Toxic Masculinity

I came across a popular shared post earlier this week on Facebook. It was about a father who was expressing his feelings towards his 5- year old son being bullied at school for wearing nail polish. After the father picked up his son from school, his son began sobbing uncontrollably in the car and explained that other kids were teasing him at school for sporting brightly painted fingernails. The young boy's father responded to this upset by writing a Facebook post addressed to other parents, and society in general. In his post he states, "I know these kids are only in kindergarten but this toxic masculinity bullsh*t is LEARNED." I couldn't agree more with this father's statement. The young boy never saw anything wrong with wearing nail polish because unlike most males in today's society, he was taught that nail polish was for everyone- not just girls. This story is a prime example of excellent parenting. Most importantly, it proves that gender and gender norms are social constructs. Let me start off by saying that I'm a firm believer in the correlation between upbringing and it's influence on future beliefs. However, I am also a firm believer that beliefs instilled on us as children can change overtime. For instance, growing up my parents taught me that nail polish was strictly for girls, yet I don't agree with that belief. I can't say when exactly my beliefs changed, or when I chose to stop exercising society's bullsh*t gender norms, but what I can say is that because of progressive parents like myself or the little boy's parents mentioned in the article, we are the rare individuals of society who choose to stand up to toxic masculinity in hopes that we will make a difference in the world. It's upsetting how nowadays, toxic masculinity is seen at such a young age. That being said, the school age years (or perhaps even earlier than that) is a crucial time where parents and members of society can act as true role models for children and instill beliefs in them that omit gender norms.

(Source: His kindergarten son was bullied for wearing nail polish. So he painted his nails, too)
**Side note: You can click on the title above to access the article. Also, the link above is not the link of the original Facebook post. The link is an article published by the USA Today Network written in regards to the original Facebook post.