Shall we freak out about how Perez Hilton bathes his son?

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Perez Hilton has caused a stir by posting a photo of himself sharing bath time with his son for all to see.

(Insert hot water joke here.)

The gossip blogger recently posted the image seen here of himself and 2-year-old Mario in a bathtub with the caption, "Our family motto is: #fun! We try and incorporate fun into as much of the everyday things we do!"

The snap has sparked a backlash as it has made its way through the news circuit, with some going so far as to call the father of two a "pedophile," and a "child abuser."

One recent comment on the photo asks, "I notice that his younger child is a girl. Will he be showering with her too?"

To that person, all I can say is most likely yes! While I can kind of understand the image might look unusual to someone who isn't a parent (and perhaps even to those of us that are -- as we don't often publicly share such pics) there isn't anything out of the ordinary about bathing together. Heck, it's just plain efficient.

Perez Hilton addressed the controversy via his podcast by saying, "The real issue is that there is an undercurrent of homophobia and sexism. If this were a woman doing this people would have responded in a different way...I had my bathing suit on, and I didn't feel the need to clarify that in the caption."

If anything, I find the swim trunks unusual. No biggie, if that's what works for his family, but my sons used to just go in with my husband or I with everyone in the buff. I specifically remember handing my firstborn off to his dad many times when he took an after work shower, and then I'd have five spare minutes to myself before I returned with a towel to grab the babe back.

I don't follow Perez Hilton's life closely, so I won't comment on his parenting in general, but on this specific case I see nothing wrong happening. Is it homophobia and sexism? I'm not sure. Part of me thinks perhaps he's right, but part of me wonders if anyone posting such a photo would get some backlash. It's just not the kind of image of parenting we're used to seeing.

What do you make of Perez Hilton's bath time photo? Do you think others would get the same response? Weigh in by leaving a comment below!

Photos: PR Photos

 

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