ROLE MODEL: Harry Styles isn’t just a teenage superstar anymore, but an icon for the generations.
By Guinivere Kimber, Staff Writer
Let’s make something clear: Harry Styles is no longer “the one with curly hair” from One Direction. Since the announcement of the band’s indefinite hiatus, he’s become a rockstar. After releasing his self-titled album, Harry Styles, in 2017, Styles went on tour twice, playing a grand total of 89 shows across the globe. Magazine Rolling Stone declared his “superb” Seventies soft-rock album as “[claiming] his turf as a true rock and roll prince” and a powerful debut as a solo artist. However, Styles didn’t amass a fan base the size of a small army, ready to jump to his defense the second someone should dare to insult him, for no reason. His fans don’t just idolize the boy they watched audition for “The X Factor” 8 years ago just because of his curly hair and catchy tunes; they look up to him because he speaks out about many controversial issues.
Throughout his two-leg world tour, his first solo trip around the globe in 2017, the next in 2018, Styles made sure his audience knew that his concerts were a safe space for anyone, making his support of the LGBTQ+ community publicly known. Never feeling the need to label his own sexuality, Styles ensures that all his fans never have to justify themselves to anyone, that they are recognized, and most importantly, loved. No matter what city, state, or country he performed in, Styles danced across the stage in glittering designer Gucci suits waving Pride flags over his head and draping them from his mic stand, once even displaying a Pride flag with “Make America Gay Again” written on its front. In response to the memo released earlier this year by the Trump administration that would disqualify transgender people from serving in the military, Styles displayed transgender Pride flags across his stage during a concert in Washington D.C. This subtle pledge of support to the LGBTQ+ community did not go unnoticed by his loyal fans. At a show in San Jose, California, Styles even helped a young woman come out to her mother as bisexual, a huge smile on his face as he announced, “Tina! She’s gay!”
Styles also spoke out against gun violence and openly shared his support of the fight to change gun control laws. In March, Styles took to Twitter and Instagram to encourage the March For Our Lives movement, signing the petition demanding new gun control legislation and asking his fans to do the same. While playing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, he wore an orange ribbon on his lapel in solidarity with those affected by gun violence. Styles also sported “End Gun Violence” stickers on his guitars and other tour gear as he jumped from continent to continent.
It’s no secret that the majority of Harry Styles’ fans are women, a large portion of them being teenage girls. Western culture often bemoans this type of fanbase and classifies these girls as hysterical, dismissing them for being obsessed with singers, but Styles has a completely different opinion. “Who’s to say that young girls who like pop music – short for popular, right? – have worse musical taste than a 30-year-old hipster guy? That’s not up to you to say. Music is something that is always changing. There’s no goal posts. Young girls like the Beatles. You gonna tell me they’re not serious? How can you say young girls don’t get it? They’re our future. Our future doctors, lawyers, mothers, presidents, they kind of keep the world going. Teenage – girl fans – they don’t lie. If they like you, they’re there. They don’t act ‘too cool.’ They like you, and they tell you. Which is sick,” explained Styles in an interview with Rolling Stone. Styles is a feminist unafraid to say his young female fans are just as valid as anyone else, deserving of equal respect and opportunity. Styles isn’t only recently a feminist either. In addition to tweeting his support of International Women’s Day this past March, in September of 2014 he tweeted a photo expressing his support of the HeForShe movement.
Today’s generation faces the struggle of feeling helpless in the face of the events taking place in our society, whether it be discrimination, gun violence, or the #MeToo movement. Young adults are surrounded by so many social and political figures, it can be hard to find one that’s worth looking up to. So, for the fans who are accustomed to the classic look down the nose upon saying you admire Harry Styles, remind them that he checks all the boxes. “If you are black, if you are white, if you are gay, if you are straight, if you are transgender – whoever you are, whoever you want to be, [Harry Styles] support[s] you.” He advocates for what he considers the “fundamentals:” “Equal rights. For everyone. All races, all sexes, everything.” And he isn’t afraid to stand up in front of hundreds of thousands of people every night and tell them just that.