In an elementary school classroom we meet Leo: an innocent young boy who dreams of playing with barbies, trying on dresses, and bending what the world has taught him a family is. When he and his best friend Kayly are alone, they experiment with these desires freely, embodying what it means to be young, innocent, and joyful.

However, when Kayly’s father, Harvey– an aggressive construction worker who’s been recently fired– brings them home for a playdate, Leo is forced into hiding, conforming to Harvey ’s rigid idea of what it means to be a man and caretaker. As Harvey leaves the two kids alone to run an errand, Leo and Kayly are overtaken by excitement, forgetting about gender and the world entirely.

However, Harvey was all along leaving for a secret hookup with a man, Bruce... the only way Harvey can handle the stresses of his life. Bruce reveals to Harvey that he desires to know Harvey personally, but when Harvey refuses, Bruce lashes out at him and steals his phone. As a result, Harvey comes home late, unable to tell Kayly he’s on the way like usual.

Finding Leo in makeup and a dress, Harvey repeats the aggression from Bruce, asserting his worldview onto Leo. In order to feel safe, Leo continues to conform to Harvey as a male role model: Leo turns violent toward Kayly before delicately taking care of her... as Harvey cleans up the messes of the children, delicately putting the dresses away.

When two kindergarten best friends are left in aftercare, they are forced into harsh displays of toxic masculinity that halt their playtime exploration.

"not around my daughter" , explores growing up around toxic masculine expectations in the eyes of queer youth.