# 12-Year-Old Fashion Model. Great. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 18, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641 "2007-09-18T19:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/1 "2007-09-18T19:01:37Z")
[Read the article](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=482192&in_page_id=1879) (though the bit about not wearing ‘attractive’ clothing doesn’t mesh with her available bikini pics) Should I even be surprised? I know model agents who balk when I tell themn they shouldn’t take on anyone younger than 16 (and even then). They stop listening when I explain puberty to them. As in, if she’s thin and ‘hot’ now, it doesn’t mean she went through puberty, it means she’s starting puberty, and will gain much more weight before she gets to 21. Not that they have any problem dropping them once they’re done getting their 15 %… ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/2 "2007-09-18T19:06:50Z")
I clicked and expected a one way ticket to hell. Good news, though. She looks like a little girl, and I didn’t find it the least bit provocative. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/3 "2007-09-18T19:20:12Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] I clicked and expected a one way ticket to hell. Good news, though. She looks like a little girl, and I didn’t find it the least bit provocative. [/QUOTE] Then don’t check out [this one](http://gawker.com/news/to-catch-a-predator/she-didnt-look-a-day-under-14-300607.php) (Taxi driver much?). Not that there have never been 12-year-old runway models in the U.S. before. I remember one girl doing runway in California a few years back. She still played with Barbies. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/4 "2007-09-18T19:34:06Z")
> [@](#): > > But the **5ft 7ins youngster** , who turned 13 yesterday, believed she deserved to win the modelling competition to become the ‘face’ of the show. > “I believe that I can fit into women’s clothes. I can model women’s clothes, so I should be able to do it,” she said. > > “It doesn’t matter about age, it matters that you can do the job. Modelling is all I’ve wanted to do since I was six - I don’t think I’m too young.” > [@](#): > > And Fashion Week spokesman Kelly Wieler said Maddison was not too young. > > “Maddy got in because she was the best contestant - the judges saw that she was fit to do the job.” > > She added that the schoolgirl would **not be modelling swimwear or lingerie**. Bolding mine. Hey, if she keeps up her schoolwork and her parents don’t blow the money and hold it for her to have as an adult, I don’t see the difference between her and Dakota Fanning. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/5 "2007-09-18T19:35:33Z")
This isn’t all that new, is it? Most models start off very young nowadays because it’s a better investment for an agency to have someone with a potentially longer career ahead of them. Her face is a little scary to me, though. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/6 "2007-09-18T19:36:49Z")
I’d bone her. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/7 "2007-09-18T19:39:36Z")
Shades of _Pretty Baby_. Thirty years later. > **[Pretty Baby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Baby_(film))** > > Pretty Baby may refer to: ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/8 "2007-09-18T19:40:01Z")
Nope, I’m still OK. She just looks like a coltish young girl. Pretty, but not sexy. I think several years ago Jamie King would have been a better example of a young girl easily mistaken for a woman. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/9 "2007-09-18T19:46:17Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] Nope, I’m still OK. She just looks like a coltish young girl. Pretty, but not sexy. I think several years ago Jamie King would have been a better example of a young girl easily mistaken for a woman. [/QUOTE] That’s the thing–she looks like a woman in every way _except_ that you can see her in that skimpy picture someone linked to above, and not be turned on. There must be some visual cue we only recognize subconsciously (it helps, of course, that she hasn’t, um, “bloomed” much). “Pretty, but not sexy” is exactly right–it’s hard to figure out how she would be tittilating to the over-13 crowd. Something tells me she’s beating boys away with a stick at her school, though. ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/10 "2007-09-18T19:49:20Z")
Look on the bright side. At last, there’s a model who’s _supposed_ to be built like a 12 year old. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/11 "2007-09-18T19:54:54Z")
