Harumph

I will not lie and say I am a fan of Fox News. Neither will I tell you that I am conservative in my political leanings. Keeping that in mind, I am not posting what follows because I think Fox News is silly or that Conservatives (yes, I mean Republicans...there, I said it) are in the wrong. I definitely think everyone is allowed his/her own opinions.

That said, this article completely befuddled me. In every possible way.  Before I skew your views too much, here's the image that sparked the debate, the article that I am talking about and then my issues with the article and its message:

Read it by clicking here. 

Did you read it? If not, here's the summary: 

• J. Crew Creative Director Jenna Lyons is depicted in an email sent out by the company painting her son's toenails neon pink. She also mentioned his favorite color is pink. 
• People are up in arms because the kid is a boy and they think that by having his mother paint his nails pink, she is demolishing the established gender roles of our society. 

And here are my problems: 

• The kid is a kid. If he wants his nails painted, I don't see the problem. He lives with a powerful woman and probably wants to emulate what she is doing (as all kids do with those they look up to). 
• Despite what the article says when it states, "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 in a FoxNews.com Health column about the ad."  I do not in any way think that Jenna Lyons is trying to make her boy a girl. I think the "experts" they have commenting on the situation are wildly out-of-line and are sensationalizing what is a normal occurrence in many parents' lives. 
  
• There's another person quoted who did not have a problem with Lyons painting her son's nails, which I'm glad they inserted. However, she talks about it in the respect of a parent participating in this activity within "the privacy of their own home". All I can think is, Why can't the kid have his toenails painted and be out in public? Why does it have to be a private thing? Is that not reinforcing negative attitudes towards difference instead of accepting and encouraging acceptance? 

All in all, this article just irks me. Pretty much all parts of it bother me on multiple levels. Perhaps it's my Women's Studies class infringing on my life yet again or maybe it's just that I grew up with parents who supported me participating in activities that were not gendered...but why can't we just let kids be kids? It's not like Lyons is dressing her son up as a girl (which I'm not sure I have a problem with either--why aren't boys allowed to dress up?); she's painting his nails. He looks like he's having fun. It's not child abuse to expose your children to life, people! 

Oh, Fox News. 

Sidenote: J. Crew's clothing is listed as having "tasteful and modest clothing". Uhm, why aren't we talking about how skinny their models are or how short some of those dresses they wear are!?