Kaia Gerber
Update: It seems not even Cindy Crawford, whose daughter is featured here, agrees 10 is the right age to start modelling. The supermodel herself was discovered at the age 16 but has come out saying she wants her daughter Kaia to wait until she is 17 before she gets into the industry.
Ms Crawford said: “At this point, she’s too young to pursue a career. There aren’t even a handful of jobs for a 10-year-old girl. But if she’s 17 and wants to try it, of course, what can I say?”
Here’s how we originally wrote about Kaia’s modelling shots for the Young Versace line:
Are you OK with this image as a piece of designer fashion advertising?
How about when I tell you it’s of Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia who has just been announced as ‘the face’ of Young Versace?
She’s 10 years old.
10. Years. Old.
I imagine some people will be OK with it (Cindy obviously is – she was there for the shoot and released a statement saying how delighted she was) but I’m not one of them.
Not by a long shot.
I don’t care that the clothes she’s wearing are technically for ‘kids’ – Young Versace is not an adult line. It’s designer fashion for kids aged 0-12 (which is a whole other world of ugh).
The drawcard for Versace in hiring 10 year old Kaia is clearly that she looks like a baby version of her mother, Cindy Crawford. And this will attract much more media attention than a nameless 10 year old, obviously. And she’s been styled to maximise that opportunity – the pose, the hair, I’m surprised they didn’t draw on Cindy’s signature mole.
I also don’t care that Kaia’s not wearing high heels – something that some people have waved as a flag of age-appropriateness. It’s not just about the clothes (although they do make me uncomfortable – a leather bomber jacket and a micro mini?). It’s the way the image is shot – the moody lighting and the angle of the camera so it looks like it’s shooting up her skirt.
Yuck. YUCK.
You can see Kaia’s age in her eyes. They still look 10. So does her facial expression. But cover her face with your thumb and everything else about this picture screams sexy adult. THAT is how you can tell it’s crossed a line.
Are children as young as 10 and 11 years old the new fresh meat of the modelling world? According to these images, yes they are:
Anais Gallagher, 11
As I wrote in a previous post, it has always baffled me how ANYONE could want their daughter – or son – to become a model:
Chloe Glassi, 13yo winner of the 2011 Girlfriend model search
If you want your daughter to be judged on how she looks and what she weighs, let her become a model.
Same with your son.
If you want your daughter to be photographed looking sexy and made to look much much older than she is? Let her become a model.
If you want your daughter’s self-esteem to be DIRECTLY and inextricably linked to her weight and appearance? Let her become a model.
If you want your daughter to believe her value as a person is determined solely by how she looks and what she weighs? Let her become a model.
If you want your daughter’s self confidence to be smashed to smithereens by an industry that rejects her 99% of the time based on how she looks or what she weighs? Let her become a model.
In stark contrast to the Young Versace images, here is an example of age-appropriate fashion advertising for kids – Paul Smith’s new campaign:
Happy, healthy, unmade-up looking kids having fun. It’s possible.
Children don’t have to be pouting and posing and looking sexily at the camera. Like this fashion image of Anais Gallagher, the 11-year old daughter of Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, who has also snagged a modelling contract with Kate Moss’s agency Storm in the UK:
Anais Gallagher
I’m so not OK with this idea of kids as young as 10 being portrayed like this – I don’t care WHO their parents are. Are you?
Comments
272 Comments so far
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check vintage chanel , just clicks away , just clicks away
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Those photos of Hailey Clauson are seriously disturbing.
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The stance is too provocative, the skirt is too short and she’s 10. Too young and inappropriate.
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From the kids point of view all they are doing is dressing up and making some moves. They have no idea that their poses are suggestive or provocative (much like they don’t understand the very meaning of song lyrics that are completely inappropriate for their age but blaring from every music channel and radio station). The problem is the way it is perceived by others. These photos leave a touch of vomit in my mouth.
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Well the problem wont go away when you publish said pics of what you;re complaining about. Think about it you fool.
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Loved the Paul Smith ad…wonder if they had to explain what a “record” is to the children!
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Totally agree with this. I have been ranting on Facebook recently about being horrified at Witcherys new “tween” range for 8-14 year old girls with sexed up images of young girls in gold mini skirt. I got a huge response from friends who all felt the same and we are all parents of small children. My baby girl is 4 months old tomorrow and I feel frightened about the pressure she will face from peers and media to grow up too fast. This is so wrong!!!
