A New York City mom is facing the wrath of the internet after she posted what was meant to be a beautiful exchange of love between twin brothers. The exchange has been deemed inappropriate by some and has caused critics to call parental skills into question.
Ashlee Muhammad recently posted an Instagram video of her twins, Jet Pharaoh and Nova Maximus. After she dropped the twins off at daycare, they turned to each other, embraced and kissed before they then ran to kiss their mother goodbye.
"All You NEED Is LOVE," the caption read. But, for some, all they needed was to share their unwarranted opinions. The video has nearly one million views and has been plagued with negative comments.
“I mean come on […]it's common sense. You don't have two boys kissing each other on the [lips],” one user wrote. "They could hug each other but kiss each other on the lips[…] that's gay."
“This is too feminine for boys who are supposed to be raised to protect themselves, their mother, and their sisters,” another user said.
Many comments with the same sentiments followed, but Muhammad stood her ground, defending her post.
“I would have NEVER in a million years thought that something posted out of pure love and admiration for my children would have turned into all of this,” she wrote. “My parenting has NEVER been attacked so harshly in MY LIFE. I Don’t Expect Everyone To Think What I Believe Is Right But I Also Don’t Take Kindly To Disrespect. One Thing I Will Ask To All You Perverts PLEASE PLEASE Stop Sexualizing CHILDREN Especially BABIES. If This Has Taught Me Anything It’s That The World Is In A More Damaged & Scary Place Then I Thought. To All Of You Who Defended @heymasjid & I THANK YOU.”
Despite the people who thought negatively of the embrace, many people have sent encouraging words to the family.
"This is absolutely adorable and I ashamed of you people for thinking anything but innocent of these babies! My kids all kids on the lips and it’s nothing but love!" One user said.
"If you find these brothers' innocent, pure love dirty, you need to #seekhelp. This is beautiful and these are BABIES. Please, remove your jaded lenses and stop attacking this obviously loving, adoring mother. It's sickening that people would take such a beautiful moment and attempt to turn it into something ugly and sinister," another user writes.
When siblings showing love to each other is an issue, it's time to reevaluate our mindset.
