Uproar over pink toenails ?

[Jolie Rouge]

Hot pink-toenailed boy in J. Crew ad sparks controversy
Wed Apr 13, 11:51 am ET
By Brett Michael Dykes

When J. Crew sent out its latest catalog, we doubt that the classic clothing company expected it would be blasted by social conservatives as "transgendered child propaganda." But alas, it has.

The images in question fall under pages titled "Saturday with Jenna" -- featuring products personally favored by J. Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons and her family. This particular Saturday for Jenna includes painting her five-year-old son Beckett's toenails pink. The caption reads, "Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon."



Cue the outrage from America's culture warriors.

"Yeah, well, it may be fun and games now, Jenna, but at least put some money aside for psychotherapy for the kid—and maybe a little for others who'll be affected by your 'innocent' pleasure," Dr. Keith Ablow wrote in a Fox News op-ed. "If you have no problem with the J. Crew ad, how about one in which a little boy models a sundress? What could possibly be the problem with that?"

Erin Brown of the Media Research Center took the criticism a step further -- after being sure to remind readers that J. Crew is a fashion favorite of First Lady Michelle Obama -- accusing the company of exploiting young Beckett to advance the cause of "liberal, transgendered identity politics."

The ABC News report on the kerfuffle, below, includes a reaction from Sarah Manley, who set off a similar firestorm last Halloween after posting photos of her young son dressed up as his unconventional idol: Daphne from "Scooby Doo." Manley said today of the J.Crew ad, "If the roles had been reversed and the photo...had been of a little girl playing in the mud with trucks, nobody would have batted an eye."

The Lookout contacted J. Crew to get a response from Lyons, but company spokeswoman Margot Fooshee told us that neither Lyons nor J. Crew would be commenting on the matter. However, others aren't being shy about offering up voracious defenses of the company's creative decision, pushing back on Ablow and Brown as holders of the unpopular opinion.

In another of the many critiques of Dr. Keith's critique, Jeanne Sager, on the parenting blog The Stir, asks: "So go back and look at that picture in the J.Crew ad, will you? What do you see? Do you see pink nail polish on a boy? Or do you see a little boy named Beckett, with beautiful blond curls, and a mom who looks like she is impossibly in love with her kid, in the very best way? Because that's what I see."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...ks-controversy


Some of these people need to grow up.. Talk about "much ado about nothing".

Somebody needs some psychotherapy but it's not the little boy in the ad....


Comments

The most disturbing thing about their ads are the prices...

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prices for gas and groceries are rising fast.
we are involved in 3 wars.
millions are seeking jobs.
people can't afford to stay in their homes.
the national debt is over 14 trillion dollars.

but we are focused on a boy with painted toenails...............................really????? ????

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when my brother was very young, he would get jealous when my mom painted my nails so she would paint his toe nails (not as obvious as finger nails). 20 years later, he's perfectly fine. no gender identity crisis. No, he's not gay, but if he was it would not have been because his nails were painted when he was young.

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my son has had his toenails and fingernails pink...and I don't worry about him being "turned" gay. He has worn an eyepatch and a hook for a hand...should I worry about him turning into a pirate? He has also worn black clothes and gone around "hi-yahhhhh" ing everything...should I fear that he'll become a ninja?

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OMG --- Call the polish police - who cares. Worry about the children being starved, beaten and abused, not children being loved and having quality time with a parent. Isn't criticizing happy, little kids... simply for being uninhibited... exactly how you create bitter, angry and repressed adults who take out their internal fears and frustrations by making nasty comments about happy, uninhibited, little kids...?

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I love this country, but we are becoming some of the most ignorant people in the world, all because things aren't "Politically Correct".

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[sunniekiss]

I don't get what teh big deal is about this! I did both of my son's nails when they were little. My oldest son cried for a Rainbow Brite doll & nitegown when he was 3. I bought him both & it was fine. Not long after he decided he prefered Transformers & balls better.

Both boys grew up just fine & neither are gay. When I was a little girl I collected Matchbos cars & loved playing with my older brother's racing car games. I turned out to be a girly girl.

[buglebe]

I think they're making a big noise about nothing. I think it's fine to paint a little boy's nails. Boys wear earrings. Why not nail polish? What diff in the whole scheme of things does it make?