Pingback: Food for thought: Should models under the age of 16 be banned? « Musings of the Media-Obsessed
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I haven’t read all the previous comments so if this has already been written, sorry!
What is up with the legs open poses? That made me squirm/feel I’ll more than the others. Just plain wrong. Not sure if I’d let my daughter model or not, but if I did, I would be there with her and there is no amount of money that would make let my daughter pose like that!
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i was just thinking the same thing, longs legs every which way. the shot of the girl on the motorbike is disgusting…
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I was a child model when I was seven and eight years old, but nothing like what is portrayed in these photos. I modelled at events such as the Stitches and Craft Show in Brisbane in age appropriate clothing and in a child friendly environment and atmosphere. These sorts of images are exactly the thing that peadophiles hunt the web for and in this day and age they are far to readily available. Kids fashion should be for kids, and their clothing should not resemble something that a 17 or 18 year old could wear out and about.
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Honestly, when I first read the title “Anything wrong with this picture?” I thought to myself, “Why? Is she 10?” Because that would be the only reason there’d be something wrong here.
Ho. Lee. Shit.
Super-cute outfit, though. If she were, y’know, 17 or 18.
}:)
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I don’t have a problem with kid’s modelling kid-appropriate clothes with kid-appropriate clothing.
But a lot of that list of photos does not fit that description.
(although i suspect that Anais Gallagher’s modelling has far less to do with father Noel and far more to do with mother Meg Mathews!)
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When I see images of younger family members or my friend’s siblings I often will think ‘wow they’re beautiful, they should be a model!’ but not in the present, I’d think of them modeling perhaps in 10 years. I wouldn’t agree with them doing fashion modelling at age 10 because they’re just a kid, who should be learning, making friends and being immature. Not being judged based off of appearance. Sexualised images are just way worse and I’m also not okay with that. No one should be okay with that.
What about child actors though? They may not be sexual like certain models but aren’t they also pushed into a word where they’re judged on appearance at such a young age?
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Hi Mia,
I think the shadowing on her upper thighs was a deliberate attempt to make the picture appear less pervy. Children shouldn’t be sexualised in any way , shape or form. They shouldn’t even have to be made to feel that they should aspire to fashion. Such a waste of energy that could be spent climbing trees or cracking apart rocks and discovering hidden “diamonds and crystals” inside (like my girls did today).
May I ask you a sincere question? It’s a little long-winded, so bear with me…
You made your name and established a career by working for magazines that generate their revenue through advertising, which uses models (young girls and young women). Hence, your pay-checks were generated from said models and advertising.
Do you find it difficult to be judgmental of mothers of young models ( as you are in the latter part of this post) when you have so actively been involved in the perpetuation of the “beauty myth”?
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Should have also written that I’m completely cogniscient (spelling???) that your career spans 20 years, or so, and that OF COURSE your agenda s a 40 year old will be different then the agenda of a younger Mia.
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I agree with the comments regarding the inappropriateness of sexualising children in advertising. I don’t have any wild arguments for it, just think it’s totally unnecessary. Paedophiles will acquire children’s photographs from anywhere however, not necessarily from these types of advertising campaigns. I was advised by the Australian Council on Children and the Media to advise parents to not place a single photograph of their children on Facebook, due to these types of ‘everyday’ pictures being among the most at risk, or copied. (I teach at a primary school…..they came to speak with us regarding the use of internet/facebook…..)
I find it a little ironic, that (and I guess I consider myself a regular user of the internet and consumer of social media and women’s magazines) the only place I ever SEE images such as these is on THIS SITE. I have never seen any of these child models before, though am aware through professional development I have been involved in that they exist.
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Little girls and boys should dress their age, with clothes
to play in NOT to parade in like mini adults, let them be kids. One thing I loath is seeing obvious kids dressed to look like adults inWomens magazines it’s insulting, cruel and needs to stop. Vogue constantly Does this, they are effectively saying, sorry love although our demographic is 30 – 40 year old women with a large disposable income, none of you look good enough in these clothes to hire an age appropriate model, and by the way you are all too stupid to realize we are using a 12 year old girl in these fashion spreads, and you will buy the clothes anyway…why I won’t buy fashion mags any more like vogue that do this.
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GET out of town!!!! SHE is 10!!!!!
