Girl is told she can't pick Spider-Man Halloween costume as it's 'for boys' and her response is epic

Even though stereotypes may not be as dominant and visible as earlier, they have unfortunately been deeply rooted in the minds of many. From a young age, adults encourage children to play gender roles in terms of their preferences, habits, hobbies and so on. To put a confident stop to this cycle, a mom, Tara, shared how she has been encouraging her toddler Evy to push through the boundaries. When the girl picked out a Spider-man costume for herself, she received negative comments but had a beautiful mindset and the support of her mother to counter them. The girl’s mind-blowing response is one we all can ponder. 

Little Evy was getting ready with her Spider-Man costume as she spoke to her mum. Excited to go trick-or-treating, as her mum was doing her hair, she addressed the comments Evy received regarding her outfit. “Was somebody not so kind to you today? About your costume?” Tara asked. Evy then recalled the comments she received saying, “‘You can’t be Spider-man. Spider-man is for boys.’” The outdated culture that blue is for boys and pink is for girls, boys should play with cars and girls with dolls and so on are imbibed in children from a young age. These mundane patterns elicit a stereotypical mindset as they grow. Fortunately, Evy had a remarkable response to render with grace.

“I said Spider-man is not for boys. Spider-man is for everyone,” Evy explained. Stressing on the “everyone,” Evy, with her child-like sweetness and excitement, shared the message as a much-needed reminder. Tara applauded her daughter’s response and even affirmed the same. “Yes. Period. Spider-Man is for everybody. Costumes are for everybody,” she remarked. As the duo continued to get ready, Evy shared a message that kept her going. “I am confident. I am strong. I am free to be me. I can like what I like,” she boldly and charmingly said. The little girl showed no fear or doubt and was happy to be wearing her costume, flaunting her love for superheroes.

Tara ensured she supported her daughter’s self-esteem and confidence and said, “You know what I love about you?” “I love how confident and self-assured you are. You know what you like and you’re not afraid to be yourself,” she answered. Evy excitedly put on her Spider-man mask and giggled and jumped in excitement while her mum joined in her delight. “Hype my spidergirl up. Costumes are for everyone. Stop teaching kids that they’re gender-specific and let them like what they like,” the mom wrote in the caption. Agreeing with Tara and smitten by Evy’s adorable confidence, people poured in words of encouragement for the toddler.

@anna.willis recalled, “Two brothers where I work at daycare were dressed as Anna and Elsa. Their little brother was Olaf!” @thelenabean added, “Please normalize raising your kids this way. I can’t imagine how high my self-esteem would have been had my mom told me these things.” @jaydenlily added, “I was Spider-Man every year till I was 7! Spider-man is for everyone!” @jpey218 remarked, “My daughter dressed up as a green dinosaur and so many thought she was a boy. But you know what? She looked the coolest!”

You can follow Tara (@tara.and.evy.) on TikTok for more content on parenting and lifestyle.