That's it. So what's the big deal, you ask? The 'what' is that a whole lot of homophobic folks — and a lot of so-called 'professionals' who should know a damn sight better — think this will "turn" the laughing boy in the photo into a laughing girl.
As expected, the Gender Police emerged from their dark caves in flocks and a national debate has ensued about the “correct” way to raise children, as well as the importance of so-called 'honoring' one’s biologically assigned gender — i.e., an opportunity to commit transgender bashing on an epic scale.
When will this type of nonsense EVER stop? Sexual orientation is biological, if it weren't then there would never be any gay men who play sports. Get it? Dress boys in boys clothes means that they will have to grow into heterosexual men, and dress little girls in frilly dresses and they will have to grow into heterosexual women, right? Wrong. As a card-carrying member of the LGBT Community, I can personally tell you that is absolute, insulting garbage. It is beyond RIDICULOUS!
Jeans don't make the gender, genes do!
Here's the ad info:
The J.Crew ad shows a top designer painting her young son’s toenails neon pink. The image appeared in a feature called "Saturday With Jenna," which was emailed to customers last week, and highlights a few of J.Crew president and creative director Jenna Lyons’ favorite products — including the hot pink Essie nail polish seen on her son, Beckett.
The caption below the picture reads, “Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”
A psychiatrist talking head for Fox News, the ultra-conservative Dr. Keith Ablow, jumped on the ad to make headlines for himself and the atrocious network news program.
"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. This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity,” proclaimed the judgmental Ablow, who wrote a FoxNews 'health column' about the ad.
Not satisfied, Ablow continues to denigrate the ad, as well as Ms. Lyon personally: "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? Well, how about the fact that encouraging the choosing of gender identity, rather than suggesting our children become comfortable with the ones that they got at birth, can throw our species into real psychological turmoil—not to mention crowding operating rooms with procedures to grotesquely amputate body parts?...I wonder what Jenna would think if her son wanted to celebrate his masculinity with a little playacting as a cowboy, with a gun? Would that bring the same smile of joy and pure love that we see on her face in the J. Crew advertisement? Or would that be where she might draw the line?"
The arch conservative Media Research Center’s Erin Brown piled it on, calling the ad, “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.”
“Not only is Beckett likely to change his favorite color as early as tomorrow, Jenna's indulgence (or encouragement) could make life hard for the boy in the future,” Brown wrote in an opinion piece. "J.CREW, known for its tasteful and modest clothing, apparently does not mind exploiting Beckett behind the facade of liberal, transgendered identity politics.”
A voice of sanity, Alice Dreger, professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University, said it is "ridiculous" to suggest that painting a little boy's toes pink or any other color might somehow influence his sexuality or sexual identity.
"Lots of boys love toenail polish; tons of boys do," Dreger said. "All kids like things that are sparkly and bright. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't lead to anything like the end of civilization."
I'll give it to them though, the conservatives got one thing right: THEIR type of thinking is dangerous, as it encourages bigotry and hatred of all gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people.
Hmmm. I wonder, could it be that this ad underscores their own sexual orientation insecurity? Might these LGBT haters be more than a tad drawn to a little gender-bending behavior themselves?
— The Curator
we don't all believe sexual orientation is in the genes (or at least not entirely or even to a very significant degree).
ReplyDeleteBy the way Alice Dreger is colleagues with none other than Professor J Michael Bailey...