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There are babies modeling. Get over it. Cindy and Kaia are beatiful people, inside and out. If a person cannot see the inner beauty, I suggest they work on themselves. Personally, I disagree that this style is inappropriate. It is not too revealing, and it is stylish. Men should not be looking at children with sex in mind anyway. If they do, its the man’s problem not the style or the child.
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I can’t speak for Mia of course, but my take on what she wrote was that it wasn’t a comment on how nice or otherwise Cindy and Kaia are as people. Mia doesn’t know them any better than I presume you do but you feel you can comment with some sort of authority that they are beautiful inside and out.
Personally I find these clothes very inappropriate for a 10 year old – bottom skimming skirt and leather bomber jacket – do people really dress 10 year olds like this, and how important is it for a 10 year old to be stylish anyway?
I agree that men shouldn’t be looking at children with sex in mind, so why then do we dress and pose children like this – hips jutting, skirt barely covering her bottom, mane flying and a very adult expression on her face.
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Well said ClaireC, Why indeed does a 10 year old need to be stylish and sexy? I just see it as more ridiculous pressure to look perfect.
I also want to know how Frank knows that Cindy and Kaia are beautiful on the inside?
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I also want to know how Frank knows that Cindy and Kaia are beautiful on the inside?
Of course he can’t know any more, than you can imply that perhaps they are not.
But you can get a “feel” for people based on what you have learnt about them about articles, interviews etc through the media over the years.
Admitterly that is just their public persona, but over the many, many years that Cindy Crawford has been a “public” person that has never been any suggestion, any whiff of anything unsavory, that suggests that she is anything but a lovely person.
Why indeed does a 10 year old need to be stylish and sexy?
Whys shouldn’t she want to be stylish just because she is ten years ? Do ten year old children have no right to want to be dressed nicely and in stylish clothes?
I complete dispute that she looks sexy…but then again I don’t look at 10 year olds in that manner.
btw I’m “catgirl” but couldn’t be fagged signing in.
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I can’t speak for Mia of course, but my take on what she wrote was that it wasn’t a comment on how nice or otherwise Cindy and Kaia are as people. Mia doesn’t know them any better than I presume you do but you feel you can comment with some sort of authority that they are beautiful inside and out.
Personally I find these clothes very inappropriate for a 10 year old – bottom skimming skirt and leather bomber jacket – do people really dress 10 year olds like this, and how important is it for a 10 year old to be stylish anyway?
I agree that men shouldn’t be looking at children with sex in mind, so why then do we dress and pose children like this – hips jutting, skirt barely covering her bottom, mane flying and a very adult expression on her face?
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To me these images are less about the inner beauty and more about the inner thigh. It certainly appears the marketers are OK with the latter.
Of course men should not be looking at children with sex in mind (and nor, for that matter, should women), but these images (especially some of the ones in the gallery midway though) make it difficult to distinguish that they actually are children.
The real worry is the trickle-down effect that the majority of 10-15 year olds who don’t look like that, will see those images and believe that’s how they ought to be presenting themselves to the world, and worrying about that instead of working on the inner beauty part.
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What happened to the average young girl who wanted to be a nurse, teacher, doctor or mother? I guess the fashion world want girls to grow up self-conscious, unhealthy, sexy, and the like so they can feed into their psyche that they will only ever succeed if they look like the Versace-girl, or Versace woman and anything less, is anything but abnormal.
It’s the false image they are trying to sell, the false-normal, the false-reality.
And once again, women lose out as we have to keep the male psyche happy about what they want to see in us. We no longer can be ourselves, as we are only as good as they see us.
More work for psychologists and counsellors.
With Peace,
Hanan
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Yes Mia! I am 100% behind you on this!! You are bloody right, stick to your guns hun X
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Most adult women want to be able to identify themselves with models…if 10yo girls can identify with this image, I’m really depressed about how quickly kids are growing up.
This is certainly not what I was wearing when I was 10; I know fashions change, but I’m not sure childhood should. I was still playing princesses and climbing in a tree house and you can’t exactly do that in that getup.
This is the sort of outfit you wear traipsing around the shopping centre, something I’ve noticed becoming increasingly common with young girls. Clothes for fashion, not for practicality…seems like they don’t need ‘practical’ clothes anymore because they’re not participating in the same kinds of play that kids used to.
It just makes me kind of sad for them.
