A dad's response to bullies mocking his son for wearing nail varnish at school has gone viral.
Dad-of-three Aaron Gouveia took to Twitter to share a lengthy message to the kids who had reduced his son Sam to tears over the red polish, hitting out at gender stereotypes and 'toxic masculinity'.
Aaron explained that Sam, who has ADHD, enjoys painting his nails in lots of bright colours as he thinks it looks 'beautiful', but came home from kindergarten one day in floods of tears.
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The Massachusetts dad posted on Twitter: "This is my son, Sam. He's 5. And today he learned how sh*tty and harmful #ToxicMasculinity is.
"My rage meter is spiking right now so excuse me if this is a little raw but there are some things I want to say about BS gender norms."
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Recalling the moment in a Twitter thread, he continued: "My 5-year-old went to kindergarten with red nail polish on today and came home in tears because so many kids made fun of him.
"He loves painting his nails bright colors but now he doesn't want to anymore.
"Sam is my middle child & he's a terror. A "boy's boy" as so many (not me) would say.
"He's rough and tumble, he's loud, he's always dirty, loves trucks, plays sports and knee drops me from the couch. But he also loves a lot of "girl" things."
Aaron went on to explain that his son also has a collection of handbags he adores to carry around.
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"He proudly wore his red nail polish to kindergarten this morning because Sam has absolutely no concept of nail polish only being for girls or reason to think anyone would possibly have a problem with beautiful nails," Aaron tweeted.
"But his classmates did have a problem. A big one. Sam was ridiculed for being a boy with nail polish. They called him names and told him to take it off. This lasted the entire day."
And when Sam came home, he collapsed into his mum's arms, sobbing his heart out with emotion.
"He was devastated at how other kids turned on him, even his friends. He asked them to stop but that just made it worse. Only 1 kid stood up for him."
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Aaron explained his 'heart broke' when Sam called him at work, asking for his nail polish to be taken off so the kids no longer made fun of him.
Hitting out the children's parents, Sam's dad said: "I know these kids are only in kindergarten but this toxic masculinity b*llsh*t is LEARNED. Learned most of the time from parents. So parents, I hope you're proud. I hope this is what you wanted. I hope you're satisfied.
"I want you to know I talked to Sam and I told him those other kids are just jealous of his nails. I told him to wear an even brighter shade tomorrow. And I told him to ask these kids why they're so upset and see what they say."
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And, after his dad pointing out that Thor and Captain Jack Sparrow also have painted nails, Sam decided to keep it on.
"Because he likes it and it makes him feel good," explained Sam. "Then Sam's 10-year-old brother painted HIS nails in solidarity with his sibling, at which point I nearly cried."
"Intolerant parents and their offspring scored a minor victory today but they won't win the war. I know that because the Sams of the world aren't going to suffer this bullshit anymore. Of that I have no doubt."
Aaron's Twitter thread quickly went viral, with plenty of other users praising the father and son.
"I hope Sam continues to rock the nail polish & allow his beauty to shine through and be a light for others," shared one person, while another added: "Rock on Sam. Sending you feathers for your creative wings. May all of your dreams take flight."
Featured Image Credit: Pixabay