Alicia Keys is a mother of two young boys and is trying to raise them in a world where they can express themselves freely.
So it broke her heart when her 4-year-old son had to second guess getting his nails painted for fear of being judged.
A recent trip to the nail salon with her son Genesis prompted Alicia to speak on her frustrations about labels and stereotypes.
Alicia Keys took to her Instagram page to post her “rant” about the whole ordeal. You can watch it below:
In the video, Alicia talks about how her son wanted a rainbow manicure and was excited to get it done. But that changed soon after his nails were painted.
“He said ‘mommy, I don’t want this on my nails,'” Alicia said, and after she questioned the change of heart, he replied, “people are not gonna like it.”
“Can you believe this?” Alicia asked. “Four years old. He’s four and he already understands the concept that someone’s gonna judge him because he chose rainbow color on his nails.”
Alicia said she tried to reinforce her son’s original decision by encouraging him and his creativity. She also told him that other men have painted their nails and she said that made him feel better but something still didn’t sit right with Alicia.
“It just got me to thinking how completely judged we are all the time.” Alicia said. “The way I see it, there is masculine and feminine energies inside of us all and that’s period. That’s how it is.”
Alicia added that it’s concerning that people can’t explore those different sides of themselves.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on Alicia’s rant? Let us know!