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10 Influential Men Transcending Masculine Style Norms (Including Kid Cudi Performing in a Dress on ‘SNL’)

Masculinity comes in countless colors, shapes and styles. The latter has seen a renaissance in the last decade, wherein a collection of influential men, gender-fluid celebrities and non-binary leaders have been bold enough to showcase their true colors and transcend traditional masculine style by embracing the feminine.

Saturday Night Live performance in April by a flower dress-clad Kid Cudi, honoring the late Kurt Cobain, was a reminder of how much celebrity style has played a part in widening the conversation of masculinity and undefining what being “man enough” means to the individual man, as well as people of all genders.

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Here are 10 male celebrities who wear their masculinity on their sleeve, sometimes in the form of a dress, kilt or nail polish but oftentimes with pops of color traditionally not deemed manly in the eyes of many. Or in the case of Billy Porter, something cool we didn’t even know existed until they showed us, but all of which helps to move the needle of the masculine further from the age-old machismo and closer to a spot on the scale in which everyone can feel comfortable with their own definitions of masculinity, not just for the skin they’re in but the clothes that cover.

 

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Harry Styles

 

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Jonathan Van Ness

 

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Lil Nas X

 

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Adam Levine

 

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Gerard Butler

 

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Billy Porter

 

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Brad Pitt

 

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Machine Gun Kelly

 

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Jaden Smith

 

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Cover image: Kid Cudi (Instagram)