Latest news with #HardAsNails
Telegraph
26-03-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Firemen's male manicure campaign ‘a load of absolute woke nonsense'
A fire service has been accused of wasting time and resources by taking part in a male manicure campaign designed to ' redefine masculinity '. Firemen from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service painted their nails red last week as part of the 'Hard as Nails' campaign which seeks to 'break down barriers' by 'challenging stereotypes, building empathy and redefining masculinity'. It sparked a backlash online from critics who branded it 'utterly embarrassing' and ' a load of absolute woke nonsense '. The firemen, based at Stapleford Fire Station on the outskirts of Nottingham, took part to prompt 'conversations about allyship and ultimately, men supporting women '. In a statement, the fire service said it was 'extremely proud' of the firemen. A spokesman said: 'Supporting the Hard As Nails initiative was a very small, but hopefully powerful, gesture and just one of many examples of the work we do with those in our communities.' 'We're extremely proud of our team at Stapleford Fire Station who got involved in this. Unfortunately, we did receive some negative feedback when we celebrated this work on our Facebook page.' The spokesman said this sort of backlash is not new for the fire station, and that they 'understand that people have different views '. He added: 'However, we are proud and passionate about making people safer right across the county, and that does look different now to how it did many years ago. 'We did also receive some overwhelmingly positive feedback on this work, too, which outweighed some of the negativity and was nice to see.' One Facebook user said: 'You can't convince me that paying staff to get their nails painted on station is a good use of time and resources.' Another added: 'What sort of picture are you trying to paint? [I am] pretty sure the public don't want to see this. Having a manicure whilst at work, no way.' Jeff Buck, 70, from Hard as Nails, told the BBC the initiative was important because of the need to debate masculinity. Mr Buck said: 'The whole purpose of Hard as Nails is to stimulate that debate, to get people talking, to have those conversations about masculinity, gender identity, all those things that need to be discussed. 'It's a nice antidote to all of that toxic masculinity, isn't it? Here were firefighters, who are some of the bravest men we've got in our society, who are quite happy to symbolically paint a nail and say: 'Yes, I'm supporting this project.' 'It can be light-hearted but with a very serious message and a very serious purpose. It really struck me that, when I was reading those messages, people probably didn't really understand what it was about.' Mr Buck said the firefighters were not 'sitting around, drinking cocktails and having a manicure'. 'They were doing something symbolic to show their support for a very important project.'
The Independent
25-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Firefighters defend nail painting campaign after critics brand it ‘woke' and ‘embarrassing'
Firefighters have defended the decision to take part in a nail painting campaign to 'encourage allyship' and ' redefine masculinity ' across the UK after critics claimed the scheme was 'woke'. Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service firemen took part in a 'man-icure' organised by charity Hard as Nails to encourage debate about gender identity and toxic masculinity. The force posted a picture of a firefighter with red and green painted nails with the caption 'something as simple as painting your nails can spark a much bigger discussion '. 'It's a reminder that small actions can break down barriers, encourage allyship, and create spaces where men feel comfortable having open conversations'. But one resident hit back and said: 'While the LGBTQ+ & Woke brigade will love this, you are alienating a much much larger demographic by posting cr** like this!'. Another added: 'I'm all for talking about men's mental health but seriously. What sort of picture are you trying to paint? I'm pretty sure the public don't want to see this.' Others defended the move, with one user saying: 'Keep up the great work breaking down the boundaries for all. Looking forward to supporting this further in the future.' 'When you are cutting someone out of their car or saving their house from destruction they won't care what colour your nail varnish is,' another user added. Hard as Nails campaigner Jeff Buck, 70, said the firefighters were 'doing something symbolic' for a 'very important project'. "Here were firefighters, who are some of the bravest men we've got in our society, who are quite happy to symbolically paint a nail and say, 'Yes, I'm supporting this project,' he told the BBC. A Nottinghamshire Fire Service spokesperson said: "Supporting the Hard As Nails initiative was a very small, but hopefully powerful, gesture and just one of many examples of the work we do with those in our communities. "We're extremely proud of our team at Stapleford fire station who got involved in this. Unfortunately, we did receive some negative feedback when we celebrated this work on our Facebook page. "This isn't new for us, unfortunately, and we do understand that people have different views. However, we are proud and passionate about making people safer right across the county, and that does look different now to how it did many years ago. "We did also receive some overwhelmingly positive feedback on this work, too, which outweighed some of the negativity and was nice to see."
BBC News
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Nottinghamshire fire crew defends nail painting after backlash
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has defended its decision to take part in a project in which firefighters painted their nails after negative online fire service posted on Facebook after crews from Stapleford fire station applied nail varnish to participate in the Hard as Nails campaign invites men to paint their nails then record how people react in an effort to "challenge stereotypes, build empathy and redefine masculinity".While the post prompted many messages of support, there was also criticism from people who described it as "nonsense", "woke" and "embarrassing". The fire service said Hard as Nails was a positive initiative and in response to the negative comments it said: "It's not taken up a huge amount of crew time and it's about opening up conversations about allyship and ultimately, men supporting women."In a statement, a fire service spokesperson said: "Supporting the Hard As Nails initiative was a very small, but hopefully powerful, gesture and just one of many examples of the work we do with those in our communities. "We're extremely proud of our team at Stapleford fire station who got involved in this."Unfortunately, we did receive some negative feedback when we celebrated this work on our Facebook page. "This isn't new for us, unfortunately, and we do understand that people have different views. "However, we are proud and passionate about making people safer right across the county, and that does look different now to how it did many years ago."We did also receive some overwhelmingly positive feedback on this work, too, which outweighed some of the negativity and was nice to see." Jeff Buck, from Hard as Nails, worked with the Stapleford firefighters on their told the BBC he had been saddened by the negative comments and said it was import to have debates about masculinity - particularly in the light of Netflix drama Adolescence. "The whole purpose of Hard as Nails is to stimulate that debate, to get people talking, to have those conversations about masculinity, gender identity, all those things that need to be discussed," said Mr Buck."It's a nice antidote to all of that toxic masculinity, isn't it?"Here were firefighters, who are some of the bravest men we've got in our society, who are quite happy to symbolically paint a nail and say, 'Yes, I'm supporting this project.'"Mr Buck, 70, from Nuthall, in Nottinghamshire, added: "It can be light-hearted but with a very serious message and a very serious purpose."It really struck me that, when I was reading those messages, people probably didn't really understand what it was about."They [the firefighters] they weren't having a manicure, they weren't all sitting around, drinking cocktails and having a manicure. "They were doing something symbolic to show their support for a very important project."
