On Nov. 13, Harry Styles made history, appearing on the cover of Vogue as the first solo man. Styles wore a dress for this photoshoot, angering thousands of people and causing a lot of controversy.

Many politicians and celebrities supported Harry Styles, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Logan Paul. They praised him for breaking stereotypes aimed towards men, and being comfortable in his own skin.

However, others heavily criticized Harry Styles, mentioning how wearing a dress was not “manly,” and painted a wrong image of how men should look. Many of these critics include Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro.

Toxic masculinity is an issue that’s been heavily addressed over the past few years. Men have been pressured to fit the stereotype and ideal image of a man, causing many men to feel uncomfortable. Many want to express themselves in different ways, and society is criticizing them for being “feminine” or “weak.”

This criticism is unacceptable and purely disgusting. Men should be able to express themselves in whatever way they wish. Our society has placed too many stereotypes and expectations on different races and genders, and it’s caused a lot of problems.

Unfortunately, many men these days are scared to reveal their true selves and their emotions, because they will be depicted as “sensitive” or “weak.” However, men are allowed to be that way; there should be no issue with being emotional or feminine.

Harry Styles did an amazing job of breaking these toxic stereotypes aimed towards men, demonstrating how anyone can express themselves in whatever way they want, whether that’s physical appearance, personality, etc.

Our society needs to move away from the toxic stereotypes placed on different genders and races, and move to a place of acceptance. Men don’t have to be strong and tough, and women don’t have to be submissive and girly. People should be able to express themselves in whatever way they wish, and be whatever they want. Harry Styles is an influential celebrity, and I believe it’s great that he took a step forward to show people that they can express themselves however they’d like; they don’t need to fit the toxic stereotypes society has put into place.