Porter is fair to critique Styles' positionality as a straight-passing white man who hasn't publicly lived through the isolation and shame of the AIDs crisis, or faced career threats like Porter's lived experiences as a Black gay man in the acting industry. A better question to ask is who takes up more space, and why. The question isn't whether Styles' presentation is authentic, or whether there's enough space for two men to be disrupting gender binaries in fashion. Asked point blank, he says he's not just adding sexual ambiguity to his gender expression to be interesting, but he also hasn't given his sexuality more thought than it being experimental and fun.
Since he has only dated women publicly, though, those less generous might call his strategy " queerbaiting," wherein an artist hints at being LGBT while failing to offer real representation. It's Styles' right to keep his dating life private, including his partners' genders. Queer women profess to love him, and his style has inspired and normalized LGBTQ fashion and expression. On more than one occasion, he's waved a pride flag enthusiastically at his concerts, and of course there's that iconic moment when he said, "We're all a little bit gay" during his 2018 tour. The warm undertones and intimacy of Styles' feature in Vogue match the bubbly and soulful experience of his music in "Fine Line." It's allowed artists like Styles to thrive in the blurred lines of wearing both women's and men's clothing, curating an image that both softens and surprises his audience. The cultural zeitgeist is currently embracing alternative demonstrations of masculinity, as seen in the soft, vulnerable gazes of actors like Timothée Chalamet. It's a different age today than when Porter came up. Younger artists like Lil Nas X are actively shaping the future of queer representation in rap and pop music, while twerking on the devil. Long before people were speculating about Styles' sexuality, Janelle Monáe drew attention with her choice of black and white tuxedos and suspenders as she showed women's sexuality in a different way. Styles has credited icons like Prince, Elvis, Freddie Mercury and David Bowie as inspirations for his own style. Porter isn't the first celebrity to push the boundaries of gender binaries. It's important to respect and recognize where culture comes from, but it's also changing and evolving to the needs of our times. But Porter can't claim to own a fashion genre of fashion with a rich history led by countless other transgender and gay people of color-and that's a good thing. He's made headlines with his distinct style of mixing jackets and trousers with elaborate gowns. Porter is partially right, and also wrong. All he has to do is be white and straight." I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars. "I changed the whole game," Porter said indignantly in a recent interview with the Sunday Times, describing his impact on gender non-conforming fashion.Īnd then, more directly taking a shot at Vogue and Styles: "He doesn't care, he's just doing it because it's the thing to do. The latest public figure weighing in on the musician's choice to wear both men's and women's clothing in his feature last winter is actor and singer Billy Porter-and not in a fond way. I guess we're still not over Harry Styles in a dress on the cover of Vogue. Here, we round up all the stars who proudly – and publicly – came out last year and inspired a whole new generation of queer youth in the process.Billy Porter at Elizabeth Taylor Ball to End AIDS in West Hollywood, in September. Yes, it’s 2021 and a person’s sexual preference or gender identity should no longer be headline news, but the impact of these stars discussing their experiences on such a public scale cannot be overstated for those who are struggling to accept their authentic selves. However, 2020 saw more celebrities than ever proudly coming out and flying the rainbow flag as members of the LGBTQ+ community. Like Lady Gaga stated pre-Chromatica release, Earth has been somewhat ‘cancelled’ hasn’t it?ĭue to the global coronavirus pandemic, Pride events around the world have been put on hold (or delayed until 2021) due to lockdown restrictions, and countless members of the LGBTQ+ community have been disproportionately affected facing further inequality, exclusion, discrimination and poverty due to the outbreak and the less-than-satisfactory responses from worldwide governments.