“Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”
This J. Crew ad has sparked quite a controversy. click to view source
This quote is from Jenna Lyons, the president of J.Crew, regarding quality time she spends painting her son’s toes. From what I’ve seen on the news, many people are in an uproar, concerned that this little boy will have psychological problems along with confusion of gender.
After taking three sociology classes last year, I must say, a little boy who loves pink and wears nail polish is a GOOD THING.
Because he likes to.
American culture has some pretty strict gender norms. For example, when a newborn baby is taken home, usually the room is blue or pink depending on the sex. Dolls, or Hot Wheels? Toy Guns, or Easy-Bake Oven? Pink nail polish, or no nail polish?
From the get-go, we’re conditioned into these gender roles and expected to act and enjoy certain feminine or masculine things. I think it’s a shame that boys feel embarrassed to enjoy certain “feminine” things, or that girls feel unfeminine if they don’t partake in “normal girl things.”
As quoted from Fox News: “This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity” psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow wrote about the ad. Uh, I say, Good!
Also from Fox News: “Media Research Center’s Erin Brown agreed, calling the ad “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.’” Again, we wouldn’t have unintelligent comments like this if our culture accepted boys who like pink–or whatever color, really–to do whatever they choose with their own toes!
I’m not saying that being completely feminine or completely masculine is a bad thing; if it’s truly who you are. I feel that most of us deal with a mix, but perhaps can’t admit such a thing to friends or family or society.
In time, I would love to live in a culture where your personal tastes are not made fun of or considered wrong, as long as they aren’t hurting anyone. Until then, I feel that we’re missing out on knowing some pretty amazing people–for everything they are.
Read more from Jennifer on her blog.
Related articles
- Nail Polish on Boy in Ad Sparks Controversy (foxnews.com)
- In Praise of Pink Polish (parenting.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Handsome in Pink (psychologytoday.com)
