Attention school shoppers, there is another brand you may want to avoid while getting supplies for your kids this fall.
On Saturday, Crayola posted images of what appears to be a man in a wheelchair wearing a chain-link bra over his clothing to virtue signal about diversity.
The person in the post, Julian Gavino, is apparently transgender and uses he/him pronouns.
“Julian Gavino, aka The Disabled Hippie Life Coaching, (he/him) is a fashion model, writer, and activist who identifies as a transgender man. He was born with a progressive neurological condition. Julian is passionate about advocating for his respective communities,” Crayola wrote in the post. “As someone who grew up not seeing anyone who looked like him in the media, Julian is determined to normalize disabled and trans bodies in the fashion world.”
The company boasted that Gavino has also worked with “brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Mac Cosmetics, and was Abercrombie’s first disabled/transgender model.”
“This #DisabilityPrideMonth Crayola celebrates Julian and everyone like him for their passion and creativity,” Crayola continued.
Crayola’s post was promptly condemned by parents who were concerned about their children following the crayon company on social media. Instead of addressing their concerns, they turned off commenting on the post.
“Really inappropriate content for children. Usually I buy a ton of supplies to donate, this year we will be leaving Crayola out of the donation. Kids don’t need to be taught about sexual preference or changing genders while trying to color,” one commenter wrote.
Another said, “I thought Crayola was supposed to be for children and I’ve had this site on my page for some time I’m taking off why is it that all the stuff is being shoved in children’s faces this is ridiculous things are trying to talk to our children it should not be let them be children and leave them alone.”
An archive of the post can be found here, in case it is deleted.
