‘Give Him Something For Boys’: Kid’s Face-Painter Tells A Story That Will Wreck You

Tweet thread spotlights the heartbreaking and dangerous ways gender stereotypes affect young boys

From a young age, many boys are encouraged to like only typically “masculine” things like action figures, toy guns, and sports. They’re shamed for crying, showing love, and showing affection because those things are considered “weak.” Strict gender rules are enforced on their appearance, too. When it comes to the clothes they wear and the way they wear their hair, little boys are often expected to adhere to certain stereotypes and not show interest in anything deemed “feminine.”

Apparently, even getting their face painted is policed to the extreme, as illuminated by a brilliant Twitter thread that went viral this weekend. In a series of very powerful tweets, Twitter user “Sanduhruh” laid out exactly how enforcing these harmful gender stereotypes on little boys could be a driving force behind the male violence problem we have in America.

The user is a clown and describes an interaction she had with a boy who wanted a butterfly painted on his cheek. The thread will destroy you and needs no further commentating. Just read.

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/896505134162759680

https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/896508282570850304https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/896508798440886272

Toxic masculinity starts here, in scenarios just like this one. It can eventually lead to aggression, violence, and racism in boys and men. The good news is we all have the power to help change it, just like this brave face painter did when she recognized it and called it out. We can all fight against the harmful stereotypes that lead to cycles of violence, if we start standing up to it.