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Not out to join the negativity brigade, but I really feel these kinds of posts would be harder hitting if they explored the topic a little more deeply. I feel like it is one thing to be repetitive (this subject area generates a lot of comments), but another to say exactly the same thing yet again without adding anything new to the argument. More sporadic readers may not notice it yet, but they will and Mamamia may pay for it in the end. My favourite part of this website is the sense of community and the discussion in the commentary, but when the argument is exactly the same the commentary raises nothing new either.
I don’t want to offend or add too much to the negativity, but I do think the feedback needs to be taken on board. Mia, posts like these take about 10 or 15 minutes to write (I think you’d be lying if she said it took much longer). I’d like to see you delve deeper because I think you are more capable than just churning out the same thing day after day. Take a break from the topic and research it… then come back and give us something with a bit of fire. It is a problem that so many people are getting bored with it and not coming back because it is the regular readers that make the Mamamia community as engaging and dynamic as it is, and that’s what makes other people keep coming back. Just food for thought.
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I tend to come back to MM for the comments on the articles rather than the articles themselves. They tend to have more interesting viewpoints and often shed more light on topics by elaborating on particular points etc.
I do miss the older, more detailed MM articles (which we do still get every now and then) but as long as the current ones still generate some form of intelligent discussion, I’ll keep coming back.
You’re right, though; it would be nice for articles themselves to offer a bit more substance, but I suppose that change is a reflection of how the site has evolved over time, be it for better or worse.
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Are these just the kids of rich people who will never know what its like to have to do anything other than prance around in overpriced clothes.
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‘Young’ Versace?
More like ‘Mummy-and-Daddy-bought-it-for-me’ Versace.
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I have a ten year old sister and this makes me feel off. She is already worried about her weight. When I was ten I never thought of it (I’m 26).
I also think it is odd these parents are encouraging their children to well, underachieve. Much has already been said about the negative side to modelling, but what about that it really isn’t much of a career? If I was in the celebrity bubble and wanted my child to be famous or whatever it is these parents want, why not encourage them to have a talent? Send them to acting class? music etc? I under the Pinkett-Smith’s pushing of their kids more than this. At least they are doing something. Unless the modelling is to be a springboard to something else.
I always find it odd how so many people want to be a model. To me it’s a good way to make some money while young then do something else, but on the whole it strikes me as not worth it. Very few go onto become Elle or Cindy and make a lifetime career. For every Miranda Kerr there are girls trooping around Paris doing 18 hour days, being groped at, and all for not that much money. At least push your kids into something more rewarding. Model pushy parents baffle me. The rewards are low, the chances of huge success so limited.
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I don’t know how you can argue that Paul Smith’s campaign is “appropriate”. Sure, it’s not as overtly provocative or sexualised as the other ads, but they’re not exactly singing “Humpty Dumpty”, either. And you suggest earlier in this piece that you find designer fashion for children abhorent. Isn’t Paul Smith’s collection exactly that? Some of the outfits in this ad aren’t exactly childlike.
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I don’t think it’s fair to lump Hailee and Chloe and Elle in with the others – they do shoots for LOVE and campaigns for Miu Miu and Marc Jacobs because they’re interested in the artistry of fashion, and I think they’re too awesome and smart (these are girls who work with The Coens, Scorsese and Sofia Coppola then rave about it) to be sucked in to doing a “cash-in-on-the-youth” fashiony thing if you ask me.
The others are totally right though – WHAT kind of a parent is Noel Gallagher??
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In some ways it feels like alot of elitist grooming by the celebrity parents of their children. They are establishing what the child’s way of life is going to be from that point. A glamorous, high end lifestyle that will bring huge financial reward to the child, objectification (which is worshipped in the USA) brings attention to the companies involved and also the parents (who might be fading from the public eye). Its the grooming that needs careful reflection by the parents, particularly if they lack the moral fortitude to protect their children from even more overt sexualisation, drug use, sexual abuse etc. Obviously there are plenty of parents who push their kids to make it big early in whatever career the child (read parent quite often) wants them to go in, but the modelling industry is just so rife with all the elements that can bring suffering……greed, competition, narcissism, comparison, starvation, and drug & alcohol abuse.
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I have an 11 year old who is now starting puberty who still doesn’t look like that. The fact that she has a child’s body has been hidden by the jacket and with her long legs, she does at first glance look older.
I actually like the black and white photo of antis Gallagher, but think it belongs on a shelf at home, like most portrait photography.
My problem with hailey (the 15 year old) is a lot of her poses. Teenage models have been used for years and will continue to be. Remember Brooke shields? I think using per teens and sexualising them is more the problem.
