Child Abuse By Fashion Industry Must Stop

Couture-clad fashion show attendees are used to lithe models strutting down the catwalk in pencil-thin stilettos, sporting little more than a beaded silk sundress. Currently, the runway scene is changing. Modeling agencies are recruiting increasingly younger models, setting them up for a lifetime of competition, judgment and possible addiction.

In a recent New York City fashion show, Heatherette Designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains recruited kids just preparing for kindergarten to strut along the catwalk like their 20-something-year-old colleagues.

Because of this, it seems that America can be equated with places such as Haiti because of the shared stance on child labor. Outwardly, America is against harsh physical labor for children, hence the child labor laws in place prevent children under the age of 16 from working. However, although child runway models are not laboring in fields in scorching sunlight, their childhood is essentially taken away and they are potentially exposed to some of the same conditions children laboring in less developed countries are, namely starvation and lack of sleep.

Furthermore, children are extremely impressionable both consciously and subconsciously. Before children learn to speak, they emulate adult facial expressions and emotions. As kids mature, the cool thing to do is to behave just like the older kids. In this case, the older kids are six-foot-tall, chain smoking models.

Because of predicaments such as this, American industry guidelines recommend runway models should be at least 16 years old to strut down a runway. However, this suggestion is currently ignored by many modeling corporations. There are five-year-olds and six-year-olds lounging backstage amongst the thick clouds of Marlboro smoke and piles of appetite suppressant drugs.

According to The New York Times, Vicodin, a prescription painkiller and appetite suppressant that is "only slightly less addictive than heroin," can be found amongst the variety of makeup and hair products strewn across dressing room vanities. In addition, a steroid that reduces body fat called Clenbuterol, is fairly widely used by teenage girls and young adults to keep their weight down.

Kindergarteners are often being forced into this environment of self-hatred, judgment, drug abuse and competition. Not many five-year-olds dream to one day be a size zero and to be able to solely subsist on a stick of gum and a Diet Coke every day. Parents are forcing their kids into the modeling industry for self satisfaction. Whether they are trying to live vicariously through their kids because they were never able to live out their own dreams, or if their child is unnaturally beautiful and on a whim they decide to place them on a polished, paparazzi lined runway, it is not a good choice.

Kids are supposed to enjoy their youth and revel in carefree days, not take instructions from producers and designers. After a while, it has to take a toll on the kids. Additionally, aside from parents' initial reasoning to place their children in the spotlight, why would they keep them there for an extended period of time? Children will soon be molded into dolls. They will learn to take instruction, be self-conscious and compete with other girls who are their age and older because of the nature of the business.

There is no problem with innocent, friendly competition between kids, but competition in the modeling industry is fierce. If children stay in the industry from a young age, they will learn to lead a certain kind of lifestyle. As a pre-teen and a teenager, they may strive to be as slender as their 5-foot-8 co-worker. And to get that competitive edge, they may take drastic measures such as indulging in diet pills and skipping meals. Eventually, young models are more likely to take up smoking as well. This is not because of peer pressure or second hand smoke. It is because a chief part of a model's job is to stay thin. Many models smoke because nicotine is an appetite suppressant. Dieting is experiencing an upswing in teenagers of either sex. Because of this vicious cycle, child models are exposed to health risks other than starvation. With all of the complications and health problems that smoking is likely to cause, child models do not seem to have a healthy life ahead of them.

It is one thing when a woman who is 18 or older chooses to become scrutinized in the modeling spotlight, but there is something completely different and borderline corrupt about kids who barely know their ABCs being forced to look pretty on a catwalk in Milan. The kids will grow up only knowing competition and superficial beauty. Before anyone delves into the modeling industry, they should discover the beauty in life before the beauty in people especially a child Modeling agencies should enforce a rule that allows only girls and boys 16 years or older to walk the runway, with no exceptions. If nothing is done about the decreasing ages of models, eating disorders will be occurring at increasingly younger ages, which could result in health complications and even death. Children should be allowed to live a carefree life, sans-scrutiny while they are still young.

Weekly Columnist Alex Sanders is a 3rd-semester journalism and psychology double major. Her column appears on Wednesdays and she can be reached at Alexandra.Sanders@UConn.edu.