[QUOTE=Swampwolf] At last, there’s a model who’s _supposed_ to be built like a 12 year old. [/QUOTE] True, true. And designers can finally admit their clothing is _made_ to fit 12-year-olds. Best of all, 9-year-olds with eating disorders will have someone closer to their age to look up to. Everyone wins! ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/12 "2007-09-18T19:58:43Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] There must be some visual cue we only recognize subconsciously (it helps, of course, that she hasn’t, um, “bloomed” much). [/QUOTE] I think so too, and I think that cue is more complex than just some boobs. More of a waist? More of a knowing look in the eyes? I’m not sure. I was just surprised following the link because I was expecting one of those creepy situations where you can’t tell the model is a kid, and there _is_ an element of sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/13 "2007-09-18T20:01:49Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] That’s the thing–she looks like a woman in every way _except_ that you can see her in that skimpy picture someone linked to above, and not be turned on. There must be some visual cue we only recognize subconsciously (it helps, of course, that she hasn’t, um, “bloomed” much). “Pretty, but not sexy” is exactly right–it’s hard to figure out how she would be tittilating to the over-13 crowd. [/QUOTE] Not to turn this into an AOC debate, but if a man looks at that bikini picture and _doesn’t_ get turned on, he must be gay or something. She doesn’t look a day under 20 in that photo. (And I like small boobs!) People keep forgetting that children physically mature much, much faster these days. And since the human eye has evolved to be naturally attracted by youth (i.e. a healthy, long-lifespan female was preferred because they’re less likely to die from disease or old age @30) – well, that’s the disconnect fueling this sort of outrage. Frankly, I don’t think a pedophile would look twice at those photos – she’s way too old for them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/14 "2007-09-18T20:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] Then don’t check out [this one](http://gawker.com/news/to-catch-a-predator/she-didnt-look-a-day-under-14-300607.php) (Taxi driver much?). Not that there have never been 12-year-old runway models in the U.S. before. I remember one girl doing runway in California a few years back. She still played with Barbies. [/QUOTE] The body says “maybe 16”, but the face says “12”. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/15 "2007-09-18T20:49:53Z")
The dingo ate my baby’s innocence. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/16 "2007-09-18T21:04:12Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] She doesn’t look a day under 20 in that photo. [/QUOTE] Agreed. You can tell she’s a teenager in the candid photo in the OP, but I think if you show this picture to 100 people “blind,” most will say she’s over 18. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/17 "2007-09-18T21:20:21Z")
You can’t see much of her body in that picture. She looks pretty but very young and certainly does not look like a catwalking high fashion model to me. But [this 17 year old girl](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=482194&in_page_id=1879) is gorgeous! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/18 "2007-09-18T21:31:03Z")
I think we’re all losing sight of a very important part of this Pitting, and that’s her parents. Not for letting her model at this age. For naming her “Maddison” with two Ds. For that there can be no forgiveness. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/19 "2007-09-18T21:33:49Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] I clicked and expected a one way ticket to hell. Good news, though. She looks like a little girl, and I didn’t find it the least bit provocative. [/QUOTE] My daughter plays U-12 soccer, so I’m subjected to lots of girls this age. The girl in the photo looks plain to me. I wouldn’t have been attracted to her at 12-14 and am not attracted to her now. Of course that means squat about whether she’s able to model clothes. Aren’t most fashion models being looked at by women and mostly gay men? As an adult male I’d have probably never been exposed to her picture if it weren’t for the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641/20 "2007-09-18T21:49:34Z")
So many things seem wrongheaded about this choice, besides the obvious “she’s too damn young” angle. Are the Gold Coast Fashion Week organizers insane? I can’t believe that a) a 12-year-old has better charisma and looks than any other more experienced model who applied for the job and b) the “official ambassador” for a fashion event in the Gold Coast isn’t going to have to wear swimwear. Um, isn’t Australia’s Gold Coast one of the surf capitals of the world? It’s not that they’re choosing this girl to be in one or two shows, they’re choosing her to represent the whole event. That strikes me as a couple of degrees below barmy. Mothers on the whole might be offended, but models in Australia\* must be feeling downright insulted. (\*Not that these categories are mutually exclusive.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/12-year-old-fashion-model-great/419641.md?page=2)