Let Them Be Little

This is a tough one for me.  This isn't about a specific brand, or an outfit that I fell in love with. This is about something that each of us wear everyday....on the inside.

Recently, a conversation took place on social media that targeted not only me, but Merce. Yes. My 6 year old daughter.  I could not care less if someone thinks my photography is the worst they have ever seen.  I could not care less if I am named the worst stylist ever. I am an adult. I am not innocent or perfect. Children are innocent and perfect.  EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.of them are.

I struggled with whether to put this out in the world, or to just stay quiet and let it go. I never confronted the persons responsible, even though I know their names.  I never took it to a larger group to "out" anyone, although it made it to other pages without my help....by people I don't even know that were appalled by the behavior. And it is those people that took a stand, not knowing me or Merce that changed my perspective on keeping quiet. I won't lie, I'm scared to put this out there but I'm more scared that someone else's child will be the victim of virtual bullying.

The saddest part is that this is nothing new.  This is not the first time that someone has made a comment about a child on social media. This is not the first time that someone has made a comment about MY child on social media.  But this is the time that I will take a stand, and challenge the boutique world to do the same.

In the boutique world of BST (buying, selling, trading) everyone knows the phrase "children are off limits".  In this world in which we are all preaching against social media bullying, there are grown women engaging in indirect bullying of a child.

Let's look at this picture.

This picture posted on instagram resulted in the following questions from one woman:

1. Why does she always have on a dress on in tunic length with no bottoms?
2. Why does she always appear to be in pain (or possibly constipated [insert speak no evil monkey emoji here--ironic huh?])
3. Who does these photos? I'm not photographer but they aren't that good.

the third question is irrelevant. I don't care if others like my photography. As long as the shop owner we are shooting for does, we are happy. But #2 is unacceptable. Perhaps she thought it was funny? Maybe it was 'said' in the thread to amuse others? Maybe this person is just trying to fit in? I don't know the answer to that and never will. The answer doesn't matter to me. This comment was made in a large group of women, a 'secret' chat group on facebook. Many saw the comment and replied to it. Including some people that I had thought were my friends. Not one of them said "hey, not cool. hate the mom all you want but don't talk about her kid." or anything to that effect.  Later in the thread some mom's did come to the defense of the child, they were ganged up on. I would never allow Merce to see the things that were written, but.....she can read. What if she came across them? What would she think? How would she FEEL?

question 1, why does she always have a dress on in tunic length with no bottoms? That question came because they read this blog and like to critique it. Not only critique the blog but also judge that I am unintelligent by what they read here. And that I have no styling skills at all. And that's fine, it's all opinion. We love a good vintage length, vintage as in short. It was recently argued that vintage means below the knee. So to clarify, vintage = short in my world.  She ALWAYS has bloomies or shorts of some sort on.  and it's noted in each blog. Merce is tall. Her legs are long. And she moves ALOT so the bloomies and shorts ride up. She dances and twirls and jumps all through the shoots because she has fun...trying to stop her and pull her shorts down constantly would double the time it takes to do a shoot and make her self conscious about the length of her shorts.  I refuse to make my child feel she shouldn't be carefree and that she has to worry about the length of her shorts or what others will think of her.  

So I'm taking this stand. This stand that I feel is worth it, even if I am berated, belittled, or shunned for it. I stand for peace among the boutique world. I stand for children being off limits, and I challenge those that may see this type of behavior to stand up for others like you would your own child.  💗