When 36-year-old Scott Stuart's 6-year-old son fell in love with Elsa, it didn't just mean that little Colin wanted to re-watch Frozen a thousand times. It meant that he "loved everything about her" — so much so, that the young boy from Australia even wanted to dress like Elsa. Rather than freak out, Stuart chose to support his little boy who couldn't get enough of the Disney princess and even dared to don an Elsa costume himself. Now video of Stuart taking his son to see Frozen 2 in full Elsa costume has gone viral, and it's easy to see why people are smitten with the dad who embraces his son's true self.
It all started when Colin was 3 years old and saw his favorite movie for the first time.
Whose kids weren't obsessed with Frozen when it first came out? Stuart, a graphic designer at a children's hospital and and author of the upcoming children's book, My Shadow is Pink, tells CafeMom that his son was awestruck by the movie and "fell in love with Queen Elsa."
"He loved everything about her, and of course, wanted every toy and costume available," he recalls.
Stuart even bought Colin an Elsa doll "that he was so proud of," the dad says. "He would take it everywhere and show it to everyone."
But like so many little boys who like "girl" things, his classmates told him that Elsa simply wasn't for boys.
Stuart says that one day his son came home from preschool heartbroken "because someone said that Elsa was for girls."
Of course, we all know that there is no such thing as boys' toys or girls' toys. But seeing his son so completely crushed by the idea that he couldn't love Elsa because of his gender was something Stuart wouldn't accept.
"That day I resolved that I would always support the things that he loves, even if they challenged my (or society’s) expectations of him," he says. "Since then he has loved a whole lot of traditionally male characters like Batman and Spider-Man, but his favorite characters are princesses and queens like Elsa, Anna, Belle, and Rapunzel."
The dad's resolve was tested when Colin asked to wear an Elsa costume to see the release of 'Frozen 2.'
Colin, now 6 years old, told his father many times that he wanted to wear his costume to see the movie, "But as we got closer to the date, he starting expressing that he was afraid people might laugh at him."
It was a pivotal moment for the dad.
"I feel that in a moment like that, we can either teach our kids to run away from who they are and what they love to try and please other people, or teach them to have the courage to be themselves," he says.
"We chose to teach him to be himself."
And to prove that he would love his son no matter what, the dad even decided to go to the movies in costume.
It was a gesture that meant so much to Colin. Stuart tells us that his son "absolutely loved it."
"It became an adventure we were planning for weeks and he had the time of his life," he added. "The reactions from people at the cinema were overwhelmingly positive, with other dads coming up and telling me they wished they had done the same, that it was awesome, etc."
Stuart even recorded video of him and Colin going to the movies in full costume.
He uploaded it to the popular social media platform TikTok, where it's been watched over 16 million times and liked almost 4 million times.
The video shows Stuart explaining that Colin wanted to go see Frozen 2 dressed like Elsa.
"I said there's no way you're doing that," he wrote in the video's caption. "…Alone."
Dad and son then both walk into the movie theater with their frosty white braids blowing in the wind.
Stuart tells us that he hopes that by sharing his video on social media, "People could look at this video and see a child having the courage to be themselves, and know that if they have to courage to do the same, there will be someone who will stand with them, too."
He also hopes that his video will encourage other men to be brave on behalf of their boys.
He notes that sometimes other dads will say that they'll do anything for their kids "except for things that will make people laugh at them or judge their masculinity."
"This video is there to break the ice for other Dads — I've done it, you can do it too," he adds.
Yes, there will be people who laugh and some people might shoot you a disapproving look.
"But at the end of the day, I think that supporting your child and letting them shine as brightly as they can in who they are is completely worth it," he explains.
So far, the reaction to his video has been overwhelmingly positive.
People from all over the world have been sending Stuart positive messages and some have even sent him their own photos of their boys playing with dolls or dressing like female characters.
"There has been one element that has been quite emotional, that has been the complete disconnect between parents and children," he tells us. "There are so many parents telling me that they would never let their boys dress up as female characters, but at the same time, so many kids (and adults) telling me that they wished their parents would (or would have) accepted them, and in the case of the adults reaching out, that lack of acceptance caused them not to accept themselves for a very long time."
Which is why the dad says ultimately he hopes his video will help close that gap.
"'I'm hoping this video and our story will help other families navigate acceptance — accepting themselves and accepting their children for who THEY are," he adds.
You can follow Stuart's story and see more of his work on Facebook, Instagram, or on his TikTok page.
