VMan F/W 2021.22 : Lil Nas X by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin

[Benn98]

^

^^^He looks like a mini Denis Rodman. Thank goodness I didn’t have to suffer seeing his mug plastered all over fashions rags growing up in the 90s.

Just in case some are still unaware: Homosexuality is tried and punishable as a capital crime in Saudi Arabia. Being closeted isn’t only exactly blameable on whatever “toxic masculinity” that the progressive-types want to use as the always reliable scapegoat. It’s very much engrained in the region’s cultural upbringing and familial identity that may very well be inescapable for many gay men and women. Being closeted comes down to simply survival.

(BTW, the poor oppressed gayz that only have this Nas X person as an outlet for some brief moment of sexual freedom: The kernel of tackiness and gaudiness of rubbish gaydom at its very root LOL)

That's why I think it's so wrong for some brands and celebrities to willingly collaborate with that nation. Especially the ones who then claim to be allies of the gay community/women's movement. How can you be an ally of the very people who you inadvertently oppress at the same time? It's despicable, and luckily they're no longer getting away with it because people call them out. The country is welcome to hold its own beliefs and customs, similarly, there are some of us who do not wish to subscribe or contribute to it.

Always find it weird how flamboyant/campy gays get so much hate, sometimes from actual gays. It was they who forced society and legislation to come to terms with homosexuality. We actually owe them a huge debt instead of calling them sl*tty and thrashy.

Anyway, I'm so used to Lil Nas X being OTT 99% of all times that a shoot like this looks tame. The styling especially. It's your usual basic wardrobe pieces with a bit of thematic jewellery. I swear, this guy must be one of the most overrated menswear stylists in the industry right now.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Because the OTT flamboyancy/campiness is such a tiresome caricature of what a gay man is in 2021.

Suggesting that anyone that doesn’t subscribe to the Kool-Aid of this person’s tackiness is directly dismissive of the queens that fought back and brought change to the cultural landscape 60 years ago is a tad (a lot) intellectually dishonest. Self-hating gay accusation aside, your next accusations may as well be that to be critical of this person is racist LOL God forbid a Black gay entertainer receive some pushback for his straight-male-stripper act in 2021: His act is an exact replica of those tacky and cheap male strippers that cater only to women. In 2021, his brand of “flamboyance” is heavily co-opted by cooperations to sell to the masses that’s it’s anything but risqué and culture-defying. It’s actually so safe as you’ve proven that the slightest criticism is immediately dismissed as homophobic/racist.

 

[Benn98]

^^^ Because the OTT flamboyancy/campiness is such a tiresome caricature of what a gay man is in 2021.

Suggesting that anyone that doesn’t subscribe to the Kool-Aid of this person’s tackiness is directly dismissive of the queens that fought back and brought change to the cultural landscape 60 years ago is a tad (a lot) intellectually dishonest. Self-hating gay accusation aside, your next accusations may as well be that to be critical of this person is racist LOL God forbid a Black gay entertainer receive some pushback for his straight-male-stripper act in 2021: His act is an exact replica of those tacky and cheap male strippers that cater only to women. In 2021, his brand of “flamboyance” is heavily co-opted by cooperations to sell to the masses that’s it’s anything but risqué and culture-defying. It’s actually so safe as you’ve proven that the slightest criticism is immediately dismissed as homophobic/racist.

But you perve on The Rock, so what's all this slander about straight-male-stripper acts?

Don't diffuse the argument, you know I meant 'in general' and only used him as an example. In general, flamboyant gays do suffer more abuse. And in Lil Nas X's case, there is an awful lot of homophobia that's being directed at him for a variety of reasons, I don't think anybody can deny that. All I'm saying is that I find it odd that it's coming from gay men in 2021.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ And Madonna still gets dismissed as a sl*t for baring her nipples in 2021— what’s your point??? These performers put their act out there— even desperate for a negative reaction cuz that’s what creates controversy and infamy: whether it’s Madonna recycling her 1992 Dita/SEX act in 2021, to this person going all gay version of the tacky, costumed stripper. There’s bound to be some bashing when they’ve decided to be in your face and nothing else. Goes with the territory— and they love it. I’m just bored by it all, frankly.

And I’m not even hating on him LOL He’s just so gimmicky: His music is predictably generic and on-trend and no one will remember any of it a year from now. But that’s all good— it’s what disposable pop is meant to be. LOL @some that were convinced that he caused a revolution with his BET performance of grinding a lap dance with men. BET invited him to perform and knew it would get them some attention. Nothing revolutionary nor career-risking about having corporate support. And if any hint of negative criticism were to be had, it was immediately met with an overwhelming amount of support in turn— even comparing what he’s doing, as you’ve done to the the cultural landmark activism of Stonewall: talk about reaching LOL I’m just bashing on the tiresome, performative tackiness of his act— not who he is as an individual.

 

[honeycombchild]

I despise comments like ‘he’s not attractive’. You’re passing off your opinion as a fact. It is not a fact and what right does absolutely anybody have any right to say that someone is unattractive, or ugly, or any of the other words that get thrown around.

Whether or not someone is attractive is entirely subjective. If you don’t care for him, then lay out your case for your opinion, but don’t be the sad bully on the playground calling someone unattractive.

With regards to the cover itself, I find it funny that it’s all pitched as him being the next big star, and he’s arrived… and then they’ve styled him like another star. I always find this kind of concept undermines the subject!

 

[Zorka]

MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN
Photography: Blair Getz Mezibov
Styling: Grant Woolhead
Model/Celebrity: Noah Mills





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