Your story is great but the portrayal of this little girl (yes, she is a little girl) is just awful.

This is just mega-creepy!

How bizarre.

I just saw this pic with article before clicking over to OS. What the hell? When did pedophilia become Vogue?

That's just creepy. Where are her parents?

Seen this on Chelsea Lately last night and all I could think of was, ewwwwwww.

Too young. Wait till she's 11!! Gawd!! What? :D

Yes; its primary appeal is to pedophiles.

r.

The bunnies in the picture must be intended to soften the image. Just disgusting!

Having worked briefly with under-aged girls used and abused by men, I would caution against "political correctness" when it comes to finding this disturbing. I don't think it's disrespecting culture, or failing to understand different mores, or taking anything away from the children themselves that we might find this creepy.

On what alternative planet (okay, France) does this REALLY SEEM okay??? Beyond wrong...certainly not in the interest of young women or children anywhere. Sorry your post was necessary, but it is such an important one. Thanks Catherine! R

An additional creepy aspect is that if she had boobs she would look like 90% of models out there- they tend to look like children.

She is a very beautiful child. Why can't she model for Gap Kids? ~r

I find this photo (and others shown in the linked articles) to be personally offensive in that it is overly sexualizing a prepubescent girl and I can imagine (although I prefer not to) the delight of pedophiles in viewing these photos. However, before we start pointing fingers at the French, we should look at the toddler beauty pageants here in the U.S. Anyone watched "Toddlers & Tiaras" lately? I haven't, it turns my stomach, but I've seen advertisements for it. And now I've seen advertisements for a new TV show about a dance class for girls in the same age range, preparing them for pageants, among other things.

I could rant on about this for paragraphs but I won't. Thank you, Catherine, for bringing this latest exploitation of children to our attention.

They grow up so fast! Hahaha!
But seriously, I actually find this upsetting. I recently saw a spread with Dakota Fanning's little sister who was made up to look 21 and I think she is 11 or 12!!

As the grandmother of a lovely 11-year-old girl I can only say this photo makes me sick to my stomach.

Thanks for alerting us, Catherine.

Catherine,
When you look closely at her eyes, this is chilling.

I find this disturbing beyond words. In our current European and American cultures, this is entirely inappropriate. And in those cultures where 14-year olds give birth, I'll bet they aren't dressing up their kids like this.

Those of you calling this a "French" thing please turn your television on to TLC Toddler's and Tiaras. Where's the outrage there?

I don't think this photo is sexual in any way...if you do, that might be a personal problem you should talk to a therapist or a parole officer about. If it was an adult woman would you consider it to be sexual? No. Just a beautiful woman in a dress.
The issue is taking a child who should be playing with dolls and climbing trees and thrusting her into an adult world where she is seen as an object.
Perhaps it was her idea to agree to model. At that age that world seems so glamorous. There are few little girls who wouldn't want to get dressed up-like playing in Mommy's closet but better. I just hope her parents are constantly at her side, keeping her grounded, and willing to pull her out when it stops being fun for her, unlike the ridiculous Pageant moms who are home grown right here in the good ol' US of A.

These pageants are in my opinion ten times worse than these pictures.

The onlyreason this is being done is because stupid people buy the magazine. I will NEVER buy French Vogue again. Want to know the rub??Most models in vogue are 16-19. My daughter was friends with a Brazilian model (14)who posed for several fashion mags. I think the whole thing is acceptableuntilwe get into the sexually provocative posing of CHILDREN. Good post...let's all boycott.

How ridiculous can you get?!

I’ll bet every woman, not half as beautiful as that model, is as green with envy as an avocado!

She is gorgeous! She looks cute. She looks darling. She looks about as “sexy” as a cucumber. She is a professional model. That is what she does. Leave it alone for Pete’s sake. Look at some of you..... all upset that some poor sad-sack of a pedophile (what, maybe .0001% of the population?) might, in YOUR opinion find this “exciting”.

First, those pedophiles probably won’t see much in this photo at all - she’ fully dressed and not engaged in any “activity”. Go on-line looking for child porn and you can find it blatantly displayed in its most sickening and gruesome aspects in less than 10 minutes. (Yes I did)

This?

This doesn’t even come close. It’s not on the same planet at all.

If there is anything “sick” here, it is the attitude of the “moral” bluenoses who imagine any lovely child to be an object of sexual desire without any evidence whatsoever.

Your jealousy is showing ladies.

As to you men who concur with the ladies: Just what personal experiences are you speaking from? Do you have a “close” acquaintance with a pedophile who has shared his/her fantasies with you?

Bunch’a holier-than-thou twits.... all of you!

ᴼᴥƪ
.

I agree about the American Tiara thing, we do the same thing here because it's supposed to be seen as "cute" --kiddie showbiz, and pushy moms wanting success, not to be taken any more seriously than teenage models. Young is beautiful, beautiful only lasts until 21, then you are too old. I don't think pedophiles first choice of reading material would be Vogue, much too expensive for so little payoff in that department. Europeans have a totally different view of sexuality than Americans do. Naked is normal to them, not pervy, it's us who are pervy.

yeah, yuck.
did they stuff the parents in a closet somewhere, or are they just soulless?

and how can the sexualization of children not be creepy? be it by Vogue or Disney
according to USAtoday "Most runway models are 14 to 19, with an average age of 16 or 17"
I hope this particular photo highlights that to people, since it stretches that age a few year, but it probably won't.
:) and no, not green with envy. I had loving parents who would have never done that to me for any amount of cash, and despite my pink glittery nail polish, I have no desire to be 10 again.

What about the 14-16 year olds that model for Victoria Secret too?
Its all bad
HUGGGGGGG

and from a male modeling site: "The biggest call is for the Male Model between 30 and 40 years old ,and agencies are always looking for these guys."
yeah...not many women hot to trot for those 14 yo boys

Flipping the issue on its side just a bit - I wonder how many plastic surgery junkies out there are going to demand to look like little girls in the near future.

I'm not surprised with anything corporate America does for the sake of a buck, but I am surprised and appalled that any Mother would allow this to happen to her child!

The fashion industry is so strung out anorexic and demented they have no moral compass to go by. Like Calvin Kelin ads. They don't know how sick they come off to the average person. Children are off limits. Off limits.