Harry Styles is the first solo male to grace the cover of Vogue. He wears a big, blue ball gown which caused a lot of controversial conversations about masculinity, leading some to question if it’s appropriate for a man to be wearing a dress. Many celebrities and political figures have stated their opinions on it, along with some students from Reedy High School. 

“I feel that being yourself as a guy and wearing what you want to wear and not caring what other people think is manly in itself and as well as feeling confident,” junior Jade Lowe said.

Not all students share this opinion on masculinity.

“No, I do not think wearing a dress is manly,”  senior Kenneth Potts said. “I find it funny, because all I have seen is women call wearing a dress manly, but other than I guess Harry Styles, no other male has said the same thing.”

Students have said they would have many different reactions if they saw a man in public wearing a dress. 

“I would think he’s confident, and I wouldn’t care because if that man is comfortable in what he’s wearing, then there shouldn’t be a problem with what a person wears in public whether it be masculine or feminine,” Lowes said.

While some students would have a positive reaction to seeing a man in a dress in public other students have some concerns about it.

“I would maybe rudely stare for a bit too long and make a snarky comment but at the end of the day who cares?” Potts said . 

In this controversy, the definition of manliness was up for discussion. 

“I define manliness in confidence. If a guy is wearing a skirt or track pants and he feels confident in what he’s wearing or what he’s doing, I think that’s what manliness really is. ‘manliness’ isn’t defined by having traditionally masculine traits” junior Sadie Snow said. 

Some students have a different view on the definition of masculinity, and believe that being manly is having traditional and historical masculine traits. 

“I would describe manliness as acting like a man would. Now, I know that’s a broad term, but anything that isn’t something a man would usually wear or do isn’t manly. To narrow it down, being manly is being a gentleman,” Potts said.

Candace Owens, a conservative political commentator,  who publicly spoke out against the vogue cover, stated that “society would not be able to function without strong men,” and many people have shared their take on this.

“No strong men and you lose a lot of stability in the world, I feel. Who is going to risk it all? Who’s going to fight the hard fights? Who’s going to do the hard jobs? Who’s going to do the labor intensive jobs? You need strong men, so not so strong people can survive and thrive in my opinion,” Potts said.

Some students believe that there is no one definition of a strong man and that they aren’t needed for a successful society.

“No I don’t because there is no actual definition of “strong men,” people see that in many different ways, so there isn’t a set example of a strong man. And I think we’re doing pretty fine without there even being a set example of one,” Lowe said. 

The controversy on this edition of the Vogue magazine stems from a larger controversy of traditional femininity and masculinity. People have lots of different beliefs on gender roles in our society and this magazine is just a fragment of a larger idea.