Schoolboys taken out of class to paint nails and ‘reinvent masculinity’

School ‘wellness’ workshops where boys paint each others’ fingernails while being told about toxic ­masculinity have been slammed as ‘nutty and weird’.

Schoolboys are having their fingernails painted bright pink and red under school workshops designed to “reinvent masculinity”.

But questions have been raised about the message being sent to boys about “toxic ­masculinity”, as well as the level of accountability and scrutiny of such programs being run in schools under the banner of wellness.

And the organisers of the Tomorrow Man workshops themselves concede that “normally young blokes freak out about having painted nails for the following fortnight”.

Tomorrow Man school workshops where boys have their nails painted pink and red.

The workshops have been designed to “redefine masculinity” and have run in NSW public high schools including Bulli High, Kogarah High and Narrabeen Sports High, as well as private schools, including Newington College.

A schoolboy complained to One Nation MP Mark Latham, who is investigating the acc­ountability and rules around extra-curricular classes, and he has raised the issue in state parliament.

The year 11 male student from Chatswood High was upset at being told how boys are “privileged” and “violent”, and said he had missed out on a day’s worth of normal school lessons that the girls received.

“I feel like the aim for the whole thing was to make us feel sad or show remorse for stuff we didn’t do,” the boy said.

The education programs by Tomorrow Man involve male students being separated from female students and having their “emotional muscles” built, including being encouraged to cry.

In the nail-painting exerci­ses, boys pair up and paint each other’s nails, as well as having them painted by consultants.

According to the Tomorrow Man’s promotional materials, boys are then challenged to wear the polish for two weeks.

Mr Latham described the nail painting as “weird”, and said there was no evidence this approach would improve ­mental health.

He said in response to parliamentary questions about why such a provider was allowed into the public system, the NSW Education Department admitted it did not hold information about the educational or mental health qualifications of the consultants.

“It’s a nutty, weird practice,” Mr Latham said of the nail painting.

“Meanwhile the ­department and minister have no idea what’s going on in the schools.”

Education Minister Sarah Mitchell declined to respond to questions about how the nail painting helped mental health of students, saying: “The school ran this workshop in consultation with their ­community and had parental consent.

“I trust the judgment of the principal and the parents.”