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Mom removed young daughter's mustache after she was bullied, sparking debate

It's an experience many girls can relate to.

Image via Canva

Mom removes young daughter's mustache after she is bullied.

Kids can find plenty of reasons to bully one another, and for many young girls, an easy target for bullies is making fun of dark hair or peach fuzz above the upper lip.

Rather than let her daughter's 'mustache' subject her to ridicule from her classmates, mom Aubrye (@eyrbua) shared on TikTok that she decided to remove it. It's a decision that's sparked debate among other parents.

"My daughter came home from school one day crying saying kids were making fun of her mustache and asked me to 'take it off," she shared in the video's caption.

@eyrbua

#girlmom #girlhood #momsoftiktok #parentsoftiktok #daughter #momanddaughter #fyp #girls #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #blowthisupforme

In the video, Aubrye can be seen removing her daughter's unwanted facial hair in the video while the song "Being a Girl" by Jonica plays in the background. In the caption, she explains her decision to take off the extra peach fuzz: "I reassured her that she was beautiful no matter what but if she wanted me to to take it off for her to feel better I'd do that," she writes.

She ends the caption with a closing statement to solidify the choice: "I always want my baby to feel beautiful and confident."

In the comment section, Aubrye added an update on how it made her daughter feel. "Since doing it, her confidence is through the roof, her grades have gotten better and she comes home from school happy all the time. Definitely worth seeing my little girl happy," she wrote.


mustache, girl, gif, tiktok, debateGirl Illustration GIF by Valérie BoivinGiphy

Many parents were supportive of Aubrye's decision.

"Thank you for helping her instead of just telling her to suck it up."

"I would never understand mothers who refuse to let their daughters shave."

"This is how you parent correctly. My daughter came home complaining about her eyebrows saying people were making fun of her. So I cleaned them up for her," one parent shared, to which Aubrye replied, "You’re a great mama 🩷 I always want to support my daughters and help their confidence any way I can."

applause, praise, gif, support, clapJennifer Lopez Applause GIF by NBC World Of DanceGiphy

Others were more conflicted about it:

"I also have a small daughter but I don't know how I feel about it because okay she took her little mustache off but what's next? If they don't like something else about her, she's gonna try to keep changing for these kids. She should just learn to be a little tougher. Or maybe just go to the school directly. I don't know I feel so conflicted."

"Personally, I’d be teaching my kid to verbally and if necessary physically stand up to bullies. Teaching them that conventional beauty is fake. It’s made up. My kid should not be shaving or changing her body in ANY way. Just to accommodate someone else’s opinions of them. To me, that just teaches them to do that their whole lives. I’d rather teach my kid to clock a bully than be a doormat."

"My daughter has been bullied for the same reason! But I have taught her to always say my mustache makes me special 🥰 and it has worked for her confidence to have a cute mustache🥸."

Whether people agreed or disagreed with her decision to remove her daughter's mustache, the post resonated with many women who grew up with the same experience:

"Ok so I’m 52 and this is me. Kids use to bully me for having a mustache and unibrow. This was back in the 80s. Kid were even meaner. Thank you for hearing her. And helping her. No one helped me," one wrote.

Another shared, "I got bullied for my mustache. Didn’t shave it until an adult and only to scrape the dead skin off. Teach your kids to love themselves. They’d say 'you’re a girl, why do you have a mustache?!'"

"My mom never let me and she doesn’t know how much it affected me that she didn’t," shared one more.

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Why people are loving the pronouns Jennifer Lopez used in an Instagram pic.

Jennifer Lopez gets it when it comes to queer-inclusive language.

Jennifer Lopez is a global superstar, an award-winning singer, a leading lady on the big screen — and also a "super proud auntie" too.

The ever-busy entertainer, currently starring in NBC's "Shades of Blue" and judging acts on "World of Dance," shared a photo of her sister's child, Brendan, on Instagram earlier this week.

The pic's caption is drawing praise from adoring fans near and far.



"This is Brendan my sister Leslie's second child!!" Lopez wrote. "They were the one person selected to represent their school at [the Global Young Leaders Conference] in Washington DC!!! And I couldn't be more proud!!!"

Lopez's post, which has reached millions of people around the world, isn't just cute — it's also important.

Many commenters are applauding Lopez for using gender-neutral terminology, likely preferred by Brendan, in her post.

