A dad in California shared a viral TikTok video where he takes his toddler son to get a manicure after his teacher told him that painting your nails is only for girls.

Christian Shearhod begins the video in question by explaining that his 3-year-old came home from school upset about the comment from his teacher. He rolls his eyes at the suggestion that manicures are only for girls and says, “So today I’m taking him to the nail shop!”

The video follows them in the car, where his son recaps the conversation he had with his teacher. Then, Shearhod and his girlfriend drive to a nail salon called Natures Nails in Los Angeles, where the toddler enthusiastically chooses a pink nail colour and says that he wants nail polish on his hand and his feet.

During the TikTok video, his son gleefully grins and admires his manicure while the nail tech files his nails and applies the pink colour he selected.

The clip ends with an important message about letting kids enjoy their lives without being confined by socialised gender norms. The text reads, “let little boys like what they like… Trucks, Spiderman, Paw Patrol and maybe painting his nails.”

@mr.shearhod

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The video generated over 15,000 comments. Most praise the decision and some encouraged the dad to confront the school about the gendered statement.

He later posted a few follow-up videos, including one where he chats with a staff member at the school about the incident. In the caption, he says, “As a teacher myself I know his teacher probably thought she was helping him and I highly doubt there was any malicious intent. We’re all on the same page now, thank y’all for all the supportive comments.”

Answering some negative comments about his son’s sexuality, Sheahod replied: “My son is literally three years old.” He then added: “I’m not going to assign him, and you’re not going to assign him, a sexuality because he likes feminine things”.

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Shearhod said he decided to take his son to the nail salon because he “wanted to make sure that he didn’t have guilt or shame, because it is something that he enjoyed, and we had done together multiple times.”

With over 900,000 followers on TikTok, he often uses his platform to inspire LGBTQ+ youth to live authentically and be themselves. He also shares videos documenting his relationship with his girlfriend and regularly addresses the transphobic comments he receives since his girlfriend is a trans woman.