Pink is Just a Color
12.11.2012
By Evan Lambert
http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/12/11/photo-5-year-old-boy-wearing-pink-shoes-controversyA recent Facebook photo of 5-year-old boy wearing pink "girl shoes" ignites controversy over parenting techniques and bullying
Most viral photos and videos pass through the blogosphere without a hitch. They make people laugh and cry and they pepper people's Facebook pages for days, but once those 15 minutes (if you're even that lucky) are up, they essentially disappear from the public's consciousness completely.
Not so much with a recent Facebook photo of a 5-year-old boy wearing pink shoes, which—despite nabbing almost 130,000 Facebook "likes" since it debuted last week—has inspired numerous Internet users to berate the boy's mother for allowing such a thing to occur.
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Pink is Just a Color, and So is Blue
12.12.2012
By Niketa Bhatia
http://www.out.com/entertainment/popnography/2012/12/12/pink-just-color-and-so-blueA mother responds that pink shoes should be embraced—to stop potential bullying
In response to the controversy and excitement created on the web over the viral picture of 5-year-old little Sam in his pink, zebra-striped shoes, I have only one thing to say: "Pink is just a color and so is blue, folks!
I am utterly surprised by the response of his family members...and others...who fear that he might be, or might become gay. How does a little boy wearing a pair of pink shoes have such a huge impact on so many narrow minds is beyond me. That's like saying that a boy playing with a water gun is going to grow up to be a murderer one day!
My own 6-year-old son also likes pink and many a toys and things we associate as being feminine. That's why I wrote a children's book, Pink is Just a Color and So is Blue. The message of the book is that toys and colors do not, and should not, define who kids are...or what they will become.
