Little boy's reaction to Pride message on TikTok proves that visibility matters

A young boy has gone viral for his uplifting reaction to a gay music teacher’s TikTok in which the latter performs to Keala Settle’s “This Is Me”. On Sept. 17, Jennifer Bernard shared a clip of her son reacting to Eric Boccia’s moving performance to the song. Boccia begins his TikTok by slowly adding makeup to his face. As the music builds up, Boccia layers on more makeup before the song hits a somber note. “When the sharpest words wanna cut me down, I’m gonna send a flood, gonna drown ’em out,” Boccia sings as he wipes away homophobic slurs written on his face. When the chorus hits, Boccia transforms into full costume — rainbow wig and all. Throughout the clip, Bernard’s son can be seen enthusiastically dancing along to Boccia’s TikTok. The toddler’s reaction has since received over 4 million views and more than 24,000 comments, including one from Boccia himself. “I love this reaction." Boccia wrote. “Thank you all for all the kind words! Do your thing little man! I am a fan of YOU!”. “I love this SO much,” another user wrote. “His emotions are thriving”