Child Rearing 101: Would You Paint Your Son’s Toenails Pink?
- Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:14pm by
Emily Esfahani Smith
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Would you paint your son’s toenails at all?
As The Blaze blogged about yesterday, at least one mother would: Jenna Lyons, the president and creative director of J. Crew, the prim, proper, and preppy clothing brand.
In a feature on the website called “Saturday with Jenna,” Lyons is pictured with her young son Beckett–and his toes are painted neon pink. In a caption nearby, Lyons declares, “Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”
But some child rearing experts see foul play here. Dr. Keith Ablow, no stranger to us at The Blaze, reacted by noting, “This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity.”
He went on:
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? Why not make race the next frontier? What would be so wrong with people deciding to tattoo themselves dark brown and claim African-American heritage? Why not bleach the skin of others so they can playact as Caucasians?
Erin Brown of the Media Research Center said the ad was “blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.”
But author Jo B. Paoletti, who wrote Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America, asks “what’s the big deal?”
“Lots of kids, say seven and under, might ask their parents for something that would seem to be cross gender, and I think most parents, especially in the privacy of their own home might think, what’s the big deal?”
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Comments (238)
TedPearson
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:43pmShe’s done turning her husband into a woman and working on her son now. In 25 years she will be asking herself; ’Why don’t I have any grandchildren?’.
dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:10pmAh, I see, wife turned you into a woman, eh Ted? Shame on you. Why would you let that happen?
Report Post »teddrunk
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:23pmDawg, what a lame comeback. You should be ashamed if that’s your best. Pitiful.
Bushie
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:54pmWho do you think she votes for?
jake32_84
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:41pmShe seems so happy about this, I bet she will be disappointed if he doesn’t turn out to be a fashion weirdo
delhoghe
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:39pmThis is the sort of thing that truly threatens our country. I question some of the articles the Blaze puts out here, but this one is important. We need to have a serious debate about what our founding fathers had in mind when they created the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The degenderizing of our country has gone way too far. Within a generation we won’t have any men who are capable of defending our nation,much less wage war against others. How do we stop this without limiting freedom of speech, or expression, or the rights of advertisers, or without bloodshed. Any ideas ?
Dstarr55
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:39pmI think the last line of the article expressed it best. Jo B. Paoletti said, “Lots of kids, say seven and under, might ask their parents for something that would seem to be cross gender, and I think most parents, especially in the privacy of their own home might think, what’s the big deal?” The problem with Jo’s argument is this was not the privacy of their home. I know my son, who grew up to be heterosexual, liked to play dress up with his older sister and would always pick out dresses to wear, as that was what his sister would wear. I didn’t discourage or encourage – I let them play but it was in the privacy of my home. I don’t think it’s a big deal except when you do as this woman did and put it out in the public. I feel sorry for the little boy who now has to deal with is fellow buddies and explain why he is wearing pink toenail polish.
Gypsy One
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:38pmI would not. But then, I am not a liberal.
thermonator
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:38pmJenna’s revenge starts at around his 16th birthday.
thermonator
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:54pmI mean Becket’s revenge….
mongobob
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:36pmWhere’s his daddy? He probably ran off to get away from her, don’t blame him. Now she’s trying to turn her son into a Nancy- boy.
mrsmileyface
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:36pmIll say it again, Liberalism is a mental disease. I feel bad for this kid because his ablility to see the world in truth is already gone. C’est la vie.
Raven53
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:35pmBeckett……Pink nails ………..enough said
UlyssesP
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:33pmThis why the big deal over bullying by the White House and gay groups, to make this type of gender sabotage acceptable and off-limits to ridicule. This kid shows those toes at school, he is a legitimate target for making fun of. I don’t care.
Tough cookies. If you don’t like the way the ball bounces, Do Not Drop It!
If a grown man shows me his painted toenails I will laugh in his face. I don’t care where you put your private parts in private, but you want to be a fool in public, I will laugh in your face in the most un-PC way I can think of at the moment.
Proudly! No, not THAT kind of pride!
caitthegreat
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:39pmyeah! only the kind of pride with which you agree! OTHER kinds of pride are stupid and dumb.
Report Post »axel@25
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:33pmI wouldn‘t paint a daughter’s toenails pink either (or any other color for that matter) What on earth gets into some parents.
Just because a child asks doesn’t mean they can. A simple concept that is WAY beyond the intellect of the people
I can’t wait for when he asks to wear a tampon!!
rightplanet
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:31pmWhat about the psychological damage this hippy flotsam is causing?
OlefromMN
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:30pmTake this one step further, “Would you paint your son’s tonails?” . The color is irrelevant in my opinion.
