Harry Styles, Queerbaitor or Queer Icon? (Mock Article)
Maz Love, The Larry Times
Harry Styles, where do I even begin. When I was assigned this topic I didn’t realize how opinionated and outwardly spoken his fans, and the general public are on his every move. It seems everyone and their grandmother has an opinion on him. After scouring both sides of a very polarized fan base and general public, I have come to the conclusion that all these extreme views are rooted in homophobia, transphobia and an overall lack of understanding of the queer experience.
When Styles was cast as Tom Burgess- a closeted gay police man in Bethan Roberts screen adaptation of her book My Policeman, there was one term I kept seeing repeatedly- Queerbaiter. Many were outraged that Styles, a seemingly heterosexual man was cast as a queer character, thus taking away a big opportunity from an actual queer person. It’s been a long standing debate within Hollywood on whether it’s okay to cast straight actors in queer roles. Many would argue that it’s not. There are of queer actors who deserve the recognition and more importantly, it acknowledges that being queer isn’t something you can try on and off like a shirt. With Styles playing Tom and his history of co-opting important parts of queer culture, many are quick to call out the singer as a queerbaiter. Saying he is someone who uses the queer aesthetic to increase profits and cultural relevance. These claims are not unfounded. Styles has been an open advocate for love in all forms, routinely runs around with pride flags at his concerts, helps fans come out and actively breaks gender norms. These should be great things right? But Styles has refused to comment on his sexuality, has only dated women in the public eye, and when asked about using the queer aesthetic for profits his response was a throwaway, claiming he just likes what he likes. Many queer people are upset that this high profile man has been able to avoid labeling his sexuality even as he continues to take gay roles and use the queer aesthetic like it’s not something people aren’t killed, abused and beaten for on a daily basis all while dating a woman.
I can understand where these folks are coming from. Their rage isn’t unfounded or misplaced. Styles, for all intents and purposes is heterosexual to the general public and by taking on the the role of Tom Burgess and waving around pride flags like they are anything more than fabric to him, must be disheartening.
However, I will ask, does anyone, regardless of their public stature, owe us an explanation on their gender or sexuality? Are queer celebrities required to sit down and record a twenty minute video describing when they first knew they weren’t straight? Or a tweet officially declaring themselves a member of the alphabet mafia? No. They don’t. Styles is not the exception.
After seeing the commentary on Styles sexuality the one thing that kept coming up for me was what they were basing their assumptions on. He wore a dress on vogue, no straight man would do that, he must be gay. He paints his nails and wears designer clothes, no straight man cares that much about their appearance to dress up each day. All these little comments are really just reflections on the harmful stereotypes queer men face. It sets a standard for what queer looks like. It makes it hard for more masculine men to be taken seriously when they come out, it immediately places more feminine men into a box that they may or may not fit into. And more importantly, it’s assuming someone’s sexuality based on their clothes and expression.
Harry Styles wearing a dress or painting his nails is not an indicator of his sexuality. Nor is it an open invitation to discuss it. Now, Styles has been dropping what many in the community refer to as ‘queer codes’ since the early days of one direction. And while the general public may not know the words to a rarely played unreleased song, his fans do. In his song Medicine which Styles started playing on his first world tour, the lyric “I mess around with him, and I’m okay with it” can be heard, oftentimes with a smirk, coming out of Harry’s mouth. He released “Lights up,” a song which has been deemed a bisexual anthem by fans on national coming out day. Styles is very careful to use gender neutral pronouns when talking about love interests and many of his songs (She, Fine Line, As it Was, and the music video for Treat People With Kindness) deeply explore the themes of gender and the gender binary. Now, these things are often overlooked by the general public but I find it important to note that Styles has been insinuating his ties to the queer community for years and that his unwillingness to give the public a definitive label is not from a place of malice or deceit, but for the simple reason that he does not owe anyone his label. That label is his, and it’s his choice on whether he wants to share that label with the world. And if not, that should not give his fans the wherewithal to call him a queerbaiter and say he’s pretending to be gay for money. It reinforces the narrative that queer people have to come out in order to be seen a queer. They don’t. Queer people will be queer whether they tweet about it or never tell a soul.
This applies to Styles and every other celebrity out there. He has made his concerts a safe space for everyone, his rainbow flag waving is the highlight of his shows for many, and he will make a wonderful Tom Burgess that will be cherished for years to come.
So let’s leave the homophobic stereotypes and standards in the past and let people, not matter how famous do what they want without knowing down their doors for explanations
