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By Dani Brubaker
A little while back, Tom Ford guest-edited an issue of French Vogue that featured a lot of images on the theme of age: Crystal Renn was a past-her-prime plastic surgery casualty, mature models groped each other in a racy ed called Forever Love, 70-year-old Betty Catroux sat for a portrait and a then-15-year-old Daphne Groeneveld posed seductively on the cover alongside Ford himself.
But what we remember most was this:
- By Sharif Hamza for French Vogue
At the time, we said the all-little girl spread was “unsettling,” whether it was satire or not. Turns out the star of the ed is a model from the Ivory Coast named Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau. She’s got a striking level gaze, a grown-up pout and dancer’s legs. She’s racked up editorials all over the place and starred on a Vogue Enfants cover. She is also ten years old.
On Friday, Fashionista pondered if the 10-year-old’s sudden success was disturbing or not. While over at a Tumblr dedicated to Blondeau, such concerns were dismissed as American “uptight culture.” For example:
It’s all a matter of culture. If she’s raized that way and mostly of european ppl have, how could they see a problem in it? Just because America have a more uptight culture, it doesn’t mean the other ones are wrong and “too sexualized”
First off, sic, sic, sic. Secondly, this isn’t a situation where we have a naked little kid on a beach. This is a situation where we have a child being consistently photographed like an adult. For example:
By Dani Brubaker
Put five (four?) years on her and that’s a Diesel ad. Feel free to call mea Puritan if you wish, but I will remain unsettled by this. I will also wonder if you know what Puritan means.
Here’s a slideshow of Thylane’s fashion work. Plenty of it is age appropriate, some of it arguably isn’t.
Sure, it’s not technically NSFW, but you probably wouldn’t want your boss spotting a topless 10-year-old on your computer, either. Yes, please note that the final slide depicts her essentially topless.
[UPDATE: We've removed the slideshow. You can see more of Thylane's work at Jezebel, Fashionista, Styleite]
[UPDATE II: If you'd like to learn more, here's the explanation.]
[UPDATE III: Her mother, Veronika Loubry, has responded]
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She is hot i want to kiss her.
In some of these comments you can practically hear the sleazy guys licking their lips. The increased sexualization of children brings attention and makes money through shock, by feeding on the fantasies of predators and by building new little consumers for porn. Just because something is OK in Europe or Asia doesn’t mean that, for us, it automatically points the way to a brighter tomorrow. The rest of the world isn’t rushing to copy our so-called “Puritanism.” Why should we accept the rape of a child, real or imagined? Or the brainwashing of many children?
OMG SO SO CUTE
Yh she looks great but not appropriate for her age .. I mean I’m 14 and I still “play” with friends and sleep with a teddy bear.. don’t take away her childhood, let her keep her innocents for a little while , ino it sounds like a cliché but its so true :)
I am ten years old to and i heard about
her and looked her up she is smokin hot
a judge was aked to define porn he said you will know it when you see it. to me i cant say that the scene is pornographic t does however, seems to be exploitive
Child porn was NOT legal in the 70′s. It was just the laws were vague, and most porn came from Europe and were smuggled into the US. While it is true then that nudes and some sexual posing (soft-core) like in SCREW mag. fell under the radar, hard core porn was NEVER legal.
So…this why you area fool…
You claim more crimes against children AFTER child porn was made “illegal”, however, you forget that in order to MAKE child porn, a REAL CHILD has to be molested and/or raped!!!!
If you are talking a bout just child nudes without sexual posing, they have ALWAYS been legal in the the US, and upheld by the Supreme Court time and time again (Sally Mann, Jock Sturges, David Hamilton, Ron Oliver, Pretty Baby, European and domestic nudist/naturist magazines and videos etc. etc.)
So DON’T confuse the two!!
Whether or not child porn incites a pedophile to commit crimes is not the issue…The issue is that it took a criminal act against a child to produce it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The bottom line is this is a form of child pornography. Why would they use a child for this type of pictures. Why not use an adult?
The same two anonymous guests really enjoy trolling here, huh?
the girl has potential to be a real beauty. she is a pretty young girl. are her parents exploiting her. i wont call her sexyfor a few more yeas
Wow
let me translate
HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW!!!
She is HOT
WOW!!!
She’s HOT!!!
I love her.
anyone that even thinks this child is sexy is a pedophile neither one of the pictures above are near sexy plus how do you make a child look sexy because anyone that does think a child looks sexy no matter what they wear is sick in there own head.
You have effectively displayed your ignorance for all to see through your uneducated, narrow mindedness. This is the information age, and it’s at your fingertips. It is well within normal parameters of the male psyche, for men to be sexually attracted to pre adolescent and adolescent girls. I would however ask, since you are so forthcoming with what you have to say, what were you searching for that led you to this site?
Oh and some of these people are disgusting by what they’re saying….
Ok…
I can understand the fashion side of this…and art side of it. Shes beautiful and eye catching for an advertisement, but… too young… I’d pretty much prefer her being over thirteen, being old enough to make her own decision to do this…
But… if she didn’t at the opportunity she has now, she mightn’t have taken modeling on…
So I’m kinda against this and…going along with this… though I stick by what I said on her being over thirteen, even though it kinda seems like I’m not there…
Hello young girl and young boy enjoy your life .becouse two day your earth of your life.so enjoy
I don’t see what the big deal is. Child porn was legal back in the 70′s. In fact, ever since it became illegal, more kids have been raped, murdered, and molested. They need to legalize it again, to keep kids safe.
That’s because it’s reported now that it illegal dumbass The authorities now have to crack down on it Are you that fucking stupid?
Child porn was NOT legal in the 70′s. It was just the laws were vague, and most porn came from Europe and were smuggled into the US. While it is true then that nudes and some sexual posing (soft-core) like in SCREW mag. fell under the radar, hard core porn was NEVER legal.
So…this why you area fool…
You claim more crimes against children AFTER child porn was made “illegal”, however, you forget that in order to MAKE child porn, a REAL CHILD has to be molested and/or raped!!!!
If you are talking a bout just child nudes without sexual posing, they have ALWAYS been legal in the the US, and upheld by the Supreme Court time and time again (Sally Mann, Jock Sturges, David Hamilton, Ron Oliver, Pretty Baby, European and domestic nudist/naturist magazines and videos etc. etc.)
So DON’T confuse the two!!
Whether or not child porn incites a pedophile to commit crimes is not the issue…The issue is that it took a criminal act against a child to produce it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!