Melanie
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:39pmAgreed.
warmac9999
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:29pmI am guessing that there is no man in this woman’s life – and she likes it that way. This is the classic radical feminist emasculation of men brought to a new level of hostility (to her own son). If this kid grows up to be a fine American male, it will be in spite of his mother. This is truly ugly and should be considered child abuse.
parlayer
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:39pmArtificially inseminated!!
rightplanet
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:28pmOutlaw Liberalism… PLEASE!!!!
BetsyRoss1
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:27pmCome on! Pink toe nails on a boy! Where is his G.I. Joe?
OlefromMN
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:03pm“Where is his G.I. Joe?”
I am sure it has been removed from all storeshelves in their “community” as it promotes sexism and violence in their minds, those people, them, they, one‘s that aren’t like us. :-(
Fredhead
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:36pmThe poor lad’s next big adventure was to probably sit down with mommie dearest and play with Barbie, Now just what in the heck is going through this woman’s mind? If she is encourging her son to accept this nonsense will she be the next in line, (follow me here) in front of a television news crew, speaking out against bullying about the time the kid goes to school? So many on the left can do all the preaching you want about teaching our children about acceptance, in your ridiculous PC ways, But, I’ll tell you here and now, public school, or private school,? The poor kid is going to be picked on by other kids, about the time he arrives in class with painted nails, eyeshade, , makeup, , , , Like it or not, kids will be kids, and at times they are going to be cruel. All the while she probably teaches the kid about expressing his individuallity? or whatever other ridiculous notion this woman plants in this poor kid’s head?
dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:11pmIf he’s like most conservatives, that GI Joe is stuck up his butt.
Report Post »LandonCattell
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:41pmWell, we see that now Dawg of Gawd‘s true ’liberal’ bent coms to the fore…… The psuedo-intellectual exposes himself as a H8′er……. Just give them enough ‘intellectual rope’ as it were. He is really an intolerant tool — A veritable useful idiot in the grand scheme of things to manifest a third world ultimo veritas in the once squared away America that will in future be incapable of competing with or even defending itself from those of even his intellectual or economic acumen ….
rightplanet
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:26pmThese people will be running our lives completely if we don’t do something NOW!
In many, many ways they already are. This kid deserves a fair chance to be himself, not what this progressive mutant ****** wants.
Moukie
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:24pmI am constantly amazed by the crazy people trying to change our morals. God help us.
eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:23pmChild abuse. This woman is obviously unbalanced.
Reagan4President
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:20pmI hate seeing this stuff because this my generation I have to grow up with. The people I’ll have to deal with In the near future. It just disgusts me.
the_zazzy
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:19pmNot even worth a comment…next story please.
Report Post »axel@25
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 2:01amand yet…you commented.
NickDeringer
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:18pmWe are tiered of this. We are tired of whack jobs telling our kids to hate God, but love members of the same sex.
dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:11pmWho’s telling them that?
Report Post »caitthegreat
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 10:21pm@dawg of gawd
apparently it‘s all the parents who don’t really give a fart about if a young child wants his toenails painted.
this stuff is very important, you know. shame on you for taking the very serious topic of juvenile pedicures so flippantly.
JJ Coolay
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 5:48amSeriously Dawg? Who’s telling them that?
The question is more like: WHO ISN’T telling them that?
Look around man. Society has degenerated at such an incredible pace. Everywhere you look it’s anti-God and pro-self.
dovesong
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:17pmYears back, when the world was sane, she would have had that child taken from her for mental abuse.
parlayer
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:35pmim with cheese whiz
florida123
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:17pmThese woman are totally crazy…………Where in the heck are these boys fathers? What is wrong with boys being boys and girls being girls? Its worked since the beginning of time…………..
UlyssesP
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:26pmGetting a pedicure.
afishfarted
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:29pmwhere’s the kids father? dollars to doughnuts says SHE was the dominant and likely overbearing half in that relationship. I have nothing against a strong woman, but I’ve yet to meet a strong liberal woman I could tolerate. Heck, the daddy probably left when she wanted to paint HIS tonails pink.
cheezwhiz
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:33pm@ afishfarted
The dad’s in the kitchen drawer, waiting to be taken out
to baste the Thanksgiving turkey
demint.disciple
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:47pm@really truely.. sorry honey I never asked my mom to paint my toe nails… In fact the tough never even crossed my mind..
Brvnkaerv
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 12:57am@ Cheeze: Poor kid only gets to see his father on Thanksgiving. Just like Jody Foster’s kid. The only place a man should wear a woman’s clothes is on his head. I have put some pairs of pantyhose on mine in the past. All was fun. ha ha.
RightPolitically
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:17pmI will say it again, LEFTISTS HAVE A DNA FLAW!
Reagan4President
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:24pmOr their just mentally retarded.
cheezwhiz
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:30pmSo any guesses on what this kid will be when he grows up ?
