Here's Jonathan Van Ness' advice for overcoming bullies

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Last Updated : Oct 02 2019 | 1:55 PM IST

Hairdresser Jonathan Van Ness who grew up in a small conservative town in rural Illinois was not like an average kid and experienced some obstacles in childhood.

The 'Queer Eye' star gave a glimpse into his life and how he overcame struggles, reported E! News.

"I wanted to wear tights and I wanted to wear sweatshirts like this except for more of an extreme...or like a velvet evening gown with big gold puffy sleeves that my cousins had that they would play dress-up with," Ness revealed in a clip obtained exclusively by E! News. "I didn't understand people's intense visceral reaction to my wanting to express myself in this way."

He confessed that his dad had a "negative reaction" after learning that his son wanted to play with makeup. However, his mother always tried to create a safe place.

"I was not doing what all the other little boys were doing. I think that's like when I realised what's this is going to mean," he shared.

Ness also shared that he faced many bullies during his school days.

"It was pervasive and it had like a verbal element to it and there was definitely like a violence element to it and really just in general, a feeling of having your safety stolen," he explained.

Sharing further, he said, "I have always relentlessly chased down what I was passionate about...There always needed to be something that I was really interested in that I could look forward to and chase down and achieve."

He feels that being able to communicate with someone could change the direction of your life.

"A lot of times, when we're able to share with someone who we do feel safe with, we can realize that these things that are happening to us don't make us unlovable and aren't something to have as a huge secret and aren't anything that's going to make our future dark and dreary," Ness shared.

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Oct 02 2019 | 1:40 PM IST

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