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Mia I’m with you, at 10 years of age I was still wearing matching best & less twin pant & shirt suits. Getting dressed up involved a 3/4 skirt & top, Nan would braid my hair & douse it in glitter hairspray..let kids be kids..while they can. Now that I’m in my mid 20′s & enjoy fussing about with fashion & face paint, I look back fondly on the days of fluro pink overalls covered in a daisy print, my hair in a pony & my fave fashion accessory being a pair of rollerblades. A 10 year old needn’t even know what a bomber jacket is I say! Cindy’s daughter looks better dressed & styled than what I did for much of my teen years, I can’t help but think she has so much time for all that garb ahead of her, yet there are only a few wonder years where one can get away with fluro pink overalls covered in daisies!
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The further in to the pictures I got, the worse they were, and I couldn’t look at them any further. Up until the last picture of Anais Gallagher (the one with the sunnies on her head) I thought her pics were ok – she was smiling, and looked pretty normal. The other pics in the gallery though are horrifying! Especially the Hailey Clauson ones (sorry if I’ve spelt that incorrectly). Yuck Yuck YUCK!
What are the adults around these kids thinking?? Nope, don’t answer that, as I really REALLY don’t want to know – a photographer would practically have to be a paedophile (or think like one anyway) to set a child up like those shots to then take photos of them. Yuck!
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I won’t be buying my ten year old daughters clothes like that. No way!
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Honestly I really don’t see anything wrong with this picture. I think it’s fine! Would it have been better if she was standing stick straight with her legs together? Seriously! I mean she doesn’t look wrong to me, yeh she has a bit of makeup on but it’s a photo shoot! My 3 year old niece wore a bit of makeup for her dance class performance, doesn’t mean she was trying to be an adult!
I think there’s a time and place for these debates and this isn’t one of them!
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N, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the picture either – I don’t think it portrays sex or anything like that – but I DO have a problem with girls this age being judged by their looks. I am worried for these young girls as there is pressure for them to be a certain weight, wear certain clothes and have a certain look. That’s what worries me.
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Stephanie I completely agree with you re the girls being judged at this age. I can understand people getting upset over photos like those that Hailey Clauson are in, but the one of Cindy Crawford’s daughter, I feel is fine.
She is modelling a children’s clothing line, she’s not posing in ‘sexual’ way and to me isn’t being made out to look like an adult. I do appreciate Mamamia raising awareness towards this subject and as someone who doesn’t have kids maybe I can’t appreciate the sentiments as much but I do have nieces and yes I would hate to think of them being judged like this.
But we also have to remember that there will always be child/teen models, and not all of them will be posing of Target or Kmart catalouges, I wonder would people be judging Kaia Gerber if she was wearing a long skirt or pants? Unfortunately or not companies with clothing lines for children/teens will have to use them in their catalouges…what age is appropriate?
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An important article that desrves to be widely read. The sexualisation of young females is wrong on so many levels, and leads to all sorts of real problems in society. I am no prude, but this is plain wrong, and you are right to say so.
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This is revolting, and I think we need to conitnue to identify and protest these issues. I am stunned that these little girls and young teenagers are allowed to be published in this sexualised, artificial, unrealistic manner.
Most of these images seem to be between ages 10-15. When I was that age, I was obsessed with horses and minimally interested in boys. Was only just allowed to wear nail polish, and still no makeup. Immature? Maybe. But I’d take a horse crazy, geeky, poorly dressed teenager over these portrayed girls. Maks me sad.
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I agree with Mia. It’s inappropriate. Plain and simple. I hate the way media feeds the premature sexualisation of children! Arrgghh!!
On another note, I think Cindy Crawford’s obvious encouragement of her daughter into the world of modeling, is foolish. Kaia is a pretty girl, and these pictures suggest she will probably be quite tall when she grows up, but she is, in know way, in the same league as her mother in terms of looks. Cindy Crawford is freakishly beautiful – stunning. Her child is a sweet looking little girl who happens to look more like her ‘average looking’ father, Randy Gerber. Crawford has made a mistake by introducing her daughter into an industry in which she will be continually compared to her mother, whilst in all probability, never even coming close to her mothers success.
Why didn’t she foster something else in Kaia??
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I don’t think you can possibly see how a person is going to look as adult when they are only 10 years old, and I don’t think it is the point either.
