So put this under the heading, “What Were They Thinking?”
It began when a photo of J. Crew’s president and creative director, Jenna Lyons, painting the toenails of her son Beckett in an ad, was sent to customers last week in a feature, “Saturday with Jenna.”
Jenn says, “Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink,” and says, “Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”
This sparked a firestorm of debate regarding gender identity.
The folks at Fox News blew a gasket saying Mama Jenn is planting the seeds of future transgender issues for little Beckett. Fox says, “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.”
Read more here on the Fox News take on the color controversy.
As you can imagine there is outrage all over the blogosphere with the images and what they could potentially mean.
Meanwhile, some moms are mystified and represent a different perspective. Meredith Carroll writes for Babble’s StrollerDerby: “It’s hard to know where to start. Is there anyone besides me who is genuinely shocked — shocked — when you realize that we’re not more evolved as a society that the sight of a boy of any age with painted toenails is made into a big deal by anyone? Whether Beckett is secure in his boyhood or if he has one too many female hormones, why shouldn’t his choice to paint his toes be as celebrated as much as it would be if he were a she?”
Michelle Obama is a huge fan of the affordable J. Crew clothing. And now, the right wing Culture and Media institute blast the company : “J.CREW, known for its tasteful and modest clothing, apparently does not mind exploiting Beckett behind the façade of liberal, transgendered identity politics. One has to wonder what young boys in pink nail polish has to do with selling women’s clothing.”
They call J.Crew’s ad ‘exploitation’ and writes the ad ‘pushes trangendered child propoganda’. Just another example, they say, of the ‘celebration of gender-confused boys wanting to dress and act like girls’ and that it’s a ‘growing trend, seeping into mainstream culture.’
Lots of moms – AND DADS – are weighing in on this colorful issue.
Now I love a story about great transformations as much as the next mom. Remember the Frog who was turned into a Prince or the Ugly Duckling into a Beautiful Swan? Are painted nails outlining the rest of the little boy’s life? Many say gender is more than a coat of paint. What do you think?
Is too much being made of the ad? I’d love to hear what you have to say – so take a moment and let me know your thoughts!