Right: 14-year-old Oceana Strachan (shown in two contrasting publicity photographs) has been reported as about to sign with controversial GEAR model management agency. Found a word you're not familiar with? Double-click that word to bring up a dictionary reference to it. The dictionary page includes an audio sound file with which to actually hear the word said. |
Further implications
The use of very young girls as fashion models appears undesirable, despite the assurances of some within the fashion industry and the successful careers of some models who entered the industry at a young age.
The capacity of girls of 13 or 14 to give informed consent has to be questioned. It is unlikely that they recognise the potentially damaging demands of the industry, including the distorting effect it could have on their self-image and self-esteem.
It should also be noted that the supposed financial rewards to be gained by those who become part of the fashion industry are overstated. It is a tiny minority who earn the enormous salaries that the well-known super models attract. For many within the industry the work is onerous and the financial rewards are small. It is unlikely that young girls entering the industry at 13 or 14 recognise that their chances of achieving significant success within the industry are slight.
Also concerning is the harmful impact of the normalisation and sexualisation of young girls who are then seen as role models for other women. The use of young models in the fashion industry and elsewhere appears part of a larger trend toward treating girls as sexually available objects from a disturbingly young age. This runs directly counter to societal concerns about paedophilia and child abuse.
It is also concerning that the body shape of prepubescent girls is coming to be accepted as a standard for attractive women. Such a trend is likely to fuel the personal dissatisfaction of older or larger women and has the capacity to foster eating disorders among those liable to the disorder.