The caption is absent of gendered words in reference to Brendan, as Lopez adheres to terms like "person," "they" and "their" (instead of "boy" or "girl," "niece" or "nephew," or "his" or "her").

Commenters noticed.

"She's using a gender neutral pronoun," one follower wrote alongside a smiley face, tagging a friend so they'd see the post as well. "Pronouns for the win," one user chimed in. "Sending mucho queer love Brendan's way," added another, ending their comment with a line of colorful rainbow hearts.

Lopez accepted the Ally for Equality Award from the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBTQ advocacy group, in 2013. Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images.

Lopez’s post demonstrates how simple it is to respect someone's identity and use preferred pronouns. Because really, it shouldn't be a big deal to do so.

Like most things, gender isn't so black and white, and more and more Americans are understanding the nuances in how we all identify.

While most people are considered cisgender (that is, their gender identity corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth), many others identify outside of what's considered the binary; they don't identify explicitly as a man or woman (or boy or girl).

Many people who identify outside the binary prefer gender-neutral terms, like the ones Lopez used in her Instagram post. And while using "they" instead of "he" or "she" may seem like a subtle and insignificant difference to some of us, it's a very important distinction — one that will hopefully one day become so commonplace the internet won't be singing a celebrity's praises every time they simply do the right thing.

Notably, however, Lopez didn't make the post about Brendan's gender identity or preferred pronouns — she focused on Brendan as a person and how proud she is to be their aunt.

"Brendan is strong and smart and loving and ... a leader!!" Lopez concluded in the caption. "Titi Jenn loves you!! #superproudauntie #familia❤"

Way to go, Brendan! ❤️

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Red-carpet questions can be sexist. These 9 celebrity tweets fought back.

There are so many things #WorthSaying on the red carpet.

Red carpets aren't known for being on the front lines in the fight for gender equality ... to put it lightly.

The pre-show sexism that's persisted for decades can be subtle, but oh, is it there.

Famous women are relentlessly asked about the outfits they're wearing and the designers behind their looks — usually not in addition to, but instead of the accomplishments that got them there. Because who cares how many Oscars they've won or millions of box office dollars they've brought in when there's a dress to discuss, right?

Men, on the other hand, don't have to deal with the media's obsessive questioning over their award show appearances in the same way. Cate Blanchett pointed this out brilliantly at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards when the camera began panning up her dress during an interview with E! News.


GIF via E! News /YouTube.

So on the 2016 Golden Globes' red carpet on Jan. 10, several stars decided to fight back.

Using the hashtag #WorthSaying — a campaign launched by L'Oreal — celebrities tweeted out what types of topics, messages, and questions (that don't have to do with what you look like) should be discussed during the event's red carpet.

Here's what 10 of them had to say.

1. Julianne Moore thinks we need more women in Washington.


2. Jennifer Lopez pointed out that no one should be silenced due to their gender.


3. Zoe Saldana encouraged girls to throw rulebooks out the window.


4. Génesis Rodríguez wanted you to know: Your success is in your hands.


5. Liya Kebede used the opportunity to support moms in the developing world.

6. Zendaya told us she's going to be a force for good.


7. Andie MacDowell gave a shout-out to the power of kindness and compassion.


8. Susan Sarandon thinks badass women in business deserve a round of applause.


9. Eva Longoria reminded us that our passions are best used when we share them.


The #WorthSaying hashtag isn't the first successful effort to confront casual sexism on the red carpet.

In recent years, more and more campaigns have challenged the award show status quo. Amy Poehler's Smart Girls, for instance, launched the #SmartGirlsAsk hashtag during the 2015 Emmys with a similar mission in mind.


And during last year's Academy Awards in February, Hollywood heavyweights like Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, and Lena Dunham threw their support behind the #AskHerMore initiative, which came to be through The Representation Project.

"This is a movement to say we’re more than just our dresses," Witherspoon said of #AskHerMore, according to Variety. “There are 44 nominees this year that are women, and we are so happy to be here and talk about the work that we’ve done. It’s hard being a woman in Hollywood, or any industry.”

We're making strides on gender equality in Hollywood. It's time the red carpet starts reflecting that.

Women are killing it at the box office. Leading ladies are speaking out about getting paid the same as their male counterparts. And when it comes to award shows? Look no further than the 2016 Golden Globes: Women are finally getting recognized like they deserve. But it's time they get treated fairly before the shows start, too.

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