If this were a private photo snapped for laughs, then it was inconsiderate of Liz Hurley to post it online. I also don't see what supposed venal purpose she could have had - it's not like pink bikinis are the new must have item for boys. I also doubt Liz knows how to FTP her own web files, so I'm assuming that she and the others involved in shooting the photo, uploading it etc. thought it was cute.

So he's a boy in a pink bikini.

I'd reiterate my earlier point that it is unlikely she could have gotten him into that outfit against his will. If he were embarrassed by it, I imagine it would have been impossible to get onto him. He's five, not an infant. Children are learning gender norms - if not from birth - then at least from the age of two. In forming their own identity, they become quite stubborn about where they fit in. But they also learn negative stereotypes - like women do the housework, and men earn the money - that don't do favors to either sex.

But we're in the process of developing far less rigid notions of gender. There are elementary school children identifying as transgender, even. (Yes, I saw it on Oprah. I watch like twice a decade, and I get Tom jumping on couches and tranny third graders.)

Most of the objections here are based on assuming the effect had on wee Damian.

1. His five year old mates have access to the internet and are surfing for Hurley's swimwear line? How else are they going to see this photo?

2. This is assuming pink frilly bikinis aren't Damian's outfit of choice at pool parties otherwise. I knew boys who dressed like girls when they were little. They usually ended up gay, but that just shows they were ready to buck standard norms of masculinity.

3. This is also assuming that the Little Lord Fauntleroy outfits he otherwise gets dressed in won't get him beat up. That's probably just as risible and outre to kindergarteners looking to tease.

4. What's the worst that could happen? He gets teased? His mom set him up for teasing? He gets turned totally gay by thirty seconds of exposure to a pink bikini? Every kid gets teased at some point - it's part of the harsh socialization process - and no parent can protect them forever. If he does get teased, one can hope that he'll be a cool enough kid to say "Yeah, I was dressed like a girl - so?" And that he'll learn, hey, it's ultimately meaningless - if he's gay or straight, or whether he was dressed in pink as a boy - and he'll be the kind of man who helps with the housework.