By Tatiana Krisztina

 

 

Madison Square Garden had never seen so many feathers.

 

October 3, 2021: the night of a Harry Styles concert, the first of four that month in New York City alone. The energy was palpable, fans buzzing with excitement after a year in a global pandemic. For many it was their first night out since March 2020. Dressed to the nines, they were ready to party. The feathers were what remained of the multitude of boas fans were wearing, a trend stemming from Styles’ 2021 Grammy Awards performance where he donned a black suit and green feather boa.

 

Before long, Styles is singing his song “Treat People With Kindness.” It’s his own personal motto. The words are embroidered on his merchandise and now has its own song. During an instrumental break Styles is grabbing various pride flags that have been thrown on the stage - bisexual, trans, gay, and even a Black Lives Matter flag. He parades around with it, showing them off as his fans scream the lyrics back to him.

 

Boa feathers are everywhere. There’s a conga line in the pit; strangers are hugging and dancing. It seems like a wholesome, accepting and loving environment. Until it’s not.

 

In the Reddit thread “Gatekeeping,” a post was made stating, “LISTEN HERE LADIES If you know TWO HARRY STYLES SONGS DO NOT BUY TICKETS TO HIS F–N SHOWS only bc it’s already HARD ENOUGH getting tickets and unfair for the peeps who have been around for 10 years.” In arena bathrooms, teenage girls are telling others that their outfits aren’t flashy enough for a Harry Styles concert, that if they were real fans they would be prettier. A Twitter user claims that Styles’ career deserves to go “down the toilet” because of his relationship with actress/director Olivia Wilde.

 

These posts are the extreme opposite of Styles’ personal beliefs. In December 2020, he was the first solo male on the cover of Vogue, in a blue ruffled dress as he exclaimed he liked women’s fashion. “I’ll go in shops sometimes, and I just find myself looking at the women’s clothes thinking they’re amazing,” Styles said in his Vogue feature, “It’s like anything—anytime you’re putting barriers up in your own life, you’re just limiting yourself.” He’s attended Black Lives Matter marches and encourages inclusivity at his shows.

 

“Maybe at a show you can have a moment of knowing that you’re not alone,” Styles said in a Rolling Stone interview, “I’m aware that as a white male, I don’t go through the same things as a lot of the people that come to the shows. I can’t claim that I know what it’s like, because I don’t. So I’m not trying to say, ‘I understand what it’s like.’ I’m just trying to make people feel included and seen.”

 

Some of his fans follow Styles’ lead, making their own efforts to be inclusive and loving. Some even have “TPWK” tattooed. It stands for exactly what you think it does. 

 

Gatekeeping isn’t anything new, neither is shaming a celebrity for dating someone who’s not them. But in Styles’ fanbase, the drastic difference between the singer and some of his fans is noticeable.

 

Social media is the platform of choice for these self-proclaimed fans. Twitter, Reddit, Instagram and Tumblr are all filled with conspiracy theories of Styles’ life and beratements of Styles and his fans. It’s interesting because this is another dichotomy - fans love social media while Styles doesn’t.

 

“I feel a noticeable change in how happy I am when I’m not on social media,” said Styles in an interview with i-D, “Someone once described it to me like a house party, where there are three people who are great and 23 people who aren’t that nice. You just wouldn’t go to that party would you? That kind of summarizes my feelings about social media. I dip in. I see the friends I want to see and I dip out.”

 

Like other public figures, Styles has an Instagram and Twitter. But it’s only used to promote upcoming tour dates or new ventures. There’s little to no personal information available. 

 

In today’s social media world, fans feel connected to musicians in ways like never before. They feel a personal connection by seeing posts about the musicians’ lives. But Styles’ fans don’t have that. So Styles’ fans interact with a void, deciding they are the voice for the singer. Some of them feel the need to decide who’s a fan and who’s not, and what it takes to be a fan.

 

But in the end, at the next Madison Square Garden show, Styles and an arena full of people will be singing to “Treat People With Kindness.” Styles will wave the pride flags. The fans will continue to conga. It’ll happen at his next show. And then the one after that.

 

At least among the gatekeeping fans and mean tweets, there’s Styles and his fans, offering a safe space away from the drama. And reminding you to treat people with kindness.