Doing it for the kidz?

There are few things more likely to raise people’s hackles than the exploitation of children, particularly girls, whose budding sexuality (think Lolita) is both feared and revered. So the recent hoo-ha in Queensland over Gold Coast Fashion Week’s selection of a 12-year-old (for Gucci’s sake!) as its ambassador is a dodgy choice on more than one score.

At a time when most fashion events have moved to ban girls under 16 from adult catwalks, Maddison Gabriel’s appointment - which includes a modelling contract – was bound to stir people up. Apart from the obvious question (almost) nobody would be brash enough to ask: "What about all those aging 25-year olds vying for the role who are nearing the end of their shelf life and should be selected on grounds of fairness alone, while this tadpole has years ahead of her?", there are serious concerns about the year eight student’s ability to cope with becoming a real life Barbie not that long after she stopped playing with her toy version.

So, why does the idea of employing a 12-year-old - who admittedly does look older than her years and, if event organisers are to be believed - is "mature" enough to do the job well, seem so… well… yucky? Derrrr! Because she’s 12! Sure, in some cultures women are married off at that age, but most educated people in western democracies find that shocking and would agree that a 12-year old is not an adult. It follows that Maddison’s perceived "maturity" should have been the least persuasive factor in selecting her.

Many 12-year-old girls consider themselves mature to the point of languid world-weariness. I for one recall lamenting my parents’ "immaturity" during one of their rows over Christmas with the in-laws. I was around 12 at the time; around the same age that my mother gently took me aside and asked me why I thought it was a good idea to wear mascara and eye liner to school. I argued with her, naturally, but was plunged into blind terror when a posse of boys followed me home from school asking for my number. I

t was confusing, but even back then the idea of “becoming a woman” and all that it entailed was enticing enough to override my angst. For young girls in the eye of today’s information explosion I’m guessing it’s irresistible. Surely the sensible approach here is for grown-ups to accept their role as spoil-sports (an inducement to join the club if ever there was one). Young girls’ experimentation with grown-up fashion, sexuality and other so-called trappings of adulthood are part of a process of individuation that is supposed to be transgressive, so when adults openly endorse it, they’re causing no end of confusion.

The worst thing about the Maddison debacle is that it has set a dangerous precedent for other less "mature" kids to take to modelling, not least my own inner 12-year-old, who just won’t shut up about it.