Alicia Keys just taught her son a very important lesson on self expression and we are so here for it.
On Saturday, November 9, the “Empire State of Mind” singer shared a video on Instagram where she told a story about the time she brought her son, Genesis, to the nail salon with her.
“He tells the lady that he wants rainbow colors on his nails,” she says. “And she brings all of these colors and she paints each nail a different color.”
However, after it was all done the 4-year-old had a change of heart and said he wanted to take it all off. When Keys asked him why after he had been so sure, he replied, “people are not gonna like it.”
“Can you believe this,” she continued. “Four years old. He’s four and he already understands the concept that someone is gonna judge him because he chose rainbow colors on his nails.”
She went on to tell him how cool and creative the idea was, while also explaining that he isn’t the only guy to paint his nails and that boys do it all the time. “You chose it, you liked it, you do it,” she told him. “Who cares what anybody else says.”
Though this made him feel better, she still couldn’t help but think about the male and female roles in society and the judgement that often comes along with these stereotypical ideals.
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Been thinking about how over labeled and over judged we all are… can u feel me??
“The way I see it, there is masculine and there are feminine energies inside of us all, period,” she said. “It gets concerning to me that we can’t just explore these different sides of ourselves. These different energies that are within us.”
She’s now hoping to help promote an environment for her sons that allow them to express their “feminine energies” without the judgement of others.
“We should be able to explore and express [masculine and feminine energies] however we want to,” she concluded. “What do you think?”
We think Keys should give a Ted Talk.
