Yesterday afternoon Another Man announced their 23rd cover star - Harry Styles. What followed blew my mind.
As my feed filled with remarks on Styles appearance in all three covers, with the first and most commercial being applauded, I began to wonder. Why is this artist still viewed as an object?
We know I'm a fan of Harry Styles' style. This isn't new.
You can't demand feminism in 2016 if you still view an artistic photo shoot as derivative just because you aren't getting hot and bothered over it.
Why does he have to be hot? Why do we
demand this of man, the 'man candies' or #mcm to be six packed and
aesthetically pleasing as possible?
We cry out when women are splashed over the
cover as the New Hot Girl and shriek it's sexist. But then a magazine cover
comes out with Harry Styles on looking not his usual boyband self. And people
instantly put him down, saying he’s 'so average looking' 'so not sexy at ALL,
I'd rather have Zayn' or 'does he think this looks good?' What if this was
the reaction to a woman like Miley Cyrus at the start of her career post Hannah
Montana? Or Victoria Beckham when she branched into fashion? (Oh wait.)
Another Man magazine is not Sports
Illustrated or Playboy. The covers are not made for you to drool over the cover
stars features in a commercial way. Another Man launched in 2005 to cater to
the ever expanding interest in menswear; both the market and the new found
creativity. Regularly Another and Another man magazine create thought-provoking
articles, incredible imagery, stimulating editorials and show frankly
pioneering fashion in menswear. Therefore Another Man is not a magazine of tat
and fodder. It’s a niche magazine for a niche market - one for the intellectual,
creative, adventurous (and some would say hipster) males. So I could then make
the point to the ladies, this photoshoot isn’t even for you.
And that’s not a bad thing. Men’s
magazines have so few in comparison to women’s on fashion, art and socially
cultural articles. Men are allowed their own stuff. No biggie.
When you saw those covers did you scoff? Did
you think 'here goes another boybander trying to be more' and roll your eyes? The
never ending fight young artists and performers battle against – to be seen as have
in grown up. And yet you'll
lmao and 'call out' magazines if a woman's breasts are more the central focus,
how exactly does that work? Is it because we think, as women, it's FINALLY time
for men to feel how women have for years? The pressure to look as physically
attractive, sexy and appealing as possible at every moment of every day if we
encounter the opposite sex. As if it's a punishment that must be passed on,
this dreaded feeling of being constantly ‘on’ cc appearance, which instead of
being squashed down full stop, we shove onto men. And not any man. A man who's
in arguably the biggest boy band this planet has seen in generations, the fame
of One Direction was unprecedented. A man who was in the limelight at 16 and
presented as a man whore. 16, the age you have turned legal in the eyes of the
law to have sex, 16, an age we still consider girls young, 16, a situation the
country would have roared back if it had been a girl.
But it was a boy and he was branded ‘a
lucky lad’ and ‘cheeky’ by the media to get anywhere near Caroline Flack. So
many more women would view this 16 year old boy as a sex object, a boy who
liked cougars. Who –at 16- is readily available. Who still to this day has sat
in interviews and been treated as meat. Gross.
Maybe that's why people are so
pressed on Harry Styles not being commercially attractive on the three covers
of Another Man magazine. The public has been presented with the image of 'playboy
Styles' we forget how exactly is saying that, if there's any value, if perhaps
Harry Styles is more than who he's slept with? Like, we demand women to be seen
as more, then we must apply this logic to men as well. You can't demand
feminism in 2016 if you still view an artistic photo shoot as derivative just
because you aren't getting hot and bothered over it. It doesn't work like that.
End of story.
You want feminism then you realise
both sexes are more than their looks and should be treated as such. A celebrity
isn't just for you to view and be 'hot' and 'attainable' as One Direction were
presented when they started, the 'boys that could be your boyfriend, if you're
lucky'. Are we even still on that PR, even subconsciously?
If one wants art and fashion, real artistic talent and
photography skills to come into the foreground then don't knock off Harry
Styles before you try it, as it were. If you hadn't known the celebrity, if he
had been a model instead, the likelihood is you'd see more of an appeal. There
would be exclamations on how he looks like a young Mick Jagger (have you seen
the moodboard for the Another man shoot? Very early Rolling Stones. And like c’mon.
The second cover?).
Instead what
you're getting is the deconstruction of an image 5 years in the making. The
very thing that may be familiar to so many, is being shredded and in the
digital age, this image overhaul has been incredibly well documented.
I must say a large and heartfelt bravo to Another Man, for
creating such stimulating and intriguing covers. They show more layers than an
X-Factor boy band member, a new side to Mr Styles we’ve only glimpsed at and I’m
excited to know more. Bye heartthrob, let’s see the Styles of now.
And frankly, if a man can work a Gucci floral suit I think he's more than what you think he is. Just food for thought.
Lou x
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