Conchita Wurst had herself photographed in a thong, Kid Cudi appeared in a flower dress. These statements still cause discussions
You might think that with Harry Styles, the excitement about a man in a dress is over. As a reminder, last December the British pop star reached for a frilly Gucci model for his first “Vogue” cover. The enthusiasm was great. The tenor was that the pop star looked stunning. Only a few conservative commentators disagreed. They tweeted their heads off: “Bring back masculine men!” 
Such demands are, of course, gross nonsense. Manly men, who are they supposed to be? Can you tell by their suits? We should know better: That shark collars and slim-fit suits sometimes hide more than they reveal, where better to observe that than in Austria at the moment?
So it’s a good thing that Harry Styles has got some support. Tom Neuwirth, who already won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 as Conchita Wurst in a dress, lolling offensively in front of the camera in a thong and lingerie from Rihanna’s label “Savage x Fenty”. The pictures are the most authentic there are of him, Neuwirth explained.
When you look at the photos like this, you believe it immediately. The local tabloids, on the other hand, headlined: “Conchita Wurst excites Insta with next penis-gate”. One can only reply to that: If it’s going to be penis-gate, then please do it like this!
Gender stereotypes can also be broken in harmless flower dresses. Rapper Kid Cudi recently proved this in the US show “Saturday Night Live”. The 37-year-old bowed to Kurt Cobain in a dress by Off-White, the musician who had performed in a similar part in 1993.
The Italian luxury fashion house Valentino also demonstrated how gender-fixated poses and stagings still are with a campaign. Photographer Michael Bailey-Gates photographed himself naked, with a handbag as his only accessory. What had long been business as usual for female models irritated many.
“Disgusting,” wrote some. “Great,” the others. This much is certain: our visual habits need to be put to the test much more often.
A column by Anne Feldkamp in Der Standard. Translated with DeepL – the AI translator.