Hair dresser,
Cupcake maker,
A raging Queen on welfare
US Marine
???
TXPilot
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:33pmOk, thats just wrong…..kids have it hard enough these days without Mommy instilling a case of gender confusion in them.
Whiskey One Seven
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:34pmAgreed
demint.disciple
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:38pmnice.. make the kid a homosexual dont let HIM have the choice… sheesh..
Melanie
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:38pmWhen my son was really little and didn’t know what he was talking about, he asked me to paint his nails. I said, “No, that’s for girls.” End of discussion and no fussing, either. Be the parent.
really.truly
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:39pmso… i am the mom of a 2 yr old little girl and a 4 yr old boy. my girl is about as girly as they come. she loves nail polish and having me fix her hair and clothes. my little boy gets jealous of all of this stuff sometimes, but i think it’s more the “quality time” aspect of the activities than the activities themselves. he loves sports and military play (pretending to be a soldier, that sort of thing), but when he walks in my bathroom and sees me putting on makeup, he’ll climb up to watch me and ask to have me put some on him. i just hand him some brushes and let him “pretend”… he likes asking me what all the different things are for and likes helping me (and his sister) pick out nail polish colors for our nails, but he would acknowledge that those things are for girls…
if he really wanted his toenails painted, i’d probably paint them… he goes to a private school and has to wear socks and tennis shoes every day, so they would be covered everywhere but at home anyway. but i do discourage him wanting to take part in “mom”/“girl” activities as quality time by going into his room and spending QT doing things that Really interest him.
so i’m kinda on the fence, i think a lot of little boys see toe nail painting as a way to bond with their moms, and it is as innocent as that.. and in that case, i’m totally cool with it…i just think there are better ways to bond with my son.
Report Post »BigBouy
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:40pmGreat mom. What a dope!
encinom
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 5:53pmAnd let the rant homophobic beckerheads run wild.
Showtime
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:06pm@Really.Truly ~
I had two boys. Neither asked for anything feminine, unless asking me to play football with them is feminine. (I did play football and baseball with them. Their dad was on a track team in high school and taught them how to run. I taught them to swim.)
The only thing I wanted when I was a kid was long fingernails, (at least) wavy hair, gain in weight, and a bathing suit to swim in each summer. Oh, yeah — anything but a frilly dress!
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:06pmLet me guess. The father is not in the picture.
For the braindead moonbats like encinom, that isn’t homophobia. We aren’t “afraid” of this idiocy. We just think it’s wrong.
Showtime
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:09pmI don’t think hius pink toenails will last long when a bully makes fun of him and his friends laugh at him.
Report Post »booger71
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:25pmWould you paint your son’s toenails at all?
Not unless I wanted him to get beat up all the time
A Doctors Labor Is Not My Right
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:28pm@really.truly,
“so i’m kinda on the fence, i think a lot of little boys see toe nail painting as a way to bond with their moms, and it is as innocent as that.. and in that case, i’m totally cool with it…i just think there are better ways to bond with my son.”
This will help you understand where the rest of us are coming from. There is such a thing as a male and female identity.
Or you could think of it this way: There’s a REASON that women prefer the “bad boy”.
The Meaning of Same-Sex Attraction
http://www.narth.com/docs/niconew.html
AzDebi
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:39pmAnd we wonder why we are having a problem finding our George Washington? Really? We’re doomed!
Report Post »joe3
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:46pmthank you hippies, see what you did. if it feels good do it, right? dont see these kids growing up to defend the nation, charge a hill, have a decent set of morals, or become anything but a deviant. is there not a law about endangering the welfare of a child?
ImahaIngttta
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:48pmAnd J Crew gets added to my lifetime-ban list. This list is getting long!
watchtheotherhand
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:51pmI don’t know about the rest of you but I am ENCINOPHOBIC……You may just disagree with homosexuality but ENCINOM you scare the livin’ daylights out of any sane person.
Joe_Anchorage_True_American
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 6:53pmI was in the Moge in 1993, and I ended up running into a fella from the same part of the world I was from. (His little mountain town played my mountain town in football. I’m talking about high school ball.)
Anyway, back in school, he was the biggest pantywaist I’d ever seen — with his Flock of Seagulls hair and his neon shirts. Point is, I ran into him in Mogadishu, and he had jump wings on his chest.
What I’m saying is, you never know.
Report Post »28_ID
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:15pmLittle boys can’t play with toy guns, play cops and robbers, or act out their aggression via dodge ball, but it’s OK to paint their toenails pink? Seriously, WTH?????
ClockKing
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:22pmAttention Dawg-idiot. You CAN change and impress behavior on people. Go back to your dungeon, leftie.
dawg of gawd
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:27pmclockking hiding behind an extra L . . . sexual orientation is NOT a behavior. THAT is the point. It’s not like teaching someone to be an intolerant self-righteous hypocrite. You have your parents to thank for that.
