Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Kinky Kids

Here is my 5 minute brain dump as part of this great series. Here goes …

It’s not the first time I write about advertising that is blatantly sexualising children. It’s starting to make me feel sick. It makes me want to scream, cry and break things – in THAT order.  The scary trend is alarming and disturbing.

thylane-blondeau

Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau, a 10 year old girl from France has appeared in Vogue posed as a adult. At a glance you think “Wow that’s a hot chick” then you realise SHE IS TEN YEARS OLD. It’s sickening.

Another French company called “Jours Apres Lunes” has created a lingerie line for children made from finest silks and lace etc … the products themselves don’t bother me really, as you have a choice to buy, BUT the advertising does – we can’t avoid seeing.

This goes beyond pageants. If these images were found on someone’s computer there would be serious questioning going on.  These children are minors. They are inappropriately dressed and posed. If I told you the images came from a paedophile ring you’d believe me. The fact that their are in a catalogue for children’s wear or in a magazine DOES NOT make it ok.

My blood is boiling. I will not let this topic drop. Hot, Kinky, Sexy, Erotic, Alluring etc are words that should NEVER go with child.

What are your thoughts on this?

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This is my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

  • Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
  • Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
  • Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
  • Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
  • Link up your post at all.things.fadra.
  • Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

 

21 thoughts on “Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Kinky Kids

  1. Good Girl Gone Green

    I think it is gross and completely agree with you! Why do children have to pose that way? Why are their parents letting them?

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      Questions I’d LOVE answered.

      Reply
  2. kita

    I hate this. I think parents want to just make money. They use the kids to sell stuff only thinking about the money and saying to themselves ” I raise my kids right they know what not to do so it’s ok to let them do this because this is just for show not real life” or something to that affect.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      I have no idea what goes through the minds of the parents. I also take issue with the creative director and the marketing people behind such campaigns and shoots.

      Reply
  3. alisha

    i think it’s hurtful and ridiculous. this is not 1720 and children aren’t marrying at age 12.

    however, that vogue campaign has NOTHING on american reality shows like toddlers and tiaras and my new most hated, dance moms. those shows make that ad look like gapkids.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      There is a lot to be set about the scary blurring of childhood and adulthood. I am glad we don’t have those shows in France.

      Reply
  4. Leah

    Hi! Popping in from SOCS.

    Yes, I think this is ridiculous. My niece (who’s 16) looks at least 25 and every where we go I want to shout at men, She’s 16! 16!

    Lord help me being the mother of 2 girls.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      I have one daughter and let’s just say I am VERY concerned.

      Reply
  5. Crystal

    My daughter and I went through the “appropriate dress” battle years ago. When she said things like, “this is how all the kids are dressing”, I thought she was making things up or stretching the truth. Then I went and sat through the pick-up line at her high school one day and saw that the kids really WERE dressing like that! I couldn’t believe it!

    I think it’s so wrong on so many levels to let children dress like that and ESPECIALLY wrong that there are companies out there trying to promote it.

    I wonder if those parents take into consideration what some sick perv could be doing, magazine in hand, while looking at picture of THEIR little girl. And we wonder why children are being abducted left and right these days. ::SIGH:: I’ll get off my soapbox now.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      I nodded my head through all your comment. Yes. Kids will see this and think it is aspirational – of course. I look at bikini models and wish my body was something maybe kind of like that sometimes …. difference is I’m an adult and am aware. Children don’t understand. They don’t know how to sit, how to carry themselves and sadly, they don’t know how to protect themselves.

      I personally feel that it’s the COMPANIES who are responsible. Without the sexy kid campaign there would be no dilemma for the parents and kids would be left to be .. KIDS.

      Reply
  6. Fadra

    Wow. I’m kind of shocked. I don’t understand why companies continually push the envelope with children. Nobody could possibly agree with this. I know that sex sells but children and sex should never go together.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      Oh but people do agree with this Fadra and it makes me lose faith in humankind.

      Reply
  7. Elyse

    Preach it! I am so sick of sexualization of children. Let KIDS be KIDS and leave the adult stuff for adults. There is NO reason this little girl, who is little, needs to be this provocative and mature so fast.

    Reply
  8. Her Thirties (Amanda)

    I’ve never really given the subject much thought, but looking/ thinking about makes me realize how terrible it is. Its actually quite disturbing. Thanks for bringing awareness.

    Reply
  9. Marta

    She looks so gorgeous and adult in that photo that I would easily turn the page without looking closer and realizing just how young she really is. Do children no longer get to be children?

    I wish someone would tell them how much less interesting being an adult is than they think.

    Reply
  10. nmaha

    Seriously, is that girl only 10! How can her parents be cool with this?

    Reply
  11. Expatdoctormom

    This makes my blood boil too!

    But aside from broadcasting this across the blogosphere in regard to how wrong it is. I wonder what else we can do?

    Will have to try the stream of consciousness… as it seems to take me forever to write posts sometimes!

    Cheers,
    Rajka

    Reply
  12. fee

    This is sickening and VERY disturbing. Sex sells, yes,and we see it every day all around us, we almost become unaware of it. These companies who use children to advertise like this began a long time ago and have been making subtle changes ever since so that now it isn’t so shocking. Those people who are ok with this have become numb to the blatant fact that this is WRONG!!!! They have been conditioned and need to wake up!!
    This needs talking about, shouting about and passing on to everyone we know. The thought of my little girl wanting to dress like this makes me livid!!!
    Thank you MIP for putting this out there!

    Reply
  13. Janine

    I was right with you on the swimsuits but not with this ad. This looks like a little girl playing dress-up, but with one major difference: It is going to pay for her college. I don’t see any skin shown. I find it pretty but not necessarily sexy.

    Lingerie for pre-teens and teens I could understand and might be OK for self-esteem but I agree that ads are over the top. Kids don’t need to be modeling underwear of any sort.

    I feel that pageants are the absolute worst. Those are not only sexualizing children but teaching girls that that is their only value. Not to mention the toxic products and the pressure. And moms living through their kids.

    Reply
  14. a.teylor

    Let me say that I am definitely against children’s lingerie ads and the sexualization and exploitation of children simply for profit, BUT I would like to point out that the above Vogue spread was supposedly a tongue-in-cheek commentary on an industry that frequently passes off 13 and 14 year-old adolescents as adults.

    From what I have read and understood is that Vogue was actually making a critical observation of the industry standard by cutting to the chase and using actual children dressed up as adults. Sort of hypocritical, since Vogue is obviously guilty of using young models, but nonetheless the intention was (allegedly) to shock and draw attention to a bigger issue. I would also like to think that it’s a use of hyperbole to criticize a culture that worships childlike bodies, but that might be wishful thinking.

    What bothers me is that nobody really makes a fuss over the teenage models that are regularly used in fashion shows and magazines. Teenage models that are emotionally and physically closer to childhood than adulthood…but as soon as the child is 10 years-old (that’s only a 3-4 year difference!), everyone has a fit. Considering most models for the past forty years have gotten their start at 14-16 years-old, this sudden concern over one photo shoot seems a bit void of meaning…Maybe that’s just me.

    Reply
    1. Ameena Falchetto Post author

      I don’t see how sexualising a minor can make a social comment on the exploitation of children. WOW. I hear you completely … I think early to mid teens is a grey area though when it comes to modelling.

      Reply

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