Harry Styles is one of the most popular faces in the music industry, yet the scholarly discourse
around him is lacking. Perhaps he is seen to be not worthy of study given his ‘artificial’ beginnings
in a boy band created for the X Factor. However, the evolution of Styles has been a complex
journey and his current presentation of fluid masculinity and fashion, undefined sexuality, and
political activation, seem to demonstrate an original self. This article is a counter claim to the many
ways that Styles has been constructed, instead presenting him as a cultural figure worthy of study.
The discussion also contains discourse about the phenomenon and gender performance of boy
bands, to explore Styles’s evolution from a teenage heartthrob in chinos and polo shirts in 2010,
to becoming the 2019 host of the Met Gala in a sheer blouse, heeled boots, and a pearl earring.