When kids get it into their heads they want to wear something, no matter how impractical, there’s no changing their minds. One mother gave into her five-year-old son that wanted to wear pink zebra-print flats. She posted a photo of her beaming son on his way to his first day of preschool on Facebook and some people got very, very upset, according to the Huffington Post.

Sam’s photo made it to the Facebook page “Have a Gay Day” and his sister explained that Sam begged his mom for the shoes at the store. His mom explained that the shoes were for girls but Sam insisted because “ninjas can wear pink shoes, too.” But the biggest draw for Sam is the fact that the shoes are made from zebras and zebras are his favorite animal. Sam got his shoes and his mom snapped a photo of the happy kid. Relatives and friends were plenty upset and commented on Facebook that what she was doing was wrong, exposing him to teasing from his classmates. Worse, she would possibly—probably—turn her son gay. Others have argued that children should be allowed to express themselves and that at age five, he should just be allowed to be a kid. Parents, people argued, have to hold off unfair gender stereotypes for as long as possible. Many have pointed out that girls wear blue and play with trucks and no one seems to be as upset about those things.

Sound off: would you let your young son wear pink shoes?

Words: Desiree Browne