I summarised this article for my husband and his first question was whether Cindy’s daughter is good looking….I did not answer his question and when I asked him whether he ever looks at a 10 year old to decide whether they are good looking he realised how ridiculous it is. I could not put my 10 year old daughter (or 15 year old for that matter) into an environment where I knew that people, let alone adult men were looking at my child and judging them on how they look.
What has happened to our society that we can let our children be judged and ‘admired’ by adults, even though we are so terrified of paedophilia.
Scary times.
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The fact that your husband immediately asked that question – as wrong as you deem it to be – simply highlights my point that this poor child will be subjected to endless comparisons to her mother regarding whether she is ‘as beautiful’. The general public aren’t usually ‘righteous’ in their inquiry – just human.
You’re right – no one can predict whether Kaia will be as ‘beautiful’ as her mother. But the likelihood, statistically, is slim that she will 1. be as ‘stunning’ as her mother, or 2. Enjoy the same level of success even of she is as beautiful.
That her mother has set her up for this – even unwittingly – is very sad.
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Wow. I’m appalled by your comments. ‘Not in the same league’?
I don’t think you are in a position to judge the ‘sexualisation’ of children (by the way, this photo does not sexualise its subject at all) when you yourself are so critical (and wrongly so, in this instance) of a kid’s physical appearance.
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Okay, so you can have an opinion about things, but I can’t? Right.
Firstly, I’m not ‘attacking’ this child. The likelihood of ANY little girl growing up to look like Cindy Crawford et al, is slim to non. Even if your ARE their offspring.
My point is, why would any mother choose this for their child – especially if they’ve ‘lived’ the industry themselves.
Crawford would HAVE to know that comparison will ensue for her daughter if she pursues this career path. That’s damaging to a child’s self esteem. I’m actually a psychologist. But hey, thanks for inferring that my remarks were ‘female catiness’ about ‘looks’.
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Don’t try to distract from what you actually wrote. Saying a kid’s appearance is ‘not in the same league’ as her mother’s is bizarre and also insulting. She’s 10, and you feel that at that age you can assess her appearance against an adult’s.
I couldn’t really care less if you’re a psychologist. I don’t feel the need to provide my resume.
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It’s statement, not an insult. I also don’t infer that it’s anything other than my opinion. Also, I made reference to my qualification to give some credence to the idea that I don’t, in fact, walk around insulting children, as you suggest.
You seem very aggressive/defensive/ etc. I don’t attack people I don’t know, whilst hiding behind my computer screeb. Disagree? Sure. Insult people? No.
Hopefully you’ll be ‘moderated’ off here by the MM team. I won’t be replying to any further comments from you.
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I actually found your plentiful capital letters was extremely aggressive. I don’t think my response was defensive or angry at all. Maybe you should reflect on your own methods of communication.
I think if comments like my own are deleted by moderators and comments like yours (which are emotional and highly critical) remain, it reflects on the blog, not on myself.
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Capital letters – not aggressive. For emphasism.
“appalled by your comments” – sounds pretty defensive and emotive to me.
You don’t want to talk about the issue or what I’m actually saying. You just want to mud-sling. Evidenced by the fact that referred to another contributor as ‘crazy’ in this same thread. No, you’re not aggressive. Not at all…
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MK and Summerof83, let’s remember Mamamia’s dinner party rules. Stick to debating the topic, not getting personal with each other. It’s a topic that warrants debate but nobody wants it to turn into a slanging match.
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Capital letters indicate shouting, which in fact can be interpreted as being aggressive in order to get your point across.
“The likelihood of ANY little girl growing up to look like Cindy Crawford et al, is slim to non. Even if your ARE their offspring.”
Really? I would have thought that sharing the same gene pool as Cindy, would greatly increase her chances of growing up to look like her Mum and to be honest, she looks like her now.
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“Really? I would have thought that sharing the same gene pool as Cindy, would greatly increase her chances of growing up to look like her Mum and to be honest, she looks like her now.”
Exactly, I thought this psychologist was drawing some pretty strange conclusions that don’t make much sense.
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Summerof83, if it’s any consolation, I also would have assumed that capitals are used for emphasis, not shouting. I also understand that you pose the question, “Why didn’t she foster something else in Kaia?” I guess that if Cindy Crawford loves her daughter, she will have explained the way the industry works to her and will be guiding her protectively throughout.
Anyway, just wanted to counteract the negativity towards you. These things shouldn’t really become personal.
