Toxic masculinity is an important topic in 2021, and men are becoming more aware of the fine line between their masculinity and when it becomes toxic. Men have ideas engraved in their minds from a young age that they should keep their feelings and emotions hidden and that they cannot enjoy feminine activities or styles or they won't be a real man. This has also caused men to fear or reject the possibility of being comfortable outside of a masculine shell. Harry Styles, the popular singer, dresses in extravagant and unique clothing. Some of these may be very feminine styles, which not only looks great on him, but sends a message to men that it is okay to step out of their comfort zone and redefine masculinity for themselves.

Let's talk about how society defines masculinity. Men are expected to dress formally in a suit and tie, clean shave their face, and look masculine doing so. But what if we changed this narrative so that feminine and masculine traits were more similar? Harry Styles is a perfect example of a man redefining his masculinity, and all men should look to him for inspiration.

Here is Harry Styles wearing a very feminine outfit made up of a lacy blouse and jewelry. His nails are painted as well. Usually men would look at this picture and automatically assume that he was gay, bi-sexual, etc.. But he is a straight man embracing his masculinity by embracing a feminine look.

This is an iconic photo of Harry Styles dresses in a traditional women's professional ballet uniform. Initially he was judged and ridiculed for dressing like a woman as a straight male, but he is now looked at as an icon for challenging the meaning of masculinity.

Here we see a photo of Harry wearing a long, elegant dress paired with a blazer. Many women spoke up about this style and said that they believe men who are comfortable dressing like this and being vulnerable are more masculine than those who are afraid to even touch the feminine look.

While every man does not need to wear dresses or makeup to be masculine, Harry Styles is a perfect example of a step forward in the right direction, and that is men being comfortable in who they are and their own skin whether their style is more masculine or feminine. This line between the gendered looks will be diminished if men accept and explore a more healthy version of masculinity. Men: try to have a mindset more like Harry Styles, and maybe you will help in redefining the term "masculinity" and giving it the most positive meaning.