Harry Styles and Timothée Chalamet's Candid Conversation on Redefining Masculinity

When two of the biggest names in pop-culture talk, the candid conversation was bound to provoke thought. Singer Harry Styles recently interviewed actor Timothée Chalamet for i-D Magazine on his latest film, Beautiful Boy. In the interview, the two openly discussed their favourite TV shows, the Nicki Minaj and Cardi B feud, and above all redefining masculinity.

Harry Styles is no stranger to expressing himself. The singer is known for his suits which often favour a feminine influence. His bold fashion choices have landed him the role of co-chair of the 2019 Met Gala, alongside Lady Gaga and Gucci's Creative Director Alessandro Michele.

Timothée Chalamet is quite similar to Styles. The 22 year-old rising star said he looked up to people like Lil B because he "blurred those lines as a musician", allowing future generations to express themselves disregarding stereotypes and gender norms.

In the interview Styles posed Chalamet with the question "do you feel a responsibility as an actor to represent a new form of masculinity on screen?", adding he believes there's been a clear change in the concept of masculinity from when he was growing up. Considering the singer is only 24 years old, this new concept is a relatively new change in the industry.

"There isn’t a specific notion, or jean size, or muscle shirt, or affectation, or eyebrow raise, or dissolution, or drug use that you have to take part in to be masculine. It’s exciting. It’s a brave new world," Timothée Chalamet shared.

Turning the question back to Styles, the former One Direction member confessed he has been feeling more content in himself over the past two years. This shift is potentially due to freely express his true self and no longer conforming. He explained "I didn’t grow up in a man’s man world. I grew up with my mum and my sister."

"I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I’m very comfortable with that," Styles continued. "Growing up you don’t even know what those things mean. You have this idea of what being masculine is and as you grow up and experience more of the world, you become more comfortable with who you are." He recognises it is easier now than ever for people embrace masculinity many ways, taking from his own experiences of music, writing in his journal and openly talking.

The interview has gathered attention and has been positively received. This indicates a clear change in mentality. Chalamet thinks social media plays a part in rediscovering fluidity in gender and dissolving the binary mentality. "If us having this conversation, in any infinitesimal way, can help anyone, a guy, a girl, realize that being vulnerable is not a weakness, not a social barrier," noted the young actor. "Humans are complex; we need to feel a lot of things. We are not homogeneous."

Read the full interview here.