It’s 2018, and you would think by now that accepting people for who they are and what they like is the norm, but not everywhere has adapted to this open way of thinking. Unfortunately, for Diksha Bijlani’s cousin, who she named ‘Little Cuz’, he experienced this first hand at school when he decided to wear pink lipstick one day and got bullied and called names because of this.
@BijlaniDiksha shared the story on her Twitter and began by saying that her cousin is somewhat feminine and likes beauty and dressing up, but because his household is very male heavy, he has become the center of some very harsh jokes.
My cousin, 9, is the most “effeminate” in the house. Let’s call him Little Cuz. Loves to paint nails, wear lipcolour, learn home science! But in this stereotypical alpha male-centric household he’s often the pivot of jokes. Today he applied lipcolour & got called a “chakka” (1/n) pic.twitter.com/mZ2FplPNyP
— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 18, 2018
So he hid behind the curtain & under the bed, shielding his lipcoloured face from the camera & from his mom. Somehow it is always the moms that feel most “embarassed” with their masculine, hardy sons trying makeup. Or anything feminine. (2/n)
— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 18, 2018
People across Twitter felt heart-broken for the boy, as he was just trying to express his love for beauty and the color pink. Unfortunately, as Twitter user @singularitykth pointed out in a thread, Indian society can be very narrow-minded, and Diksha had enough of these stereotypes being forced upon her, and especially her cousin.
https://twitter.com/singuIaritykth/status/774597881890213888
this thread is important! india needs to bid a goodbye to the stereotypes and put an end to the stigma! stop shaming on the basis on your own shallow thoughts regarding one's gender roles, accept the change! respect everyone's choices, it's THEIR life! live and let live, pls! ???? https://t.co/8DusndK2Fv
— Whiny the Pooh. (@_subtleturtle_) June 19, 2018
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Because she is the most supportive cousin there is, she decided to wear pink lipstick and ask her fellow family members to join in, so that they could show their cousin that it’s okay to wear lipstick and be who you want to be without having to suffer from harsh jokes that other small-minded people make.
In such a house it takes constant work as elder cousins to undo the conditioned gender binary,normalise gender neutral acts which are deemed feminine. So we all wore lip color to make him comfortable & accepted. He felt a specially empowered when he saw my brother wearing it(3/n) pic.twitter.com/aixXrfMpbw
— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 18, 2018
My brother gave up any toxic masculinity & complied to influence Little Cuz. Little Cuz came out & smiled comfortable in his skin.
So important to realise that we owe the responsibility of giving every younger kid a safe space to embrace his place within the gender spectrum(4/n) pic.twitter.com/d9ffsJbsTa— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 18, 2018
I must admit, he is definitely rocking that lip color, and due to his big cousins supporting him, he can finally be happy in his own body and know that his family is supportive of him no matter what. She also mentioned how when ‘Little Cuz’ saw her older brother wearing the lipstick too, he felt even more empowered, and that the message she wanted to give to not only him but so many other people out there, is so important, especially at a young age.
So important to tell little kids gender is a spectrum, a repertoire of places they can visit w/o losing their identity. I hope all of us tell kids we know that they are valid, they are accepted, & they are beautiful today. I hope we don’t become the bullies we warn them of. (5/5)
— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 18, 2018
People all over Twitter were so emotional and proud of this little boy and his family for finally embracing who he is. It even sparked other Twitter users to share how they’ve embraced their femininity.
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https://twitter.com/varungrover/status/1009152349082963970
As replies poured in over the social media site, it was groundbreaking to see the amount of support the story has gotten and shows how India is finally taking one step further into the modern society we live in today.
Damn girrl! I was just randomly following u but u r something else entirely, consider me a fan now. Amidst all the glory of celebration u hv an insight that reaches out 2 those who r not so fortunate when it comes to their family. Very well done ????
PS we need u in public services— 2 Legit 2 Quit (@2L2QPLM) June 18, 2018
Paint the town red with the lipstick. Enjoy the moment, the big bad world can wait… https://t.co/nKPVKEYVih
— Vishesh Agrawal (@vishesh) June 19, 2018
The world needs more sisters like you. Thank you for this. Hugs, if I may.
— vivek tejuja ???? (@vivekisms) June 19, 2018
Tell him he looks super cute and I just love the lip colour. Wish i could carry it off as well as he did.
And a big hug for him. Tell him he is the most courageous kid I have seen. It takes courage to be different and do what you want. He is doing it— Priyashmita (@priyashmita) June 18, 2018
This just melted my heart. Diksha, we need more people like you to get rid of that mindset. Please give Little Cuz a tight, warm and fuzzy hug and tell him he’s very very cute. https://t.co/jyPEx9x356
— Gaurav Probir Pramanik ????️???? (@gauravpramanik) June 20, 2018
As #pride month draws to a close, this is an encouraging heartwarming story of a family helping a child discover through self-expression with a lil support ❤️???????????? https://t.co/cGnzMGaU49
— Satish Pai (@paisatish) June 19, 2018
Diksha Bijlani even shared an update on how her Little Cuz is getting on, which definitely put a smile on our face.
Update: Today, Little Cuz picked up his sister’s pink bicycle. Uncle ridiculed him for riding on a pink bicycle like a girl (bec that’s how petty my fam is). He retorts & says “Gender real nai hota. Kal mene aur bhaiya dono ne red lipstick lagaya tha didi ke saath. Aap puchlo” ????
— Diksha Bijlani (@BijlaniDiksha) June 19, 2018
Seems like he put his Uncle in his place and is finally proud of who he is. Well done, Little Cuz!
Do you think Little Cuz rocked that lip color? What do you think of Diksha’s act of kindness? Let us know in the comments, or on Twitter at @WhatsTrending.
