Chamberlain Zulauf
Do you remember when people used to say, “come on it’s 2016…”?
Well, it’s 2021 now and even your favorite male rapper probably paints their nails. 2021 is a great year for breaking gender norms.
Life imitates art and reverbs of broken gender norms can even be seen here on campus as boys painting their nails is becoming less of a statement and more common.
“Why wouldn’t it be [acceptable]?” said Sam Crawford (Class of ’23) in response to his own painted nails, “we live in a generation where everyone is more open to doing their own thing… I don’t care what other people think. If they want to judge then let them judge, it’s not going to stop me from doing what I like to do.” Continued Crawford.
Crawford was also keen to point out that this trend is not new by any means but is just experiencing a resurgence.
In the spirit of this article, I got my own nails painted to see how it felt going about my day and all I’ve gotten are compliments! But most people just don’t even mention it. Honestly, I was nervous about my image but after a few days, I’m used to my nails now and like the way they look!
Ryan Manley (Class of ’23), a perfect name for this topic BTW, had similar things to say about his nails, “For me, painting my nails is just something I like to do, and it can be hard when people look at me differently but that will never stop me from being me”.
The take-away here is to be yourself through and through. You don’t have to paint your nails to be yourself, but if that’s you then rock it!