Report Post »Class2000Generation
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:43pmWho cares?? Seriously… who care???
Report Post »Cemoto78
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:50pmJust another total Jacka$$.
Report Post »Quack Addict
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 7:59pmSeems to me that mommy really wanted a girl. I feel sorry for the little ‘guy’.
keaton
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 8:02pmMy wife is a nurse with a sense of humor. One night her patient was a Hell’s angel biker with a badly broken foot. It had a halo over it to protect it. She went in and by flashlite painted his toenails pink. It was days before he even saw it. It was tremendously entertaining for his friends.
Report Post »jhaydeng
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 8:35pmBoy, when his kid hits his teens mommy will hear it from him!!
watchtheotherhand
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 9:39pmI think DAWG is upset because he/she has been fixed…..Such emotion really does seem to point to an arrested stage of development in the toddler stage.
dr_funk
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:33pmLittle boys need to grow up by imitating their fathers, not their mothers.
That’s why, whenever a boy has a father figure in his life, he’s always wanting to dress up like him, act like him, eat the same things as him, say the same things. Its part of growing up: learning the foundation of your identity. Same thing happens with girls, only they’re imitating a maternal figure.
randy
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:38pm@ENCINOM I’m sorry. Call me a Homophobe if you like. You don’t phase me one bit. Homosexuals are disgusting. And thanks to Mom. this kid is well on his way to becoming one.
dr_funk
Posted on April 12, 2011 at 11:46pmI like the color pink. I enjoy using it in lighting designs, because in the right shade combined with the right complements, its a pretty color.
I do not wear pink, however. Pink clothing is an indicator of femininity. Looking feminine indicates weakness, which is bad if you don’t like getting mugged or assaulted.
I wear masculine colors, because I comply with the cultural norm that, being a man, I should wear masculine colors. I choose an appearance that typecasts me the way I wish to be seen. I supply the indicators for people to correctly stereotype me (and I appreciate this). Sometimes I change my appearance to look a little rougher, or blend more into my particular environment (its generally not a good idea to wear a suit to a biker bar).
Boys that look feminine open themselves up to abuse, because femininity in a man is perceived (rightfully) as weakness. Regardless of whether you are capable of defending yourself, creating the perception of weakness is a good way to get your a** kicked in the real world.
really.truly
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 8:37ami think my original post didn’t convey what i was trying to say, i guess… but what i was saying was not that EVERY son, always, at some point, definitely, positively asks his mom to paint his nails. that isn’t true, obviously….
what i was trying to say was that some boys are going to try to emotionally bond with moms through interests of the mom. it’s what we as humans do… when we like someone we try to get closer by sharing interests. i go to baseball games with my husband because he loves baseball and although it was not an interest of mine before, i enjoy sharing with him something that HE enjoys so much. does this make me a lesbian because i watch baseball? if my little girl likes marching around and playing with her brother’s army men, is she going to be a lesbian? if her favorite color is blue is she transgender? if she wants to wear a baseball hat to the store am i forcing my child into an alternative lifestyle? this is just ridiculous. if all it takes to make a kid gay is a little of the color pink… i’m guessing the kid was going to be gay regardless.
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 2:40pmhey dumb azz lady, painting your son’s toenails pink and smothering him will make him turn out gay…oh that’s right you want him to be gay, sorry, I thought you were a regular mom, my mistake! ugh
exdem
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 4:13pmDude looks like a lady….
independentvoteril
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 4:38pmI have 2 boys 1 girl the girl being the last.. I would never paint the boys toenail or FINGER nails..and IF asked I simply would say NO it’s for GIRLS.. NOW while waiting for a girl I did put a barrette in the DOGS HAIR..lol.. However I never even allowed my DAUGHTER to paint her nails with ANYTHING other than clear polish until she was old enough to make sure she didn’t walk around with chipping nail polish.. about 12-13.. it looks tacky.. Yep.. some people should NOT become parents.. no wonder our girls can’t find MEN who know they are MEN..
prov1
Posted on April 13, 2011 at 5:25pm.poor kid will end up being a ref. in the NBA don‘t ya’ think Kobe ?
Report Post »jackrorabbit
Posted on April 14, 2011 at 12:28amHe is 6 and at 6 kids mimic what they see. If all he has is a mother, then he will likely emulate her. When I was six I would dress in mom’s clothes, big deal. I am now happily married with a daughter who likes to put on my shoes and shirts, what does that mean? Nothing, she is a KID!!!
Report Post »Thirdeye
Posted on April 14, 2011 at 9:02amHate to say but i figured he was white!! Next he will be having sex with his mother sorry just stating the facts…