Innocence lost? 10 year old’s racy photos cause controversy

10 year old Thylane Blondeau has been a head turner since the age of 4 when she strutted her stuff in a Jen-Paul Gaultier fashion show. The daughter of a soccer player and a French actress, the young model has graced the covers of countless magazines and walked the runway with the best of them. But 10 year old Blondeau is now making headlines all over the globe after the editors of French Vogue published a spread showing the young model in what some may deem inappropriate attire, make up, and suggestive poses.

Earlier this year, the Sketchers Shape Ups for Kids ad campaign sparked a backlash of dissent all over the country. Some felt that the ads were done in poor taste, and that the product they were promoting had too much of an emphasis on sexuality and physical appearance. Well, the latest controversy makes the Sketchers campaign look like a Girl Scout troop community service project. The French Vogue spread shows Blondeau rocking uber sexy smokey eyes and flashy outfits with suggestive poses. In a society where the issue of teenage self esteem is a hot button issue, it comes as no surprise that people are up in arms over the magazine photos. The fact is, however, that Europeans are much more open with their sexuality. And judging by the looks of this spread, apparently age is not a factor when it comes to self expression and sexuality. But according to a Fox News blog clinical psychologist Dr. Emma Gray warns that “Prematurely exposing a child to the adult world is dangerously preventing the completion of their development into a person who can survive in it”. Something tells me that a pictorial that features the young girl sprawled out across a tiger fur wearing red lipstick and stiletto heels is not necessarily the most healthy image young girls should be looking at. Although Europeans do not have the issues that we have in the US with teen pregnancy and dropout rates, exposing a young, underdeveloped child is still an issue that deserves to be questioned. Execs at the Sketchers corporation just might be sitting and thanking their lucky stars now that they’ve been made to look like Girl Scouts in the wake of the Blondeau incident.