Oh my God. Guys. A dad kissed his kid. On the lips! Was there tongue, you ask? No. No, there wasn’t. Nevertheless, some people found cause to object. Primarily, Piers Morgan.
“Why would a father kiss his daughter on the lips? Don’t get it. Creepy. Weird. Creepy.”
To be fair, that was from the last time our dad in question, David Beckham, posted a similar picture. But it seems to have been the inspiration for a recent spate of headlines about his more recent post, at the National History Museum Ice Rink, in London. And no doubt the sentiment still stands.
What we need to realise is that the world needs more affection, not less. Normalising this kind of love and closeness is critical, and the Beckhams are doing good work here.
For too long, we have been hamstrung by these antiquated views of fatherhood and masculinity. Through most of history, dads were almost out of the picture for most of the day. But the times they are a changin’. And few seem to be more threatened by this than old mate Piers.
He had a go at Daniel Craig last year when he saw a picture of him wearing a Baby-Bjorn style carrier. He thought he could out-alpha James actual Bond, by criticising him for the way he held his child.
WATCH: David Beckham isn't the only famous parent kissing their children on the lips... Post continues below.
He was also furious at Gillette for their recent ad campaign, wherein they dared to challenge the problematic elements of the traditionally toxic portrayal of masculinity.
How fragile must your view of masculinity be that you are that threatened by a tepid exploration of nuance?
So when the Morgans of the world start shouting, the best thing we can do is just ignore them (he says, three quarters of the way into a column diving deep into the whole mess.)
In this case, Beckham’s post got over a million likes, and only a handful of the comments seems to have any problem with it. So we’re doing well.
But in saying that... Did no one notice that the entire rink seemed to be completely closed off for the exclusive enjoyment of these two people? What does that say about the equitable distribution of resources in the modern world?
And that’s the real problem. There is plenty to be outraged by out there. We’re destroying the ecosystems we depend on for our survival, displacing families over petty political squabble, and children are being mentally and physically poisoned by callous corporations.
A father kissing his kid is literally the least of our worries.
We can’t afford to let trash merchants like Morgan dictate our social standards. So thanks, Becks.
If there is one thing that wealth and power is good for, it's doing what you want without fear of reprisal. He hasn’t deleted the posts, or walked them back, or apologised. He’s stepped up and owned it completely.
He wouldn’t even rule out kissing Brooklyn, his 18-year-old son on the lips, only going to so far as to say “maybe not”.
It’s nice when privilege works in the favour of justice. Come to think of it, Justice sounds like it could be the name of one of his kids...
Feature image: Instagram/@davidbeckham
What do you think about kissing children on the lips? Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments below.
Top Comments
The family have always kissed on the mouth to show family love/affection. Heaps of people from Europe do this and it’s completely normal. It’s genuinely funny that people make a big deal of this.