J Crew Archives - Sarah & Ian Hoffman

Toemageddon 2011

April 23, 2011 by Sarah

Yesterday 7,718 people painted their toenails pink to commend Jenna Lyons and J. Crew for celebrating pink boys (and to protest the brouhaha over their brave choice). How cool is that?

And today I was walking down the main street in our neighborhood and came across a guy with a cast on his leg–in hot pink. I told him I was going to write a blog post about Paint Your Nails Pink Day and Toemageddon 2011 (as Jon Stewart so fabulously called the brouhaha), and he said that the pink cast was his tribute to The Day. That? Is super cool. (Plus, he let me photograph him, which makes him Cool Supreme.)

If you didn’t paint your nails in time for yesterday, paint ’em today. If you break your arm? My condolences…and get a pink cast. Smashed your car door? Paint the new one pink. And tell the world why you’re painting things pink: because you can. Because girls can wear blue jeans, and boys can wear pink tutus, and casts don’t have to be white. And because standing up for the right for everyone to be their own interesting selves is the coolest thing of all.

Thank You, Jenna Lyons

April 12, 2011 by Sarah

In addition to the email I wrote to J. Crew and the comment I left on the Fox News site, I’ve written a note directly to J. Crew’s Creative Director Jenna Lyons. I encourage you to do the same. I’m sure she’s getting lots of hate mail, and I hope we can balance it out with love mail. Her email address is jenna.lyons@jcrew.com.

Here is what I wrote:

Dear Ms. Lyons:

I am a writer and the mother of a “pink boy,” a long-haired almost nine-year-old boy who wore pink nail polish and dresses when he was younger. For magazines, radio, and my blog, I write about the joys and challenges of raising a boy who is different.

I want to thank you for your brave, bold choices to celebrate your son’s penchant for pink, and to publicly show your support for who he is. I am sure you are well aware of the double standard in our society that favors masculine girls and demonizes feminine boys.

Parents from around the world write to tell me of their struggles with school bullying, rejecting family members, and the health and mental health consequences of such challenges. And men who were pink boys when they were young (now gay, straight, or transgender adults) write to share their lonely, painful experiences growing up in even less accepting times than these–making me thankful for all the change we’ve seen in recent decades. Thank you for what you have done to make the world a better–and safer–place for boys who are different.

I’ve written a blog post about the controversy surrounding the ad (and my gratefulness to you and J. Crew!).

Thank you. What you’ve done means so, so much to many, many parents around the world.

All the best,

Sarah Hoffman

J. Crew, I Love You

April 12, 2011 by Sarah

You may have seen the J. Crew ad featuring Jenna Lyons, J. Crew’s Creative Director, and her pink boy. Jenna said in the caption, “Lucky for me, I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon.”

Jenna, I love you. You’re brave and ballsy and badass. You’re promoting the idea that boys who like pink nail polish are cool—and their moms are awesome. You’ve launched a new national debate around gender norms, and my readers know how much I love that.

Fox News reported today that the ad sparked controversy over the meaning—and repercussions—of promoting such counter-cultural ideas. Erin Brown, spokesperson for the conservative media watchdog Media Research Center, said, “Jenna’s indulgence (or encouragement) could make life hard for the boy in the future.” Right. Because bullying is not caused by the systemic degradation of feminine boys promoted by people like Brown or Dr. Phil, but parental acceptance of kids who are different from the norm. That totally makes sense.

I encourage you to comment on the Fox site, to make your voice heard among the Fox News readers, who might have, uh, differing views from yours.

And J. Crew? You are awesome for supporting pink boys and their loving, accepting parents. You are awesomer still for holding up one of the only positive images of pink boys I’ve ever seen in mainstream media. You are awesomest of all for taking on gender inequities, unspoken bias, and, ultimately, bullying of boys who are different—even if you didn’t really know what you were getting into what you posted that ad.

If my readers are so inclined, I encourage you to contact J. Crew at contactus@jcrew.com and tell them what you think of their bold move. I wrote just a moment ago to tell them exactly how awesome I think they are. Because we need to celebrate every joyful victory that comes our way, and commend those who help get us there.

I’m sharing my awesome with Momma Made It Look Easy and you can too.

Toemageddon 2011

Thank You, Jenna Lyons

J. Crew, I Love You

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