).

TikTok’s ability to bring together users from around the world has given a voice to minority groups

and people, especially seen by the latest trend #Femboy and its associated hashtags generating

over 750 million views. The term ‘femboy’ refers to “people who identify as male or non-binary

but present themselves in more traditionally feminine ways, such as through their appearances,

personality or general disposition” (5). The femboy trend is part of a bigger societal shift to allow

more men to feel comfortable with their sexuality and define masculinity by their own terms, and

specifically wear what they want without threating their definition of being a man (5). Recently,

Vogue, an influential American fashion and lifestyle magazine, released their December edition

cover photos which featured celebrity and singer Harry Styles wearing a dress, skirt, and jewelry

(4). While the articles Styles wore are just pieces of clothing or accessories, there was a lot of

public backlash following the release of the cover photos, as some argued that Styles is part of a

bigger problem that is destroying “manly men” (2). The main issue with the images was that Styles

was wearing articles of clothing that are seen as traditionally female. In reality, Styles is reflecting

the evolving societal norms that surround masculinity. Harry Styles’ appearance on the cover of

Vogue’s December edition demonstrates the society’s cultural movement to normalize non-

traditional gendered clothing, which causes a shift away from gendered social life and creates a

variety of intelligible bodies.

Sandra Harding, American philosopher known for her theories of feminism and

epistemology, defines “gendered social life” as being produced as a result of three factors (3). She
 Nick Vafa
Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason
WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

also argues that the concept of gender difference is the most “ancient, most universal, and most

powerful origin of many morally valued conceptualizations” of the things we see around us (3).

The idea of a “gendered social life” and gender difference is reflected in the way our culture

incorporates gender not only into our interactions, but also the way we express ourselves and what

is considered the norm. Harding’s concept of gender symbolism is seen in our everyday lives

through how colors, items, and pieces are clothing are assigned to certain genders and become a

symbol of gender. If we specifically look at dresses, they are not only a symbol for femininity but

also the female gender. Harry Styles’ decision to appear on Vogue’s cover sporting a dress rather

than a 3-piece suit, exhibits behavior that is breaking down the barriers of gender symbolism. If

he had worn the ideal traditional male outfit of a suit, he would only be reinforcing the gender

symbolism that exists surrounding clothing. Furthermore, we can analyze the feelings portrayed

by Harry Styles and how that influences individual gender, which focuses on how we as individuals

understand our gender and its tie to identity and pleasure (3). In Image 1, Harry Styles has one

hand on his hip and shows a face of self-confidence and asserted power. Though he is wearing a

traditionally female piece of clothing he still portrays feelings of confidence, which indicates that

his individual gender understanding is strong. Often society has portrayed cross-dressers and

femboys as people who misunderstand their identity or are internally lost, however Harry Styles

shows that you can dress however you please and still hold a secure identity. Since Harry Styles’

Vogue outfit challenges traditional gender symbolism and his confidence assures his sense of

confident individual gender, Harding would agree that his actions help turn society away from a

gendered social life to one that is more gender neutral.

 Nick Vafa
Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason
WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

Body studies philosopher Susan Bordo draws a distinct line between two versions of bodies

that exist, the docile and the intelligible (1). The docile body can be thought of as the everyday

body, and the one that we are constantly working on changing to improve and hopefully perfect

(1). The docile body is worked to reach the intelligible body, which is actually a symbol that

represents society’s “cultural conceptions of the body, norms of beauty” and “scientific,

philosophic, and aesthetic representations of the body” (1). Essentially the intelligible body is the

culturally deemed ‘perfect’ body. An example of the intelligible body is the traditional image of a

perfect male: strong and rugged in looks, ‘manly’ and courageous in character, and finally

masculine in wardrobe. Harry Styles’ feature on Vogue is groundbreaking in many aspects, but the

most notable one is the presentation of a non-traditional intelligible body. In Image 2 we see Styles’

wearing a light blue dress, blowing up a balloon, and with several jewelry pieces on his hands. The

traditional male intelligible body would instead be portrayed as wearing a suit, very minimal

jewelry, and performing a task that displays strength. The importance of Styles’ outfit being

featured on Vogue is that it is being validated by one of the most influential magazines in the world.

This validation is extremely powerful in the sense that it presents another intelligible body that

males can choose to pursue and adds variety to the realm of intelligible bodies. No longer must

males pursue the traditional intelligible body as seen in Image 3, but instead we are offered

different ideals to pursue. As more intelligible bodies emerge, the dangers of pursuing the

intelligible body become less as well because we are offered a spectrum of ideals that our docile

bodies reside on. If more intelligible bodies are within our grasp, we no longer have to push our

docile bodies to extremes that can lead to “demoralization, debilitation, and death” (1). We can

also assume that Harry Styles’ portrayal represents a new non-traditional intelligible male body,
 Nick Vafa
Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason
WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

because Vogue faced heavy criticism after the publication. Critics such as Ben Shapiro and

Candace Owens saw the Harry Styles’ images as an attack on masculinity, even stating that the

“feminization of our men … is an outright attack” (2). These critics are fixated on the traditional

intelligible body that does not feature femininity, and express fear as they realize that a spectrum

of bodies is slowly emerging that will dismantle toxic masculinity.

When speaking on power and how it exists in society, Bordo says that power comes from

below, aka the people (1). Applying this specifically to the idea of normalizing non-gender

conforming clothing and non-traditional portrayals of men, we as a society must use the power

that exists in our practices, institution, and technologies to achieve this goal. The femboy trend on

TikTok is a great example of this because it demonstrates us as people using technology and the

practice of social media to normalize people who choose to dress and portray themselves in

feminine manners. Vogue is another example, but in this case, it shows how an institution of

fashion can use its influence to normalize men wearing dresses. Harry Styles has stated he does

not identify as LGBTQ+, and that’s important because it emphasizes the ideal that cisgender

people are allowed to express themselves however, they want. Dressing feminine as a male doesn’t

automatically make you gay or any less of a man, and people like Candace Owens are

unfortunately stuck in the past where only one intelligible body existed for males (2). We don’t

need Vogue or TikTok to take power, but rather reflect these ideas in our everyday actions as

average members of society.

 Nick Vafa
Dr. Jessica Lee Mathiason
WMST 298D-0101
Bodies in Contention

Works Cited

1. Bordo, Susan. Unbearable Weight Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body. Univ. of
California Press, 1993.

2. Evans, Jonathan. “Harry Styles In a Dress Isn't an Attack on Masculinity. It's a Resounding
Endorsement of Being Your Own Man.” Esquire, Esquire, 17 Nov. 2020,
www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/a34700057/ben-shapiro-harry-styles-vogue-cover-
dress-controversy/.

3. Harding, Sandra G. The Science Question in Feminism. Cornell University Press, 1986.

4. “Playtime With Harry Styles: ‘You Can Never Be Overdressed.’” Vogue, 2020,
www.vogue.com/article/harry-styles-cover-december-2020.

5. Ran, Dani. Introducing 'Femboys', the Most Wholesome Trend On TikTok, VICE, Aug. 2020,
www.vice.com/en/article/3az4nn/femboys-tiktok-fashion-gen-z.

6. “TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2020).” Business of Apps, 30 Oct. 2020,
www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/.