Designer and mom-of-four Victoria Beckham innocently posted a photo on Instagram of her kissing her daughter Harper on the lips. Cue outrage.
Somehow a sweet pic celebrating her five year old's birthday was deemed "weird" and "strange."
Tell me, since when is it "weird" to kiss your own kindergartner?
The 42-year-old former Spice Girl can't win. As long as you are active on social media, there is someone somewhere who will find something you say or do offensive. It's just a law of averages. But to the average mom, kissing your young child on the mouth is typical behaviour and a natural mark of affection.
Fortunately fellow moms raced to Beckham's defence by posting their own kid-kissing images.
"I love my daughter with every fibre in my body and for someone to say it's wrong is disgusting," said mom Emma Hambleton. "It's a sad world we live in that a picture of a mother kissing her daughter can be turned into something other than the pure love that it is meant to be."
Sad, indeed. Sexualizing a mom's kiss is on par with sexualizing breastfeeding. Sure, maybe not every family shows the same level of affection with its members. Some people aren't big and overt when it comes to displays. Either way, it's no reflection of the love you feel for your kids.
I personally kissed my mom on the mouth up until adulthood! As for my son, I don't know at what age I will stop kissing him on the lips. He's seven now, and maybe that has already gone on too long for some people's tastes. I figure it will naturally run its course and, like breastfeeding, I will follow his cues when it comes to turning a chaste cheek.
One day he'll up and decide he's too cool for all that. So for now I am soaking up all the kisses and cuddles I can. As should Victoria Beckham. If anyone objects, that's their issue.
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