Harry Styles, Billy Porter and More Celebs Who Proudly Challenge Gender Norms

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Harry Styles, Billy Porter and More Celebs Who Proudly Challenge Gender Norms

Changing the game! Harry Styles, Billy Porter and more major stars have sparked important conversations about the gender binary, inspiring a generation of fans to be their most authentic selves. The former One Direction member caused a stir when he posed on the cover of Vogue magazine’s December 2020 issue in a lace-trimmed Gucci dress. One year prior, he spoke about blurring the boundaries in men and women’s fashion. “What's feminine and what's masculine, what men are wearing and what women are wearing — it's like there are no lines anymore,” he told The Face in 2019. “I'm not always super outspoken. But I think it's very clear from choices that I make that I feel a certain way about lots of things.” When asked about his tendency to wave rainbow flags onstage during his concerts, Styles said it was a simple act of allyship. “I want everyone to feel welcome at shows and online,” he explained. “They want to be loved and equal, you know? I'm never unsupported, so it feels weird for me to overthink it for someone else.” During a conversation with Timothée Chalamet for i-D magazine later that year, the “Adore You” singer reflected on how being raised by his mom after his parents split impacted his definition of masculinity. “I didn't grow up in a man's man world. I grew up with my mum and my sister,” Styles told the Call Me By Your Name actor. “But I definitely think in the last two years, I've become a lot more content with who I am. … I think there's so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I'm very comfortable with that.” [jwplayer QsJ1yRy2-l3ahXupL] Porter, for his part, has stepped up his red carpet looks in recent years, striking poses in capes, tuxedo gowns and more. The Broadway legend recalled never feeling “masculine enough” as a child while speaking with Allure in February 2020. “The heteronormative construct that masculinity is better silenced me for many years,” he said. “It was like my masculinity was in question before I could even comprehend the thought. … Flamboyant was a word that was used to marginalize me and pigeonhole me and keep me in a box.” Now, Porter is done hiding who he is — despite what haters say. “I'm a part of the first generation of gay men, ever, who gets to be out loud and proud in the world,” he added. “My generation is the first. Bitches are scared. And they should be.” Keep scrolling to see how other celebs — from musicians to movie stars — challenge gender norms on the regular: [podcast_block]

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Tommy Dorfman

In July 2021, the 13 Reasons Why star opened up about her "liberating and clarifying" transition, revealing to Time magazine that she'd been "privately identifying and living as a woman" since the previous year.

"I'm thinking about how I can infuse my trans body into film and television," she told the outlet, calling her "first role as a girl" a very "exciting and validating" experience. "I've been living in this other version of coming out where I don't feel safe enough to talk about it, so I just do it. But I recognize that transitioning is beautiful. Why not let the world see what that looks like?"

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Harry Styles

Speaking to L'Officiel in December 2019, the “Carolina” crooner claimed “gender differentiation” was fading away. “Many borders are falling – in fashion, but also in music, films and art. … Even if the masculine and feminine exist, their limits are the subject of a game,” he said. “We no longer need to be this or that. I think now, people are just trying to be good.”

The following year, he posed on the cover of Vogue in a designer gown.

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Billy Porter

From the Tonys to the Met Gala, the Pose star isn’t afraid to take fashion risks — and not just in a simple suit. However, his binary breaking mindset goes beyond clothing. In March 2020, Porter opened up about deciding to portray a “genderless” Fairy Godmother in the Camila Cabello-led Cinderella movie.

“Magic has no gender,” he told CBS News. “I think the new generation is really ready. The kids are ready. It's the grownups that are slowing stuff down.”

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Demi Lovato

The former Disney Channel star went through a journey of self-discovery before coming out as nonbinary in May 2021. “When I strip myself of the norms that society has pushed on me ... I have become the most complete and authentic version of myself,” they said during a conversation with Jane Fonda later that month. “If I had listened to the patriarchy, my life would have never changed. … I probably would have been married to a man with kids doing the thing that I was raised to believe I should do.”

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Ruby Rose

The Orange Is the New Black alum is known for her androgynous look, and in a June 2015 Elle interview, she proudly broke down what gender fluidity means to her. “Gender fluidity is not really feeling like you’re at one end of the spectrum or the other,” the Pitch Perfect 3 star said. “For the most part, I definitely don’t identify as any gender. I’m not a guy; I don’t really feel like a woman, but obviously I was born one. So, I’m somewhere in the middle. … The takeaway is that only you know who you were born to be and you need to be free to be that person.” 

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Miley Cyrus

Since her Disney days, the “Slide Away” singer has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, publicly coming out as pansexual in 2015. “People fall in love with people, not gender, not looks, not whatever,” she told Vanity Fair four years later. “Relationships and partnerships in a new generation — I don't think they have so much to do with sexuality or gender.”

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Troye Sivan

The Youtuber-turned-pop sensation came out as a teenager and has been making bold statements ever since. “I have to get comfortable with the fact that I am kind of effeminate sometimes — or really effeminate sometimes,” he told The Guardian in April 2019. “That I want to paint my nails. Overcoming all those stupid rules that society embeds in you as a kid about gender and sexuality is a conscious task.”

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Jaden Smith

When he began wearing skirts and dresses in public, Smith didn’t expect to spark a conversation. “I feel like people are kind of confused about gender norms. I feel like people don’t really get it,” he told British GQ in March 2016. “I’m not saying that I get it, I’m just saying that I’ve never seen any distinction. I don’t see man clothes and woman clothes, I just see scared people and comfortable people.”

Later that year, Jaden’s dad, Will Smith, explained why he doesn’t enforce gender stereotypes in his household. “The greatest gift that I can give my children is the freedom to be who they are,” he told BET. “As a parent, if it’s an oak tree, I want it to grow as an oak tree. I’m not gonna try to force it to be an apple tree. … We encourage our kids to experiment and seek who they are more than who we want them to be.”

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Jonathan Van Ness

Self-acceptance is a lifelong journey, as the Queer Eye star discovered when he came into his nonbinary identity. “Some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman,” he told Out magazine in June 2019. “I didn’t think I was allowed to be nonconforming or genderqueer or nonbinary — I was just always, like, 'a gay man' because that’s just the label I thought I had to be. … Any opportunity I have to break down stereotypes of the binary, I am down for it, I’m here for it.”

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Sam Smith

In a September 2019 Twitter thread, the “Latch” singer publicly disclosed their nonbinary identity. “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out,” they wrote. “I’m so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision, but I’ve been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but f--k it!”

The Grammy winner went into more detail about their journey one year later. “Queer people all around the world, we don't identify within those two places,” they told CBS This Morning in November 2020. “Gender, for me, has been nothing but traumatizing and challenging throughout my life. … After being able to talk about my gender expression, I feel such a weight has been lifted.”

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Lil Nas X

Though he never planned on coming out, the “Old Town Road” artist has been a beacon of pride and positivity since becoming an overnight success. “There was nothing really holding me back anymore,” he told The Guardian in April 2020. From his bold, eccentric fashion to his edgy music videos, the Grammy winner isn’t afraid to push boundaries.