After a gender-bending Vogue cover in which he wore a dress, musician Harry Styles' mom is coming to his defense among the criticism he is receiving. The former One Direction band member made history by being the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo. He wore a dress on the cover which caused a lot of opinions and his mom had his back.
There was a lot of praise for Styles breaking social norms, but there was some criticism. Conservative commentator Candace Owens wrote about her thought on Styles, a 26-year-old man, wearing such a feminine outfit. She wrote on Twitter, " Bring back manly men." Her tweet also said that there isn't a society that can't survive without "strong men."
Owens' words were widely criticized. Many celebrities came to Styles' defense but the most meaningful words come from his own mom, Anne Twist. She not only supported her son but took the blame for his love of fashion. Twist gave an interview on a British Talk Show with host Lorraine Kelly. Here she spoke about how Harry always had a love of fashion.
Twist said that when Harry and his sister were young, the loving mom would play dress-up with her two kids. While her daughter was never that into it, Harry loved trying on clothes. As Twist smartly says, " But you know, who doesn't love playing dress-up?" She does muse that maybe her playing dress-up with her son when he was younger inspired his androgynous style.
Twist is very proud of her son and shared that he has always been himself. Styles isn't the first musician to adopt an androgynous style of dress. Freddie Mercury of Queen and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana were both known to crossdress. David Bowie made a whole career being androgynous and fashionable.
Styles' mom wasn't the only one who spoke out about the cover and the 'manly" comments made by Owens. Many celebrities including Elijah Wood, Olivia Wilde, Zach Braff, and Jameela Jamil all spoke out against that way of thinking and defending what is just a dress.
Styles has remained mum on the cover and his mom's kind words. This Vogue cover is far from surprising for Styles' fans. He has always had a love for fashion has played around with clothes and style. He famously posed in a pink tutu for his Saturday Night Live photoshoot when he performed last year. It seems that Styles' last name fits and he is comfortable with his sexuality and in whatever he is wearing.