Mom's Post About Her Son Who Loves Nail Polish and Tutus Begs the World to Be Accepting
"My six year old son likes to wear nail polish. He likes to wear girls' clothes and tutus," starts Devon Berryann's Facebook post about her son, who is pictured wearing a tutu. "He tells me about the boys he likes at school. He says he will marry them and adopt babies. Maybe he will outgrow it. Maybe not."
Throughout Berryann's touching post, she grapples over whether or not she should discourage her son from doing anything that he could potentially get bullied for, or just allow him to be himself and hope that the world we live in will change.
A couple days ago he came home and told me again about kids teasing him at school for his nail polish, and for the first time ever I considered talking him into taking it off. Into hiding that part of himself. Because for the first time ever I was scared that he would be gunned down one night when he was out having a good time with his friends. In that moment I was so terrified that I wondered if it would be better to stop appeasing him. Then I remembered all the reasons I let him be who he wants. Because it makes him happy. Because nothing hurts more than seeing your child truly sad.
Berryann ends her post by dismissing her fears — because "this world is not going to change with more fear" — and shares that she took her son to buy more nail polish. "So here he is world. See my boy for the amazing person he is. Show him love. Show him acceptance. Help us change the world into one that deserves him."