A few weeks ago, commentators and pundits worldwide questioned whether the seductive Vogue Paris magazine spread of 10-year-old French model Thylane Loubry Blondeau had crossed the line. Many pointed fingers at Blondeau’s parents and the publication, but France’s latest child photo scandal has eclipsed that of the elementary school age model-to-be.
This week, the country raised some eyebrows again when news outlets reported French clothing company Jours Après Lunes debuted a line of lingerie for ages four through 12. The ads, which feature little girls posing suggestively in undies and pre-adolescent bras, have reignited the media debate on sexualizing minors.
The online site Jezebel argued that “it’s unwise to throw stones at the French brand when pretty much every mall in America has a Victoria’s Secret Pink outpost selling lingerie to teens.” The online celebrity news site also claimed that the positions and poses of each young Jours Après Lunes model are the issues at hand. (RELATED: 10-year-old French model Thylane Loubry Blondeau’s mom closes daughter’s Facebook page)
“The problem here is more the way the girls were photographed than the items themselves,” Jezebel’s Margaret Hartmann wrote of the female models, some of whom fire flirtatious looks at the camera while seated in a sexually inviting manner.
Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance condemned Jours Après Lunes, adding that the apparel stylist Sophie Morin should be ashamed of herself.
“This is a pedophile’s dream,” Nance told The Daily Caller. “Sophie Morin, the lingerie designer, at Jours Après Lunes should be ashamed and French mothers should be outraged and demand a response.”
Nance said it’s disheartening that the over-sexualization of children has become a pattern in our culture, referring to Abercrombie & Fitch’s highly publicized bikini top specifically made for young females.
“These stories are becoming more common as our society further sexualizes little girls,” Nance told TheDC. “From Hollywood to Abercrombie & Fitch’s push up bra bikini’s for 8-year-olds, the United States has it’s own issues. Concerned Women for America’s members will not accepted the cheapening of our children and will fight pedophilia anywhere we find it.”
Fashion writer and Le Snob Lingerie author Marilisa Racco was in Nance’s corner, telling the New York Daily News, “It’s cute when a little girl dresses up in her mom’s clothing and jewelry and high heels. These pictures are not cute. It’s entirely inappropriate to put a 4-year-old in a bouffant like she’s Brigitte Bardot in ‘And God Created Woman.’ … A pearl-encrusted triangle bra on a little girl does not sit well with me.”
