Australian entertainer Emma Watkins, known by most two-to-four year olds as the Yellow Wiggle, has sparked a firestorm of comments after sharing a photo subtly challenging gender norms.
On her Instagram account, which has over 100,000 followers, Watkins posted a photo of Lachlan Gillespie, the Purple Wiggle, wearing a yellow bow in his hair and holding a sign that reads "Boys can be Emma".
The star captioned the image with "Yes!"
Parents were quick to share their thoughts on the message, with one follower writing: "Girls can also be Lachie and Simon!"
"Yes they can!" Another wrote. "My son loves wearing his ‘bow bow’".
"The little two-year-old boy I nanny will not leave the house to go to ballet unless he has his Emma dress on," one woman revealed. "It’s his favourite thing in the whole world and he would wear it everyday if he could."
However, some followers were unhappy with the message.
"What?! Farewell Wiggles, it’s been fun, but no," one upset mother wrote. "Boys can’t be Emma."
Australian comedian, writer and presenter Em Rusciano soon shared the image on her social media accounts, writing: "I couldn’t love this any harder if I tried."
She continued: "This is about little boys being encouraged to have female role models! Regardless of their sexuality.
"Teaching boys to look up to and respect women instead of seeing them as something to own and control will go a long way."
