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J Crew ad featuring five-year-old boy with neon pink toenails sparks debate about gender identity in children
By TAMARA ABRAHAM
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 12th April 2011
A J Crew childrenswear ad featuring a young boy with his toenails painted pink has sparked debate across the U.S. about gender identity in children.
The image, which featured in an email mailer to customers last week, stars Jenna Lyons, the chain's president and creative director, and her son Beckett, five.
The mother-of-one is seen with a bottle of neon pink nail polish, painting her son's toenails.
The headline reads: 'Saturday with Jenna... See how she and son Beckett go off duty in style.'
Below the picture is a quote from Ms Lyons which reads: 'Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.'
But a number of psychiatrists have slammed the ad, claiming that promotion of such an image 'celebrates transgendered identity'.
Psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow told Fox News: 'This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity.'
Media commentator Erin Brown of the Media Research Center also had strong views, calling it 'blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.
She wrote: '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.
'J Crew, known for its tasteful and modest clothing, apparently does not mind exploiting Beckett behind the facade of liberal, transgendered identity politics.'
It is an extreme view, and not one that is shared by Jo B. Paoletti, author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America.
She told Fox News that critics of the ad are are overreacting.
She explained: '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?'
Ms Lyons, who joined J Crew in July last year, has been credited with transforming the company's image.
She became something of a celebrity in her own right after appearing on Oprah just a month later. Oprah Winfrey declared herself a fan of the brand, which is also a a favourite with Michelle Obama and her daughters, who have all worn J Crew for public appearances.
Neither J Crew or Ms Lyons responded to requests for comment on the new ad at the time of publication.
By TAMARA ABRAHAM
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 12th April 2011
A J Crew childrenswear ad featuring a young boy with his toenails painted pink has sparked debate across the U.S. about gender identity in children.
The image, which featured in an email mailer to customers last week, stars Jenna Lyons, the chain's president and creative director, and her son Beckett, five.
The mother-of-one is seen with a bottle of neon pink nail polish, painting her son's toenails.
The headline reads: 'Saturday with Jenna... See how she and son Beckett go off duty in style.'
Below the picture is a quote from Ms Lyons which reads: 'Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.'
But a number of psychiatrists have slammed the ad, claiming that promotion of such an image 'celebrates transgendered identity'.
Psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow told Fox News: 'This is a dramatic example of the way that our culture is being encouraged to abandon all trappings of gender identity.'
Media commentator Erin Brown of the Media Research Center also had strong views, calling it 'blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children.
She wrote: '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.
'J Crew, known for its tasteful and modest clothing, apparently does not mind exploiting Beckett behind the facade of liberal, transgendered identity politics.'
It is an extreme view, and not one that is shared by Jo B. Paoletti, author of Pink and Blue: Telling the Girls From the Boys in America.
She told Fox News that critics of the ad are are overreacting.
She explained: '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?'
Ms Lyons, who joined J Crew in July last year, has been credited with transforming the company's image.
She became something of a celebrity in her own right after appearing on Oprah just a month later. Oprah Winfrey declared herself a fan of the brand, which is also a a favourite with Michelle Obama and her daughters, who have all worn J Crew for public appearances.
Neither J Crew or Ms Lyons responded to requests for comment on the new ad at the time of publication.
