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Sex sells but should children be the salesmen?
There is one thing that we all know when it comes to advertising: sex sells. Whether it be Adriana Lima modeling a new Victoria Secret bra or Kate Moss doing a kinky pose for Vogue magazine, it always catches the eye.
However, this is not that case when it comes to photographs of little girls, as young as 4-years-old, dolled up with makeup, wearing their hair in beehives and posing seductively for the camera.
Over the past few weeks, the French fashion world has taken a turn when it comes to modeling the new trends. Ten-year-old Vogue model Thylane Loubry Blondeau made her modeling debut in the recent issue of the French Vogue magazine. With her face caked in makeup, this little girl posed seductively for the camera. In one of many featured photos the model is in a low-cut gold gown, designer gold stilettos and is finished off with a large gold medallion necklace.
It doesn’t stop there.
A new lingerie line, Jours Après Lunes, targeting children ages 4 to 12 was recently launched in the French fashion world. The line is comprised of trainer bras, underwear and loungewear for children. The clothes themselves that these children are modeling are not overly revealing, but the problem is how the children are modeling the product. Glitzed up with makeup, wearing their hair in a voluminous updo topped off with pearl necklaces and large glasses these children look like tiny adults modeling with sultry gazes and sprawling poses, which shouldn’t be the case at all.
Traditionally, child models pose in a playful or childish manner, with little to no makeup on their faces. These images are far from innocent and cute; they are disconcerting. Children that young should not be wearing that much makeup, and, more importantly, should not be posing in a sexual manner for the camera. Not every child will see these images, but the children that do are receiving the message that they should grow up too fast and shed their childhood innocence. Furthermore, the parents of these children seem to not have a problem with their children posing in this manner, which is disappointing.
People who see these images may be at first disgusted, but society is constantly bombarded with sexually explicit images, so the images stick with them. As a result people, especially women, think that the only way they can be beautiful is by looking like those models.
The use of child models takes this to another level. Young girls do not have the curves that women have, but the world of fashion is showing their new trends for adult women on the bodies of children. This is essentially telling women that their bodies are no longer small enough to model the clothes that they are being told they should wear.
So, by the same token, the children aren’t the only ones being objectified. The women who are forced to see the ads in which children are present are too. These ads, as well as ads with overly small adult models, make women feel as though they are not small enough and could cause an increase in the number of eating disorders.
College is a vulnerable time for young women to develop an eating disorder and constant exposure to ads showing the “ideal body” and “ideal beauty” could very well increase the risk.
We at The Colonnade believe that although the clothing that the children are modeling may not be risqué by adult standards, the photographs deprive children of their innocence. Not only are the children shown in a manner that is unsuitable, but could effect people’s views of their bodies.
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