--- title: Alicia Keys Opens Up About Gender Norms and the Election description: Find out what Alicia Keys said about gender norms and her disappointment in the presidential election. canonical: https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-20T15:29:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:27.645Z og:title: Alicia Keys Thinks Boys Should Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails og:description: 'I am so annoyed at the way we force boys to be fake strong' og:url: https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b633d775fbad77/6988b65ae20a8774f1a93d19/alicia-keys-gender-norms.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: The Voice - Season 11 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alicia Keys Thinks Boys Should Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails twitter:description: 'I am so annoyed at the way we force boys to be fake strong' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b633d775fbad77/6988b65ae20a8774f1a93d19/alicia-keys-gender-norms.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Alicia Keys Thinks Boys Should Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails by [Jen Juneau / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jen Juneau / People Contributor Jan 20, 2017 3:29 PM UTC  THE VOICE -- "Live Top 12" Episode 1114B -- Pictured: Alicia Keys -- (Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) THE VOICE -- "Live Top 12" Episode 1114B -- Pictured: Alicia Keys -- (Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)Tyler Golden—NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images by [Jen Juneau / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Jen Juneau / People Contributor Jan 20, 2017 3:29 PM UTC [Alicia Keys](http://people.com/tag/alicia-keys/) is not here for societal expectations when it comes to gender. The 35-year-old singer-songwriter and actress opened up to _Allure_ for its [February cover story](http://www.allure.com/story/alicia-keys-on-makeup-no-makeup) about how she is tired of hearing how both females and males should behave based on their sex. “I was so sick of the way women were forced to feel inadequate in many different circumstances or forced to feel insecure by the way we’re portrayed or [the way we look](http://people.com/style/alicia-keys-no-makeup-on-today-show/),” Keys says of the inspiration behind her new album [_Here_](http://people.com/music/alicia-keys-talks-new-album-here/). As a mom to two boys with husband [Swizz Beatz](http://celebritybabies.people.com/category/swizz-beatz/) — [Genesis Ali](http://celebritybabies.people.com/2014/12/28/alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-welcome-son-genesis-ali/), 2, and [Egypt Daoud](http://people.com/babies/alicia-keys-has-a-baby-boy/), 6 — the other side of the coin is important to touch on, as well. “I am so annoyed at the way we force boys to be fake strong — don’t cry, don’t be soft. [Let a boy](http://celebritybabies.people.com/2014/12/08/swizz-beatz-art-basel-son-dresses-like-dad/) be able to dance!” she says. “[Let a boy](http://celebritybabies.people.com/2013/09/11/alicia-keys-son-egypt-matching-hairstyle/) paint his nails. So a boy wants to paint his nails. Who cares! All these strange, oppressive ideas.” Keys — who, aside from a long and flourishing musical career of her own, served as a judge on the most recent season of [_The Voice_](http://people.com/tag/the-voice/) — adds that one form of media has made it extra easy to voice unwarranted opinions. “You know what would be really cool? If we stopped offering our opinion unless asked,” she says. “If nobody asked you, keep your mouth shut! Like with the Internet? That’s just too much opinion. People are mean. It’s a sickness.” The entertainer [and mother](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/29/alicia-keys-swizz-beatz-egypt-super-boy) of two, who founded the [We Are Here Movement](http://weareheremovement.com/), shares that her disappointment over the recent presidential election results affect herself as both an individual and a parent. “It does hurt that racism was not a deal breaker for millions in the election. However, as an artist, I expect to continue to use my voice for things that matter, as I have since the beginning of my career,” she says. “That won’t change. [As an activist](http://people.com/babies/alicia-keys-keep-a-child-alive-black-ball-motherhood-meaningful/), I will continue to fight for what’s right. That won’t change, either. It’s time for all of us to be engaged. [As a mother](http://people.com/babies/alicia-keys-motherhood-meditation-together-live-conference/), I am a lioness.” _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/babies/alicia-keys-gender-expectations-boys-paint-nails-allure/) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com) Alicia Keys Opens Up About Gender Norms and the Election ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/"},"headline":"Alicia Keys Thinks Boys Should Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails","datePublished":"2017-01-20T15:29:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:27.645Z","description":"'I am so annoyed at the way we force boys to be fake strong'","url":"https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b633d775fbad77/6988b65ae20a8774f1a93d19/alicia-keys-gender-norms.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jen Juneau / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b633d775fbad77/6988b65ae20a8774f1a93d19/alicia-keys-gender-norms.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Voice - Season 11","caption":"The Voice - Season 11","creditText":"Tyler Golden—NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4640783/alicia-keys-gender-norms-boys-paint-nails/","name":"Alicia Keys Thinks Boys Should Be Allowed to Paint Their Nails"}}]}] ```