This week,  J.Crew released an ad that depicts a woman that has painted her son’s nails bright pink. No big deal right? Wrong. There are scores of panties in bunches. Evidently, seeing someone else’s child with pink nail polish is going encourage everyone  to “abandon all trappings of gender identity — homogenizing males and females when the outcome of such ‘psychological sterilization’ [my word choice] is not known,” according to one psychologist. I didn’t know something so minuscule as painted toes could have such an effect!

Frankly, I think all of this controversy is a bunch of hogwash. 

First, painted toe nails, playing with dolls or anything else “girly’ isn’t going to “make” a boy become gay or transgendered. My brother used to attempt to play with my Spice Girl toys and he’s a normal “masculine” teenaged boy. Taking a doll away and scolding isn’t going to do anything but make a child ashamed.

Second, even if he or she turned out to be gay or transgendered, they should be loved regardless. Do you have to like what they’re doing or how they’re living? No. But they shouldn’t be mistreated for it.

Third, why are people so worried about what others do with their kids? The lady in the J.Crew ad painted HER child’s toes. She didn’t say others had to do the same. She has no power to do that. If you don’t want your child, regardless of gender, painting their toenails, tell them they aren’t allowed to do so. My mother didn’t want me wearing bright nail polish until I was 12 or 13. So guess what? I didn’t wear it.