Child Modeling: Acceptable or Harmful to Their Self-Esteem?
Behind the scenes of the modeling industry, it can be a very particular world. With size and expectations simply defined as to what makes the best ‘hanger’ for the designs. The straight talk and criticisms might be okay for approving adults, but what about when these standards for the best ‘hangers’ pertain to children?
Well, that’s what happens in the first step of any child-modeling search. Children show up fitting the age description of the designs and are ‘seen’ by the designers to assess their look for the particular photo shoot or campaign. Many times these ‘preview’ sessions can be quite harsh with those on the judging panel making comments about anything from skin to hair to size. Some might say this is all part of the business, but is that enough to allow this type of negative talk to take place on impressionable minds?
According to the Children’s National Medical Center, “girls’ with concerns about their own weight and about how they appear to others are significantly related to weight control behavior.”
With over 10 million girls with eating disorders, it does beg the question if this way of assessing child models is something we are going to continue to stand for.
We would love to hear your thoughts LUXies. Do you believe there should be some set standards for the treatment of young models? Or, are you on board with the current approach?
Tagged in: fit, eating disorders, body beliefs, child modeling, evaluation process, self-esteem,
