10-year-old Vogue model: Pretty or pretty weird?

The December/January issue of French Vogue ignited controversy in 2011 when they featured a 10-year-old girl with a sultry look, plunging neckline, full make-up and spike heels on the cover.  The picture on this link has been cropped.  If you want to see the entire picture, click on the article link below about government bans on this type of picture.

This article discusses how France, Britian, and other countries have worked to ban underage, sexualized models or child beauty pageants.  This article features the full picture of the French Vogue cover referenced in first article.

Sex, lies and media: New wave of activists challenge notions of beauty

Click here for an interesting article about activists challenging unhealthy norms of physical appearance for women and men through documentaries and social media. From the article:

Here’s the fantasy: A half-naked woman lies across a couch, lips pouty and cleavage prominent as her sultry gaze implores you to buy this bottle of perfume.

The reality: Women make up 51% of the United States yet only 17% of seats in the House of Representatives. They’re 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs and 7% of directors in the top 250 grossing films.

 What’s the connection? We live in a sexualized society where the gap between fantasy and reality is vast and harmful.