
Men who paint one fingernail are often taking part in the Polished Man project, which raises awareness about violence against children. The single painted nail represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence. The project was started by Elliot Costello, who was inspired by a young girl he met in Cambodia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason | Raising awareness about violence against children |
| Proportion | One in five nails painted to represent one in five children who will be victims of sexual violence |
| Origin | Elliot Costello, who painted one nail after meeting a young girl named Thea in Cambodia |
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What You'll Learn

The Polished Man project
Painting one fingernail is meant to raise awareness about violence against children. The Polished Man project encourages men to become a #PolishedMan by painting one fingernail for a week. That single nail on a hand of five nails represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives. The campaign is spearheaded by Polished Man, a non-profit organisation.
The trend started in Australia but spread globally pretty quickly. A man named Elliot Costello began the gesture after meeting a young girl named Thea during his travels in Cambodia. On his trip, he was set to help aid underprivileged communities. Elliot had the chance to get to know Thea really well and they even painted their nails together. He learned that she had been sexually abused. Due to the impression she left on him, Elliot promised to always keep one nail painted in her memory. “In that moment, as she put polish on one of my nails, I told her I would always leave that finger painted to remember her, which also meant I would remember her pain," he said.
According to the Polished Man’s website dedicated to awareness to stop sexual violence against kids, “being a Polished Man means challenging violent behaviour and language, both locally and globally.” Elliot found that men need to be the voice of change for this abuse on innocent children to end, since 96% of this type of violence on kids worldwide is perpetrated by males.
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Raising awareness about violence against children
Painting one fingernail is meant to raise awareness about violence against children. One in five children faces sexual violence. The Polished Man cause also raises funds. Spotting a man with a little bit of nail polish is becoming increasingly normal in today's world. The trend actually started in Australia but spread globally pretty quickly. A man named Elliot Costello began the gesture after meeting a young girl named Thea during his travels in Cambodia. On his trip, he was set to help aid underprivileged communities. Elliot had the chance to get to know Thea really well and they even painted their nails together. Due to the impression she left on him, Elliot promised to always keep one nail painted in her memory. “In that moment, as she put polish on one of my nails, I told her I would always leave that finger painted to remember her, which also meant I would remember her pain," he said. That’s when he came up with the Polished Man project, which encourages men to become a #PolishedMan by painting one fingernail for a week. That single nail on a hand of five nails, represents the 1 in 5 children who will tragically be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives. According to the Polished Man’s website dedicated to awareness to stop sexual violence against kids, “being a Polished Man means challenging violent behavior and language, both locally and globally.” Elliot found that men need to be the voice of change for this abuse on innocent children to end, since 96 percent of this type of violence on kids worldwide is perpetrated by males.
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Sexual violence against children
Painting one fingernail is meant to raise awareness about sexual violence against children. The campaign, called Polished Man, encourages men to become a #PolishedMan by painting one fingernail for a week. The single nail on a hand of five nails represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives. The campaign also raises funds.
The trend started in Australia by a man named Elliot Costello, who began the gesture after meeting a young girl named Thea during his travels in Cambodia. Costello was set to help aid underprivileged communities and got to know Thea well. They painted their nails together and she told him about her struggles, including that she had been sexually abused. In that moment, as she put polish on one of his nails, he promised to always leave that finger painted to remember her and her pain.
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The trend started in Australia
The trend of men painting one fingernail started in Australia when a man named Elliot Costello met a young girl named Thea during his travels in Cambodia. Costello was set to help aid underprivileged communities and got to know Thea well. They even painted their nails together. Thea had been sexually abused, and the impression she left on Costello was so strong that he promised to always keep one nail painted in her memory. "In that moment, as she put polish on one of my nails, I told her I would always leave that finger painted to remember her, which also meant I would remember her pain," he said.
Costello then went on to found the Polished Man project, which encourages men to become a #PolishedMan by painting one fingernail for a week. The single nail on a hand of five nails represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives. According to the Polished Man’s website, “being a Polished Man means challenging violent behaviour and language, both locally and globally.” The campaign is spearheaded by Polished Man, a nonprofit organisation.
While the trend may have started in Australia, it spread globally pretty quickly. Spotting a man with a little bit of nail polish is becoming increasingly normal in today's world. While it may just be some sort of fashion choice, there's also a social cause and form of advocacy associated with it.
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The meaning behind the trend
The trend of men painting one fingernail is part of a social cause and form of advocacy. It is meant to raise awareness about violence against children, with one in five children facing sexual violence. The campaign is spearheaded by Polished Man, a nonprofit organisation. The single nail on a hand of five nails represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives.
The trend started in Australia by a man named Elliot Costello, who began the gesture after meeting a young girl named Thea during his travels in Cambodia. On his trip, he was set to help aid underprivileged communities and got to know Thea well. They painted their nails together, and she told him about her struggles, including that she had been sexually abused. Costello promised to always keep one nail painted in her memory and to remember her pain.
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Frequently asked questions
Men who paint one fingernail are often taking part in the Polished Man project, which raises awareness about violence against children.
The one painted fingernail represents the one in five children who will be a victim of sexual violence at some point in their lives.
The project was started by Elliot Costello, who painted one nail after meeting a young girl named Thea in Cambodia. She painted one of his nails and he promised to always keep it painted in memory of her and to remember her pain.
The aim of the project is to challenge violent behaviour and language, both locally and globally, and to encourage men to be the voice of change to end abuse against innocent children.
Men are encouraged to paint one fingernail for a week as part of the Polished Man project.











































