Like everyone on the internet, I have been consumed by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie’s every move since the end of last year. This week, it was Hudson’s Wonderland cover shoot that got me: him in a blush pink jacket, matching joggers, eating a banana in front of a pink fridge and a pink coffee machine. Below the pictures are tens of thousands of thirsty comments (half of them mine), and buried beneath the collective swooning, the "bring manly men back" comments from faceless finstas.

These are the same comments that flooded in after Harry Styles’ December 2020 Vogue cover, where he wore a blue Gucci gown. Before that, the same sentiment chased Mercury in his leotards, Prince in his ruffled shirts and heels, and Bowie in his flamboyant makeup looks. The comments, steeped in misogyny, are also ignorant, for cultures around the world see men wearing dresses and skirts to this day. Pink, to go back to Hudson, was originally a color reserved for men in the court of Louis XIV. As late as the 1920s, trade publications in the US recommended pink for boys as it was seen as the stronger, more decisive color. The same goes for high heels, which were adopted by European aristocratic men in the 1600s to signify status. If social media were around back then, someone would have commented: “How would a woman ever be interested in wearing something as masculine as a high-heeled shoe?”