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I wasn’t being negative nor personal towards Summerof83 just pointing out that in the online world, it’s pretty standard that capital letters indicate shouting – go on nearly any forum and in the rules, it points this out and usually asks you to refrain from using capital letters.
And as for the gene pool comment, I thought that was just common sense? A human coming from the same gene pool as a good looking one has a much higher chance of growing up to look like that human than ANY other human not from the same gene pool.
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Those photos FREAKED ME OUT! Yuck. Horrible. It’s just revolting.
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I am the mother of three daughters, I totally agree with Mia
What can we do to try and stop the sexualisation of our children? It is very frightening ,,
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The amount of comments below saying that this is a storm in a teacup, the photo is fine and the clothes “are what all the tweens are wearing” are some of the reasons that companies use these images to sell stuff. People are becoming accustomed and immune to the sexualisation of young girls and the advertisers are cashing in. It’s sad and I really am surprised that so many people are OK with it.
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Makes me feel really ill! When will someone stop this train?? I want to get off. 10 year old models, stars who are now ‘sub-zero’ claiming they eat really well. Who are the people who want to look at this stuff? Zac Posen, fashion designer, said on MS that his clothes look much better on ‘real women’ than on his runway models. Um, hello! Use ‘real women’ – probably size 10 rather than size 6 but any improvement would be welcome!
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while i must say that the age appropriate issue is huge and i’m not comfortable with most of these images. i just have to say if you ignore the whole age issue some of these photo’s are beautifully shot. the skill that goes into these images is HUGE and i think what with the content (which most photographers dont actually get that much say over) the photographers don’t really get credit where its due. so here it is WELL DONE this are some magnificent images!
and as for the ear bashing i’m probably going to get. hey i would never ever EVER allow my own daughter to be photographed in this way. ( unless god forbid she decides to be a stripper)
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Oh please, this topic is getting boring and a little contradictory.
You make general judgement calls like why would ANYONE want to let their children model, but then support the Paul Smith Jnr ad.
Very cute ad, I agree, but you don’t think they are paid child ‘models’ who’ve parents have made the decision to sign them up with a modelling agency?
Provocative images of children are one thing, grossly generalised comments about the whole industry are another. Surely Target, David Jones, Seed, Country Road and the likes wouldn’t sell many clothes if no children appeared in their ads as no parent should should ever sign up their child to a modelling agency as you would prefer.
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Couldnt agree with you more!!!
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I don’t really have an issue with the clothes Cindy’s daughter is wearing. If you take a look around at the moment, you will see all the tween/teenagers are wearing short denim shorts – this will be their defining “uniform” of their age group.
The pose however, replicates more adult poses. It’s interesting seeing (our) kids play around with the digital cameras, and movie making features. When they’re copying music videos, the results can be a bit disturbing despite their innocence. Interestingly when the kids are taking still pictures with their friends (and as hubby is a professional photographer, he has set up the lighting, made sure the camera is in focus on the tripod and then left them to it to photograph themselves “remotely”, the results are quite interesting. The majority of the shots the kids take with their friends are extremely innocent and playing around, some of the kid’s friends are very aware of the camera and play up to it in the manner of modelling. The better shots are the more innocent ones.
I think the shots of Anais Gallagher are some of the more interesting pictures. The “unposed” ones are fabulous. The ones where she is trying to replicate more model like poses are a little scary.
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and we wonder why we have young women today with so many issues (body and self esteem). Sexualisation of young girls continues to provide images that are unrealistic.
Why cant a 10 year old girl be just that 10! Why do we want them to grow up so quick, to dress beyond their years, to project a sexy image!
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I agree 100%. I still can’t get past the photo of Hailey Clauson on the motorbike. Made me feel sick to my stomache!
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I agree with you 100% Mia, I am very disturbed by this image of Kaia and I very much disagree with the comment below by Lizi that the shortness of the skirt doesn’t matter as you see more revealing stuff at the mall; in my opinion this doesn’t make it right.
I am so shocked that so many posters feel that these clothes are ago appropriate for a 10 year old. My daughter is 8.5 and not in a million years would I let her dress like that at 17 let alone at the age of 10. She wouldn’t ever be able to lean down to scratch her knee without everyone behind her being able to see her underwear. To me that outfit is tarty and tacky.
Many of the posts below claiming that this is nothing to worry about make me worry for their daughters. Why can’t they let them just be little girls? There is plenty of time to dress how they want when they are older.
