The conservative branch of the "won't somebody PLEASE think of the children!" brigade, epitomised by The Simpson's Helen Lovejoy, was up in arms again last week, this time about a five-year-old boy with pink polish on his toenails.
The youngster at the centre of the row was Beckett Lyons, son of J.Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons. Mother and son appeared in an ad entitled "Saturday With Jenna" for the American clothing line, supposed to depict the duo chillaxing at home of a typical weekend, and one of the photos was of Jenna painting Beckett's toes with a hot pink shade from Essie. The quote below the shot reads, "Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favourite color [sic] is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon."
The apoplectic response was quick to follow as Jenna Lyon's parenting abilities were swiftly judged and slated, with most of her detractors justifying themselves by insisting that allowing young boys' to play with make-up/dress up in girl's clothes/play with Barbie and Sindy instead of G.I. Joe would cause them to turn - yes, turn - gay. Wow. Dr. Keith Ablow, psychiatrist and Fox News contributor, reckons that this kind of behaviour encouraged the "choosing of gender identity" [his words] and that kids exposed to this kind of carry on would need psychotherapy to get over it.
Christ on a bike, like. Have you ever heard (a) such utter BS and (b) such a total overreaction?
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Frankly, I'd be more concerned about the photo of Beckett posing in a pair of chunky black spectacles.
He could grow up to be a ... *whispers* ... hipster.
Pic credit: Forbes.com
