Remember that time David Beckham was unceremoniously smacked down for kissing his little girl, Harper, on the lips? Or when Victoria Beckham was caught in a storm of backlash after people accused her of letting her young boys drink champagne when all they were sipping on was apple juice?
Well, surprise, surprise – the Beckhams have been caught up in yet another parenting spat fest, with Victoria now being criticised for perpetuating dated gender stereotypes.
So, it all began when Victoria posted yet another loved-up happy snap of a drawing she and Harper had done together. The text on the picture reads: “Boys are made of slugs and snails and puppy dog tails. Girls are made of sugar, spice and all things nice.”
The picture was met with vast criticism. One person went as far as to say that the rhyme was “harmful” to young girls in that it insinuates that girls must always be sweets and boys can be naughty.
Others said:
“Do you think that reinforcing gender stereotypes is fun?”
“I don’t think gender stereotyping is a positive thing.”
“We really need to move away from such stereotypes that are harmful for our girls.”
Look, we get it/applaud it – we live in a time when smashing gender binaries, in the pursuit of equality, is at the forefront of a lot of parents’ minds. However, as Erin Mayo, the editor of Mother & Baby highlights, there’s a fine line between standing up for what you believe in and blatantly mum-shaming someone.
“This mum-shaming is out of control,” she says. “This is an old nursery rhyme for goodness sake!”
“David and Victoria can’t seem to catch a break! Rather than looking to criticise them (and to be honest, there’s nothing to criticise them for – they’re just loving proud parents) what people need to focus on is how tight-knit of a family they are. They all love each other, are proud of each other and that’s the most important thing!”
Others agree.
One person commented on Victoria’s Instagram snap, “It’s a poem – nothing to do with ‘conditioning’ at all.
Another added: “You can’t breathe these days without offending someone.”
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