A video highlighting a "Pints & Ponytails" event for dads who want to learn how to do their daughter's hair is blowing up on social media. The men behind the podcast The Secret Life of Dads started the informal barroom class in February, but did not expect so many fathers to show up for their girls.
The event's existence and success are giving people hope for the next generations.
Dads commit to bonding with their daughters
On March 7, Mathew Lewis-Carter and Lawrence Price posted an Instagram Reel showing the turnout for the "Pints & Ponytails" class they held at a local pub in the U.K. They brought in hairstylists to teach the group of girl dads how to braid and bun properly on mannequin heads.
"Less than 3 weeks ago, we sat in this very space at the @luckysaintbeer pub with 10 other dads, and last night 35 dads walked through the door!!" they wrote, adding, "most of them came alone but were all there for the same reason…to learn how to do their daughters' hair."
The long bar table is completely full. Additional dads had to find space on the side to participate because so many showed up, some without the support of their buddies.
"This is only the second time that we’ve hosted this event, and a lot of you [are] doing it alone as well, not knowing who you’d be meeting, it takes a lot of guts and courage," said Price.
"It’s a testament to you as dads for wanting to be here to learn a new skill, to create a deeper connection with your daughter," Lewis-Carter noted.
The Instagram video and the repost on TikTok have gained over 30 million views combined so far. The podcasters followed up with a new post showing dads randomly working with their mannequin heads in public as a counter-statement to the so-called "manosphere."
"There's a small corner of the internet that thinks speaking badly about women and being a bad role model somehow makes you more of a man," the post reads.
"We don't support that. The next generation of boys are watching, so let's show them what being men looks like."
"This is such a beautiful thing to see"
After years of an alarming level of misogyny leaking from the internet and into certain governments, to the point that high-profile figures are openly discussing whether women should have the right to vote, these videos came as a breath of fresh air.
Women and others in the comments expressed new hope for a future in which men don't think it's unmanly to get close to their daughters.
"I’m crying this is such a beautiful thing to see," wrote Instagram commenter @_sallyh.
"Every day, I become more and more proud of the Dad’s in this generation. We see your effort to break generational cycles," said @bisolabadejo. "Well done and thank you."
"This is how to combat the 'male loneliness epidemic' while also building dad-daughter relationships and alleviating the labor that always falls to moms because 'she just does it better,'" @ofcourseiplan pointed out. "Bravo to the creators for starting something that can hopefully grow to include more types of dads."
"One of the purest, most wholesome things I’ve seen in a while," wrote @shewolfeofwallstreet.
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