Victoria Beckham accused of 'reinforcing gender stereotypes' with Harper's poem

But 43-year-old designer Vic has apparently come under fire for sharing a crafty illustration of the poem she and Harper had been working on.

In since deleted comments, a few fans took issue with the way the poem 'reinforced gender stereotypes'.

One Instagrammer was said to write: "Ugh. 'Sugar and spice and all things nice' is not girl power, it's gender stereotyping and cultural rules that are telling girls what they are 'supposed' to be.

"So girls shouldn't be mischievous or act out, cause they are supposed to be sweet and nice.

“But it is ok for boys to do that because that is how they are born. It is cr*p and we really need to move away from such stereotypes that are harmful for our girls.”

And another continued: “Not a cool poem. This is where conditioning begins. I've always hated this poem. As much as I've hated the story of Bluebeard."

However, there was also a chorus of mums disgareeing with the backlash.

"People gone mad boys and girls are different! It’s a poem with nothing wrong! You’re amazing Victoria and your girl too ??" one fan wrote.

"This poem is so cute!!! and to anyone who is hating on her for 'reinforcing harmful gender stereotypes', grow up. It was a poem written by a 6 year old girl," another added.

While one mum exclaimed: "Those who are being negative about this. Need to be educated and take a huge step back. This saying has been around FOREVER. FOREVER. FOREVER.

"Stop taking the simplest things and turn it into something when it’s nothing."

Here at MFM HQ, we don't really know if this pic *quite* warranted the attention it got...

That said, we reckon it's perfectly possible to use a poem like this as an opportunity to talk about these kind of issues with your little one.

Have your say

Do you have a problem with little poems like these? We'd love to hear from you either way - let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

Image: Instagram/Victoria Beckham

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