A J.Crew advertisement gaining lots of blog buzz this week shows a mom painting her son’s toenails pink with the caption “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink.” The ad features a photo of J. Crew President Jenna Lyons painting bright pink polish on her young son’s toenails.

This ad has been scrutinized by social conservatives across the country and has a lot of people outraged about the response.  Commentator Erin Brown of the right-leaning Media Research Center went so far as to call the ad “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.”  She also accused J. Crew of exploiting Lyons’ son for its liberal agenda.

I find it hard to believe that critics are targeting J. Crew for such an innocent add.  The outrage over this ad is just one of the many examples of how people in our society become extremely uncomfortable when gender roles for boys/men are tested.

It’s ridiculous to me that this is even an issue. Guess what? Little boys like nail polish, just as little girls like nail polish, because it’s colorful and fun! End of story. Why not let little boys do what makes them happy without having to put labels on their behavior? Believe me, society will force them to conform to standard “male” behavior soon enough.

KUDOS  J. Crew for helping to expand the spectrum of gender expression, especially for little boys who are all too often bullied and teased for expressing themselves. Come on people, it’s just a cute ad with a cute mom-and-son scene and the kid wants to wear pink nail polish.  Get over it!

10 Comments