#PaintYourNailsForBruce: How men on social media are showing support for Bruce Jenner

by Corinne Guirgis April 27, 2015

A photo posted by Mark Andrew (@markandrew19) on Apr 26, 2015 at 3:57pm PDT

For the past two years (what feels like an eternity in internet time), rumours of Bruce Jenner’s transition have been circling in cyberspace. Making no secret of their quest for clues that Jenner was transitioning, the tabloid media has been engaging in a constant game of “Is he or isn’t he?”. In October 2014, paparazzi snaps of Jenner’s bright red manicure surfaced, with headlines exclaiming that Jenner was finally “showing his true colours.”

But Jenner would not show his “true colours” until six months later in a revealing interview with Diane Sawyer (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) in which he confirmed he was indeed transitioning, and divulged intimate details of his past struggles, his current circumstances, and his future plans to over 17 million viewers. (Note: in the interview, Jenner expressed a preference for male pronouns at this time.)

When asked what he was looking forward to most about being openly transgender, Jenner cracked a big smile and said “to be able to have my nail polish on long enough that it actually chips off!”—recognizing nail polish as a symbol of his freedom to express his true gender identity.

Fast-forward a few days, and in true social media fashion, Twitter and Instagram have rallied together in support of Bruce’s transition with a viral campaign that has men (and women) painting their nails in support of Jenner’s inspiring display of courage.

#PaintYourNailsForBruce began in Austalia when Sydney radio station KIIS 106.5 encouraged listeners to paint their nails in solidarity with the former Olympic decathlete and Kardashian patriarch. The station even invited its listeners in the central Sydney area to get their nails painted for free.

As this empowering show of support rapidly picks up steam, this might just be the start of what Bruce was hoping to accomplish for both the transgender community and global acceptance by coming out. In his own words, “We are going to change the world, we are going to make a difference.”