Andi Eigenmann’s daughter Ellie is rocking her new boy-cut hairstyle, but not everyone is pleased with the androgynous look.
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Andi has been receiving dozens of comments and backlash regarding Ellie’s unfeminine-like hairstyle which had gone as far as to question Ellie’s sexuality. She posts in a now expired Instagram story, “What is wrong with all these people saying that my kid looks like a boy or asking if she is lesbian just because she has short hair? Ellie can have her hair any way she wants and it shouldn’t make her less of a woman if she has it short.”
Andi then goes full-on mama bear mode on a separate post: “Been receiving so much comments from strangers asking me what happened to Ellie’s hair, assuming that it has something to do with her gender identity, or simply telling me how much of a waste it was to cut her hair of because “she was so beautiful”. My daughter STILL IS beautiful, and no matter how much she will change through time, she always will be.”
Andi further explains that gender stereotypes should not be enforced on children and that everyone should instead focus on fostering an environment where children can grow up to be empowered and to love their own selves. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, yes. But it saddens me how people (specially other women) are making me feel like Ellie cannot feel or be beautiful just because of her hair. I am trying to raise a child that is comfortable in her own skin. That is confident in being true to who she is, regardless of what others may think.”
Although no such antagonizing comments have been found in any of Andi’s posts of Ellie on her Instagram account, the surfer mom of two can’t help but be protective of her children. “As a mother though, it gets scary for me to raise my child around people who think this way. Why can’t we just learn to support and encourage other women to be confident, and strong, and to stay true to who they are, rather than bringing them down for being this way?”
Comments of support have been flowing in since her post. People praised Ellie’s looks and commended Andi for supporting Ellie’s choices without question, while other women shared their own stories about having androgynous hairstyles or raising daughters with short hair. Andi’s final message rings true: “Whoever said that there is a hair length requirement for beauty? They’re bonkers.” After all, it’s just a haircut.
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