Toddlers, tiaras and tattoos ... oh my!

Photo courtesy of Babble Blog

Most people would agree that something about TLC's show Toddlers and Tiaras is just fundamentally wrong.

Three-year-old girls strut down a runway wearing caked on make up and bikinis. Their mothers live vicariously through them, and contestants often feel pressured to succumb to society's ideals of beauty (See a girl about 4-years-old forced to wax her eyebrows below).

But the show's a hit. Why? Well, it's like that bad traffic accident on the interstate. Nobody can look away, and often times I think we can relate.



As a girl, I was no beauty queen, but I was often pushed into girl scout meetings and fundraisers. Camping out with troop 5109 (Wow, I can't believe I remember the number) will always serve as some of my best childhood memories, but I wasn't always so gung-ho about participating. I hated doing crafts so much so that I would beg my mother, then a troop leader, to permit me to do something else or at least complete the task for me. Hey, being the troop leader's daughter had it's perks!

One year, I remember rolling around a red wagon full of more than 400 girl scout cookies to deliver across my neighborhood. I was the overachiever who tried, with the encouragement of my mother, to out sell all the other girls in my district. Yeah, I don't remember that being very much fun either.

To be clear, I'm in no way comparing Girl Scouts, which undoubtedly instills good values and leadership in youth, to Toddlers and Tiaras, but rather using it as an example to illustrate sometimes parents may be guilty of using their child's extra curricular activities as a means to further their own agenda -- whether it be reliving the glory days of high school or achieving a goal they wish they had when they were young.

The whole Toddlers and Tiara's debate is kind of stale, but it reignited a couple weeks ago (for me at least) when Houston Chronicle Joy Sewing posted this photo in her Shop Girl blog.

Thylane Loubry Blondeau, 10, strikes a pose for a high fashion ad.

The girl, a product of fashion designer parents, appears highly sexualized in her posture in the photograph. Many parents are outraged with the photo, and the girl's mother had to shut down her daughter's facebook page because of the backlash.

"Thylane doesn't know about the buzz, and I want to protect her," said her mother Veronika Loubry on the child's Facebook wall.

Later, she was quoted in a French magazine.

"[Thylane] leads a very normal life ... we've turned down a Ralph Lauren campaign!"

Oh the horror!

While surfing the internet yesterday I found other child portraits that kind of gave me the creeps. (Something about having a tattoo on a little baby just doesn't feel right -- no matter how "alternative" your burgeoning family may be.)

Photo by Brittany Bentine of Locked Illusions Photography

The Houston Chronicle describes the Clear Lake-based photographer's work as "haunting" and reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm stories though.

She said she finds her inspiration in historical figures like Marie Antoinette, fashion, movies and even her own dreams. She then works with local makeup artists and costume designers to make that vision come to life. A lot of her work touches on themes of death, alternative lifestyles and the childhood toys that when seen in a certain light are more terrifying than delightful. The photos capture an aspect of childhood fantasies not often brought to light: sometimes kids can be strange too  ... 

While some of her themes may seem taboo for children, there are some lines she won’t cross. She does not, she pointed out, actually tattoo the children. Not everyone realizes it at first glance, but the “ink” is definitely fake. She also does not believe in exploiting children or making children appear sexualized, she said.

 And people seem to like it. Bentine's  photography company boasts nearly 4,000 fans on Facebook, all of which offer encouraging words.

My question for you is ... is this latter photography art? (Personally, I've always thought art was whatever anyone wanted it to be, whether scribbling on a paper or painting the Mona Lisa. We don't necessarily have to like it.) Also, when does a photographer cross the line when capturing children on camera? How can we prevent people from exploiting children - other than choosing not to tune into Toddlers and Tiaras?

Thanks for reading and if you're interested in contributing to this blog, please e-mail jessica.priest89@gmail.com.

Posted in: arts,photography,Thylane Loubry,TLC,Toddlers and Tiaras,TV