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Boy Cries Uncontrollably After Getting Bullied For Wearing Nail Polish, And His Dad’s Response Goes Viral
Toxic masculinity has become one of the buzz concepts of our times, as certain ‘traditionally masculine’ traits and behaviors have been identified by some as a corrosive influence on our society. Aaron Gouveia, from Massachusetts and a father of 3, is the voice behind parenting blog Daddy Files, where he shares his experiences, thoughts and practical tips to being the best possible father while balancing a career at the same time.
Recently he uploaded an angry and emotional Twitter thread about his middle son, Sam, being bullied at school for wearing nail polish. Sam hadn’t been exposed to overriding social expectations of gender norms yet, and was about to get a shock. “My wife and I spent five years successfully preaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of expression and your kids unraveled that in one school day,” Aaron wrote.
Sam simply liked having his nails painted. His grandmother used to do it for a living and he thought it looked cool. Simples. He was blissfully unaware that these kind of things were supposed to be ‘for girls only,’ and that not following this ‘rule’ would leave him open for ridicule, even from his friends.
After Sam came home heartbroken and in tears, Aaron decided that enough was enough. His passionate outburst quickly went viral and drew praise and support from thousands of people, impressed with the way he took harmful expectations of masculinity to task. And he is right. Of course there of some who take the concept too far, but some aspects of ‘toxic masculinity’ teach young boys to suppress their natural expression and emotions in ways that can be harmful later on, and this needs to be addressed.
Meanwhile Sam, inspired by other men and boys painting their own nails in solidarity, went back to school with his nails painted and a newfound confidence to be himself. “Sam had a great, incident-free day at school yesterday,”Aaron wrote. “Also, the school’s response and the community’s outreach has been really heartening.”
Scroll down to check out Sam’s kickass nails for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
RELATED:
This is Aaron Gouveia, dad of three boys and author of the parenting blog ‘Daddy Files’
This week something happened to his middle son at school, which led him to post an angry and emotional outburst on Twitter
People were really supportive of Aaron and Sam
Image credits: irinibus
Image credits: Grafxcowgirl
Image credits: Kristan_Higgins
Image credits: JerriSwann21
Image credits: megrarick
Watch this video to learn to stop bullying:
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What do you think ?
Richard Wareham 7 years ago
Makes you wonder what the kindergarten teachers were doing while all this ridicule and name calling was going on.
D-Nice 1738 7 years ago
I also wonder where did the kids learn to be intolerant.
Load More Replies...
Reggie Kraken 7 years ago
My son is only a few months old but the idea of him being bullied when he's older makes me so incredibly sad. Hopefully I can set an example like this dad.
Full Name 7 years ago
Don't forget to ensure the child is mentally confident (i.e: competent) enough that some taunting won't crush him.
Load More Replies...
Stille20 7 years ago
I don't think bullying is good or character building, but I can say it is part of life. When you put yourself out there and are different, there will be haters. Teaching kids how to handle it is so important, including how parents address these things with the teacher. Here's a hint, verbally abusing the teacher is not a good example to your child.
Full Name 7 years ago
Yes! Sheltering your kids in a bubble means the real world is going to be a big shock. Prepare them for what they'll face and they'll handle it much better. There will always be bullies (obviously) so pretending it isn't a reality isn't going to help anyone.
Load More Replies...
Full Name 7 years ago
" “My wife and I spent five years successfully preaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of expression and your kids unraveled that in one school day,”: That means you forgot to teach your kids that different people have different views and will act on those views and some might be bullies. It's as much as a parenting fail as it is a win with this guy. It's this same issue where millennials and gen Z are the least happy kids ever polled even though they live in the best time ever. Once they figure out there's a "real world" out there that doesn't cater to you it's quite shocking for them. They need to be prepared and mentally strong enough for that. That a major part of a parent's job.
Tricia Evans 7 years ago
You can teach your child that everyone has their own opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinion. And that some people are mean and will bully others because they have very small brains and are narrow minded. AND that just because they have a different opinion does NOT mean they can bully and terrorize others. They need to be stopped, and ignoring it is just giving them permission to treat people badly. So they need to stand up for themselves and get someone with more authority involved. Never just accept it as “normal”.
Load More Replies...
Христо Кръстев 7 years ago
"Toxic masculinity" ??? Bullsh*t! Boys and girls see the world around them, and since only women wear nailspolish and it's only advertised for women, they perceived it a a female product only. That's not something anyone taught them, but something they've realised on their own! Not to mention that kids are the cruelest human beings on the planet - they can't grasp the full extent of what they are saying, nor how deeply it can hurt other. They are yet to realise why what they're doing is bad, and that's why your son got bullied! Not because of the 'toxic masculinity" c**p you've been hearing!
Kururi.Orihara 7 years ago
My little brother loves painting his nails and always offers to paint mine for me. It's mainly his toenails, but it makes him happy. Im a proud big sister!
Richard Wareham 7 years ago
Makes you wonder what the kindergarten teachers were doing while all this ridicule and name calling was going on.
D-Nice 1738 7 years ago
I also wonder where did the kids learn to be intolerant.
Load More Replies... Reggie Kraken 7 years ago
My son is only a few months old but the idea of him being bullied when he's older makes me so incredibly sad. Hopefully I can set an example like this dad.
Full Name 7 years ago
Don't forget to ensure the child is mentally confident (i.e: competent) enough that some taunting won't crush him.
Load More Replies... Stille20 7 years ago
I don't think bullying is good or character building, but I can say it is part of life. When you put yourself out there and are different, there will be haters. Teaching kids how to handle it is so important, including how parents address these things with the teacher. Here's a hint, verbally abusing the teacher is not a good example to your child.
Full Name 7 years ago
Yes! Sheltering your kids in a bubble means the real world is going to be a big shock. Prepare them for what they'll face and they'll handle it much better. There will always be bullies (obviously) so pretending it isn't a reality isn't going to help anyone.
Load More Replies... Full Name 7 years ago
" “My wife and I spent five years successfully preaching tolerance, acceptance, and the importance of expression and your kids unraveled that in one school day,”: That means you forgot to teach your kids that different people have different views and will act on those views and some might be bullies. It's as much as a parenting fail as it is a win with this guy. It's this same issue where millennials and gen Z are the least happy kids ever polled even though they live in the best time ever. Once they figure out there's a "real world" out there that doesn't cater to you it's quite shocking for them. They need to be prepared and mentally strong enough for that. That a major part of a parent's job.
Tricia Evans 7 years ago
You can teach your child that everyone has their own opinion and everyone is entitled to their opinion. And that some people are mean and will bully others because they have very small brains and are narrow minded. AND that just because they have a different opinion does NOT mean they can bully and terrorize others. They need to be stopped, and ignoring it is just giving them permission to treat people badly. So they need to stand up for themselves and get someone with more authority involved. Never just accept it as “normal”.
Load More Replies... Христо Кръстев 7 years ago
"Toxic masculinity" ??? Bullsh*t! Boys and girls see the world around them, and since only women wear nailspolish and it's only advertised for women, they perceived it a a female product only. That's not something anyone taught them, but something they've realised on their own! Not to mention that kids are the cruelest human beings on the planet - they can't grasp the full extent of what they are saying, nor how deeply it can hurt other. They are yet to realise why what they're doing is bad, and that's why your son got bullied! Not because of the 'toxic masculinity" c**p you've been hearing!
Kururi.Orihara 7 years ago
My little brother loves painting his nails and always offers to paint mine for me. It's mainly his toenails, but it makes him happy. Im a proud big sister!
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