Why Are We So Obsessed with Harry Styles?

Picture it: it’s 2011, you’re a pre-teen in middle school, braces and insecurity and all, and a band called One Direction just released their debut single “What Makes You Beautiful”. Everyone in your class has seen the music video and either hates or plays it on repeat. You don’t know it yet but you will say the names Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles more than your own. Your identity will soon become defined by which boy is your favorite and your friends will argue over who gets to be the “Zayn Girl” or the “Harry Girl” in the group. While others may switch and debate between the remaining four, your love for Harry, this mysterious man, this cultural and international icon, will only grow stronger with time. 

In general, it’s always the perfect time to talk about Harry. But with his third solo album Harry’s House releasing a little less than a month from now on May 20th, I think it’s become more important than ever to reflect on the chokehold he’s had on the culture, more than most male celebrities and certainly more than any of the 1D boys. To really think about how he’s so successful and whether we as a collective and as individuals either love him or hate him, and why.

While he’s now quite the polarizing figure in Internet culture, it definitely wasn’t always that way.  When 1D first debuted, he was immediately crowned as the most popular member of the band other than Zayn, the darling of both the UK and the States. The big swoopy wings haircut, the obvious hotness, the high notes in their songs, his accent, his fall aesthetic of wide-brimmed hats, long hats, and ankle boots—it all made Harry the perfect family-friendly figure who teen girls could also feel free to fantasize about dating.

After 1D went on hiatus and Harry embarked on his solo career, transforming himself into a “genderless” 70s rock star in the same vein as Prince and Freddie Mercury, his image and the cultural response to it began to shift. His fans followed him, his queer fanbase grew exponentially, and he became a success for different reasons.

Even now, there’s something attractive about Harry that folks can’t really explain. His Greek statue-like figure, how he embraces his traditionally masculine and feminine sides (and occupies an ambiguous genderless existence) without embarrassment, his seemingly fluid sexuality, his music that both empowers and breaks us, not to mention his outspoken support for the LGBTQIA+ community—these have all been a staple in cementing his status as an icon in the culture at large, as well as queer culture. 

However, along with this praise came along the first wave of real criticism. 

In between hugely popular videos of Harry performing at his live concerts on TikTok and Twitter (which work because of his humor and keen, unique sense of fashion) were people critiquing Harry being hailed as a queer icon, a pioneer for men wearing dresses and skirts and embracing a genderless approach to fashion. In collaboration or in response, memes of him wearing ridiculous outfits in the promotional photos for his sophomore album Fine Line were going viral everywhere on social media. For many, the constant habit of fans putting Harry on a pedestal that he didn’t deserve or earn was finally getting exhausting. 

In this case, I’m on the side of thinking we were too hasty and unfair to view Harry in that way. I like Harry and his music, both with 1D and as a solo artist. But it’s hard to deny that we’ve accepted that Harry Styles can do anything because he’s Harry Styles—and to be blunt, because he’s also white. 

There have been plenty of people in fashion and music who have pioneered what Harry has only been continuing. Sure, he was the first man to ever be featured on a Vogue cover alone and in a Gucci gown no less but would it have trended on Twitter or been as culturally significant if he’d been BIPOC? If he didn’t operate from a place of white privilege? I’m all for normalizing the practice, especially because men wearing skirts and dresses isn’t anything new—think Jaden Smith, Billy Porter—but for Harry to be at the forefront of the trend didn’t feel like a celebration but an erasure of BIPOC voices. 

Of course, none of this is really Harry’s fault but the fault of his fans who are quick to praise him for every little thing. As funny and enjoyable as online stan culture is, it can also be dangerous territory, especially where disagreement and controversy surrounding a beloved public figure is involved. Moving forward, I think we should all be a little more critical of the celebrities we follow and love, to unpack the reasons for our obsessions, to hold them and their fans accountable for potentially toxic or otherwise harmful behavior. Otherwise we can’t grow and unfortunately for everyone else, neither can they.