Okay, internet. There are things that are worth getting enraged over. We’ll give you that. But small boys who happen to like pink and have mommies who happen to think its cute to paint their toenails occasionally are not one of them.
Jenna Lyons, president and creative director of J Crew, posted pictures of herself and her completely adorable son, Beckett, playing with nail polish on her Saturdays with Jenna pages on the J Crew website.
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.”
We completely agree, Jenna. And Beckett looks like he’s having a blast enjoying some quality time with his mom. Sadly, the kill joys over at Fox News felt the need to drag this little boy and his mother through the mud.
“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?”
Um, actually, yeah. What is the problem with that? And what exactly is not innocent about letting a little boy play with nail polish? He’s five. All he knows is that neon nail polish and time with mom are both fun. And he’s right. They are. Too many parents fail to spend quality time with their children, why punish one who is? If pink nail polish is the worst thing Beckett has to report to a therapist some day then he will be a really lucky kid.
As 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,” pointed out to ABC News, “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.”
You speak the truth, Sarah. Lets give our little boys just as much leeway as we do our little girls. It’s only fair.
