Yesterday, singer Ty Dolla $ign shared photos of his manicured hands and feet to Instagram, and the post has us fully reevaluating gender norms. Dolla $ign’s lacquered digits are a “passion fruit” color and Instagram has mixed feelings about the artist’s new paint job. While it’s not uncommon for men to groom their nails or wear a clear topcoat, the neon nail color has raised quite a few eyebrows.
“Blood what’s that passion fruit?” a fan on Instagram asked. “Fingernail polish bro–come on slime.”, added another. It didn’t take long to muddy up the photo’s comments section with sexist remarks that speak to the larger issue at hand—which is not the color of choice, but gender bias.
Seeing nail polish on men of “Rockstar” caliber is nothing new. But then again neither is disapproval of males wearing nail polish. Just three years ago, Amber Rose was under scrutiny for encouraging her then 3-year-old son to paint his nails orange for Halloween. The backlash was fueled by beliefs in rigid beauty standards that suggest nail polish is only for women.
Nail polish within itself is non-binary. Furthermore, painting your nails is not an indication of sexual orientation, and we hope that society will eventually refrain from ascribing it as such.
The singer’s statement nails may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, Ty Dolla $ign is defining masculinity and beauty on his terms and for that, we salute him.