Child Modelling: How Much is Too Much?

French Vogue Lolita Under Fire

Where do you stand on the debate over kiddie-supermodel Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau (Phew! Too many names, it does not roll off the tongue well) and her spread in the January spread for Vogue Paris? I'm surprised that it's only blown up now considering it's been seven months since the issue was published. But whatever. Point is, where do you stand? 

In the spread that was weirdly enough, titled 'Cadeaux', Thylane strikes fierce poses that rival the likes of today's crop of It-Girls. In fact, she reminds me a little of Isabella Fontana facially. She could be her baby! The overall aesthetics spell out Lolita, with her 'come hither' stare accentuated by a boudoir setting of satin sheets, animal skin rugs and the rest of the Genie's furniture from inside the lamp. It is undeniable that for such a young girl, she has a most striking face. Obviously from her poses, she's been watching a LOT of Tyra Banks because that girl is killin it. 

HOWEVER.

She's ten. Somehow, I can't help but feel that she should be modelling for Gap Kids instead of a junior couture spread fresh from the Moulin Rouge. All that allure and sex appeal coming from a child (yes, she is a child. There is pre-pubescent then there is child. She's the latter. End of.) Personally, it makes me a little queasy. Love the clothes, love the artistic direction and styling and whatever else...but not on her. Never mind the the message it sends across. Even Nabokov's Lolita was aged 12. Shakespeare's quasi-jailbait Juliet was 14. Models in general start at 16. Had Thylane been styled differently or directed differently, it wouldn't have been so controversial. The whole thing just brings up and ignites concern over the sexualisation of children in the media. Eh-hem, Toddlers and Tiaras, I'm talking to you. 

Fleur Dorrell, Head of Safe Policy at the Mother’s Union, expressed her fury over the spread with Yahoo. “Modelling agencies think that it is ok to use pre-pubescent girls as models but this is completely selling us a different idea of beauty. They are making this girl look and feel as though she has to dress this way in order to be perfect.” 

She added that, “If you think about it in reverse they wouldn’t ask me, a 43-year-old woman to dress like a girl, so why would they want to dress her up like that?” And she has a point. Have you ever seen 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" if so, then you'd understand just how freaky this is. As if the younger generation do not have enough problems with regards to self-esteem and the perceived standard of beauty. They get enough pressure from music videos, celebrities, the Top Model franchise. For a young girl, desperate to be fashionable and 'beautiful', this spread comes as the gospel truth. Straight from couture heaven. Though far from being counted as child pornography, it's still a gateway spread.

A fashion fanatic added a comment on the Yahoo article and said, “I don't find this unusual, she is super talented...plus it’s French Vogue!!! FRENCH. VOGUE. Totally ok.” Does that excuse the spread? I don't think so.

In any case, as with any form of art, the fact remains. It is subjective. Personally, I feel uncomfortable looking at Thylane in her Megan-Fox-meets-Baby-Gap-Couture spread. While my inner stage-mom screams "Oh you go girl! WERQ IT!!!", the rest of my moral adolescent self want to shake her, give her a snap and tell her to go take those heels and that crazy cake of a face off, and go run around the park and play with girls her own age. As for you? What do you think?

xoxo

[Images: Sharif Hamza for Vogue Paris; Quotes via Yahoo.co.uk]