by Selwyn Duke, The New American:
On the heels of a condemned and canceled advertising effort by Spanish designer Balenciaga that featured little children in bondage gear, fashion house Benetton somehow fancied it a good idea to release an ad showing young girls posing inappropriately in underwear. The picture created an uproar, with one actress critic saying that it amounted to “sexualizing little kids.” But while many observers are shocked by such images, is it really shocking that society has reached this point given our long-standing cultural trajectory?
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Newsweek reports on the Benetton story:
Actress Busy Philipps slammed Italian casual-wear brand Benetton for “sexualizing” children, and the company has since removed the offending posts.
Philipps took to her Instagram stories on the morning of Christmas Eve to express her outrage at the Instagram photos that showed children posing in underwear while “looking like adults.”
The photos showed two child models which Philipps believed to be near the ages of her own kids, Birdie, 14, and Cricket, nine.
The younger child posed in a cotton bra and underwear set with a zip-up hoodie draped down her arms, while the older girl wore a robe and teddy bear T-shirt that was partly tucked into her underwear.
Below is the picture in question, with parts of the children’s bodies blurred out for propriety’s sake.
@benetton did you learn nothing from the balenciaga issue? We the people aren’t gonna let child sexulisation fly!! Why is this earth infested with paedophiles?! #boycottbenetton https://t.co/4WCkE98LYH
— The Alba Witch (@Albawitch_xx) December 27, 2022
Providing more detail, Newsweek continues:
Philipps, best-known for her television roles in series such as Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek and Cougar Town, told her followers it was so “f***** up” and that she never normally comments on “businesses’ Instagrams.”
“I just saw this f****** Benetton ad. Holy s***, what is wrong with everybody? Having these is very stupid, it’s sexualizing little kids. What is happening?” she stated.
“For the record, I don’t think like all pictures of kids, wearing bathing suits, or even underwear would be sexualizing.”
Philipps then cited other campaigns done by brands such as Gap, which she describes as “appropriate and cute.”
“I don’t know where the disconnect is with people and they’re like, ‘well, if you see that [sexualization], then that’s your problem’. You’re having children pose like adults whilst wearing underwear? Maybe I’m just hyper aware of that now. Obviously, my kids are the same age and it freaks me out.”
Other observers reacted similarly, though, thankfully, while resisting any temptation toward vulgarity.
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