Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) applauded former One Direction singer Harry Styles for wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue’s latest issue.
“It looks wonderful,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on an Instagram story when asked about the Vogue cover. “The masculine and feminine elements are balanced beautifully – the hair and jacket styling give me James Dean vibes too.”
The singer made history by becoming the first solo man to pose for the cover, wearing a blue Gucci dress to celebrate the occasion, the Independent reported.
But his outfit drew widespread criticism on social media, where many users said Styles was “attacking masculinity.”
Conservative commentator Candace Owens started the debate on Twitter, accusing Styles of endangering “manly men” for posing in a dress for the photoshoot.
“There is no society that can survive without strong men. The East knows this. In the west, the steady feminisation of our men at the same time that Marxism is being taught to our children is not a coincidence,” she wrote. “It is an outright attack. Bring back manly men.”
Ocasio-Cortez further defended Styles in a Q and A session with her Instagram followers, saying that the photo shoot was “bomb.”
“Some people are mad at it (because) some folks are very sensitive to examining and exploring gender roles in society,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Perhaps for some people, it provokes some anger or insecurity around masculinity/femininity/etc. If it does, then maybe that’s part of the point.”
Other Hollywood types who have spoken out in favor of Styles include Zach Braff, Olivia Wilde, and Elijah Wood.