Harry Styles criticised for not being "macho" enough

7 April 2022, 13:34

Harry Styles’ mum says she encouraged him to wear women’s clothes

By Jazmin Duribe

@jazminduribe

"My question now is: Where have all the men gone?"

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Harry Styles is being criticised for wearing "overtly feminine" clothing and not being macho or manly enough.

It's not been a great week for the 'As It Was' singer. First Noel Gallagher accused Harry of not being a "real" musician or writing his own songs and now Ulrika Jonsson is making comments about Harry not dressing masculine enough.

In case you didn't know, Ulrika is a Swedish-British presenter best known for her work on Gladiators. Ulrika recently commented on Everton football player Dominic Calvert-Lewin wearing a jumpsuit and holding a women's Chanel handbag on the recent cover of GQ Hype in her column in The Sun, and somehow poor Harry got thrown into the mix.

Harry Styles criticised for not being "macho" enough. Picture: Theo Wargo/WireImage, Anthony Pham via Getty Images

Ulrika said that when the One Direction star first starting wearing more feminine clothing she initially commended him, but her opinion quickly changed. "He had always been such a macho, naughty boy, draped in tattoos, and suddenly he is turning up in heels. I don’t quite understand the point," she explained.

"My question now is: Where have all the men gone? Sure, fashion is just an extension of our personalities. It’s an expression of ourselves. Which, granted, could pertain to an element of: 'Look at me, everybody.'"

Ulrika also commented on actor Jared Leto carrying a clutch bag and Timothée Chalamet's recent Oscars outfit, which included a bedazzled suit left open with no shirt. She added: "There is no denying there are strong androgynous undertones (and overtones) about their way of dressing. Of course, it can merely be a way of declaring and articulating their style. Some might argue it’s just a bit of fun. I don’t seem to be laughing.

"I've got confusion running all down my baggy joggers — it’s neither one thing nor the other. I’m going to sound like a dinosaur when I say this doesn’t sit easy with me. At all."

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Ulrika wanted to make it clear that she's not a "bigot". However, she believes that the trend of dressing more feminine is a cry for attention. "It doesn’t repulse me in any way. It just gives out a strong message of ambiguity towards their sexual identity, suggests they are not strictly either female or masculine," Ulrika wrote.

"They may not think it has that effect, but it does. It makes me stop and wonder. There are no laws against men wearing dresses and heels and imagine what a boring world we would live in without drag queens. But this feels like a watered-down version of drag, like a little plaything just put in place to create attention, debate and contemplation. Not to mention confusion.

"And to that end, I can’t escape the feeling that this is really just a 'trend'. Part of me feels like this doesn’t come from the soul, from the heart or a clever mind. It’s almost become a one-upmanship of who can outdo the next guy in the best blouse."

Unfortunately, this hasn't been the first time Harry has had to deal with comments about the way he dresses. In December 2020, Harry became the first man to ever appear on the cover of American Vogue solo. Harry wore a Gucci dress, having previously spoken about his love of women's clothing, and people accused him of "destroying masculinity". Harry delivered an iconic response, though, clapping back in an Instagram post of him wearing a frilly, pastel blue suit, which he captioned: "Bring back manly men."

Ulrika continued: "I love a masculine man. That's just me. It doesn’t ever have to be at the expense of him being in touch with his feminine side. Why can’t men just be comfortable being 'basic', ordinary men? Why are they so fixated on being so overtly feminine? After all, that’s what they have us ridiculous women for."