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Sorry, the first line of the second para should read “age appropriate”.
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Are you crazy? It’s a stylish VERSACE outfit, not something from Supre!
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I don’t care where it comes from or how much it costs, it’s tarty and too old for a ten year old. You might be happy for kids to wear skirts so short that that people can see their undies but I would NEVER let my daughter dress like that. I won’t let her become some tragic fashion victim who is a slave to the whims of the advertising industry and their questionable moral standards when it comes to how they portray young girls.
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MK, please show other people’s opinions some respect.
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Gotta say, I really didn’t think she looks that old. Dont have a problem with the shot at all, Mia’s “up her skirt” comment smacks of grasping at straws, especially when the lighting actually shades the upper part of her exposed legs.
My only issue with letting my daughter become involved in an industry like this at such an age is that I am not properly equipped or experienced to guide her in it. I know Mia’s got mag cred which she is basing her opinion on, but Cindy’s got plenty of model experience to base her parental decision on too. Cindy is very, very well equipped to make this judgement for her daughter – who you Mia, don’t know from a bar of soap. She’s not an idiot, they certainly don’t need the extra money or fame.
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I agree with you Mia, way too young. I have a 9 year old girl and a 12 year old girl and people have told me that we should put them in modeling – no way, they have enough on their plate with school and after school activities as well as being KIDS. In this competitive world they need time to be kids, not sit around at modeling castings…and thank goodness they love Target because who can afford or more to the point would want to dress their kids in designer clothing ??!! (apart from celebrities of course !) I really think 10 year olds modeling designer kids clothing is setting the wrong precedent for our kids.
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“I really think 10 year olds modeling designer kids clothing is setting the wrong precedent for our kids.”
Really? That’s a bit of a stretch. Out of all the things that can go wrong with our kids you are concerned about some celebrity’s daughter modelling Versace clothes? Chances are your kids are never even going to see this image, it’s not like it’s going to be advertised in Dolly or Girlfriend, let alone is this going to have any impact on their life.
And I hate to state the obvious but there are lots of rich people in this world, not just celebrities, so that’s who these clothes are made for and will be marketed towards. They wouldn’t be making them if there wasn’t a market for them.
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I am astonished that many people don’t find this photo remotely provocative. I’m 19 and I wouldn’t contemplate dressing like this.
The camera angle, the extreme shortness (barely covering her upper thigh), the black leather, the windy hair, the shiny waxed-looking legs, the dazed, expressionless face, just feels too provocative and racy. It looks like she’s going to be picked up by some dashing gent on a vespa.
Yes, I know she’s 10, but at the age of 10 you’re a child. You haven’t even hit puberty yet. And yes, it’s designer fashion, but the high-end nature of the clothes doesn’t mean the person has to appear old.
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This made me cry
As a devoted mother of a 10 year old girl with Aspergers the last thing I want is for her to feel that people will judge her by her looks and weight, I mean of course they will, but I don’t want her to find that out just yet! I think life for a young girl these days is hard enough,10 year olds are not the naive creatures we once were, but seeing these young models as something to aspire to saddens me. It is tragic. I had eating disorders in my teens, I am barely 5ft and starving myself was never going to result in me becoming a willowy giant with legs like Bambi, but with the media using such young models it is no wonder the age girls become aware of image is dropping and as such they are developing eating disorders so much younger.My ten year old often asks ” Do I look fat?” and my mantra is always, “No gorgeous girl, you look healthy!”, but I do wonder how long it will be before she becomes her own harshest critic. So no, I am definitely against such young models and for goodness sake…someone drag a brush through that Gallagher kids hair.
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I like the cover the face with your thumb test. I didn’t quite agree with you up to that point, but yes, now I see your point .I agree.
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I think the somewhat dated hairstyle on Kaia makes her look years older than ten, much more than the pose does. If they’d put her in the same hairstyle as Anais G’s, she’d have looked a little younger and fresher. The short skirt doesn’t bother me – there’s plenty more revealing stuff to be seen at the local shopping mall.
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so because there is more revealing stuff in the shopping mall, that makes it ok???
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I didn’t say it’s culturally/sexually whatever else ok, but that it didn’t bother me personally, and I’m not about to take on all those parents out there who clearly think it’s not a problem to dress their children that way, either. (Many of whom are on this site – see comments below). You try telling a parent what to do with their child – any parent, any child – and see how far you get.