About a month ago there was quite a bit of controversy when a 12 year old girl, Maddison Gabriel, was selected as the face for the Gold Coast Fashion Week in Queensland, Australia.
I think there are several parts to this question. One is “is a young teen too young to model” and the other is “is Maddison too young to model”. These are two very different premises and need to be addressed separately.
There is also the question about what kind of modelling we’re talking about; after all it covers a very broad spectrum from glamour photos, to department store catalogues to catwalks.
The Federal Prime Minister John Howard came out saying “Catapulting girls as young as 12 into something like that is quite outrageous and I'm totally opposed to it and think most Australians would feel the same way”. Like all generalisations* this statement, and similar ones by Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, as well as the Premier of Queensland Anna Bligh ignores the specifics of this particular case.
In my opinion the statement should read “Catapulting girls as young as 12 into [the possibly highly sexualised world of catwalk modelling, including lingerie and swimwear] is quite outrageous and I'm totally opposed to it and think most Australians would feel the same way”.
In general I have no problem for modelling for people of any age. How would you know what to buy your 10 year old boy or your 60 year old aunt if there wasn’t a model in your department store catalogue? There are actors of all ages as there are models of all ages. I think where things start to get sticky is when young teens are shown to others as sexual entities too early, be that in modelling, acting, singing or in any other way.
OK, onto specifics.
Maddison was 12 at the time of selection, 13 when the controversy hit the papers and would have been 14 when actually acting in an official capacity. She is also 5’ 7.5” (175cm) tall and wears women’s (not girls) clothes.
She wasn’t to appear on the catwalk at the Gold Coast Fashion Week (I understand), but she would be the “face” and appear on print media and in photographs. Her agency’s head Simone Hyde said "She is not and won't be modelling bikinis or lingerie … She has a lot of work to do before she is on a catwalk and this is just the first step.”
She also has a mother who is very involved with her daughter's career and seems to advising her actively.
Looking at the photos on Maddison’s site and other’s, I would say that she was not too young to be the face of the Gold Coast Fashion Week. In the catwalk shots I’ve seen, I’d also say she was not too young. As to leingei or swimsuits, I’d say that was inappropriate.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
For some links about this story see:
- Under-16 models banned from London Fashion Week, Brisbane Times, Katherine Haddon 15/09/2007
- Agent vows to look after 12-y-o, Brisbane Times, 15/09/2007
- Say sorry to my Maddi, Brisbane Times, Caroline Marcus, 16/09/2007
- Model’s mum seeks apology from PM, Brisbane Times, Caroline Marcus, 16/09/2007
- Girls under 16 deserve a turn on catwalk: Campbell, Brisbane Times, Roya Nikkhah in London, 17/09/2007
* And yes, I know that’s a generalisation. I just threw it in to see if you were paying attention ^_^.
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2 chic comments:
Hi Icy
Just thought you might want to know that you've been conned. That was not the real Maddi, but an attention seeking #%$&, who has nothing better to do than pretend to be a "famous" person, and cause upset to both Maddi and her family. Have a look at the blog and you'll quickly see through it. Even wikipedia list it as a parody blog, just that it's not funny when you're talking about a 13 year old child. You don't have to publish this, but thought you'd like to know.
Anon,
I've edited the post to remove the links to the site, but when I wrote the post I was quite serious so I've left the rest.
Thanks
Icy
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