Oh, Internet. You never fail to disappoint us.
No, that is not meant as a compliment.
In the following slideshow, you’ll meet a baby, her mother and her father.
And you’ll get to see what happened after the father made what he believed to be an innocent, harmless jokes…
… only for social media users to attack him for being sick, perverted and disgusted.
It all started with one very simply photo — and then it snowballed from there. Scroll down to see what we mean:
Look at Me!
It all started with this photo. Yes, this simple and adorable photo that a mother snapped of her baby girl. AWWWW, right?
Then, Dad Intervened
The little girl’s father jokingly pulled his child’s legs together in response to the first photo, wanting to keep her chaste for as long as possible.
Daddy Was Not Having It!
So joked Mom as a caption on Twitter to these pictures side by side. Pretty funny, right? Wrong, according to many people on the Internet.
What a Sicko!
As you can tell by this response, critics are NOT holding back with their opinions. They think this man’s joke was symbolic of a much larger issue.
Monitor That Man!
To be clear, we do actually see where these critiques are coming from. Babies spread their legs all the time. It is sort of weird for one’s mind to even see this pose as anything but innocent — but that doesn’t mean we think the father needs to be “monitored.” Come on, people. Relax.
This is a Much Better Point
This man’s reaction may say more about the way society views women than anything else. Yes, his mind went to a certain place… but perhaps because it has been conditioned to do so.
On the Other Hand…
… CALM DOWN, PEOPLE! IT WAS JUST A JOKE! This is the response from those who can’t comprehend how this is any deal at all.
See, Others Make Similar Jokes!
This is what some on Twitter have tried to say at least.
Yes?
Some would say “yes” at least. Why should women mind their legs and the placement of these body parts when men don’t have to, would be the argument.
And Now a Word from The Man’s Wife:
The woman who actually snapped the picture would like everyone to know her husband allows their child to open her legs all the time and was merely trying to be funny. Sheesh!
HA!
And the mother also shared this photo of her daughter as a way to calm down the haters. What a precious little girl.
No, It’s Not a Joke
This is one person’s simple response to anyone that claims the man was making a harmless gesture. It’s hard to blame this person too much because he or she clearly has the right overall sentiment in mind.
Where Do YOU Stand???
This is an interesting debate. Was the dad totally just joking around and folks must relax? Or is there a grander point about women, society and sexualization that should be made here?