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08-11-2003 08:21 AM |
Here's the full story:
Quote:
Sex symbol aged eight
By DORA TSAVDARIDIS and BRAD CLIFTON
10aug03
THIS is fashion model Morgan Featherstone. She is blonde, seductive . . . and eight years old.
With her long tresses, heroin-chic eye makeup and sexy stare, Morgan presents like any other magazine model, except on her birth certificate.
The Brisbane schoolgirl works for her father's adult modelling business, Women Model Agency, and is hot property among Asian businessmen, keen to use her "look" to advertise their products.
But, while her parents have defended their decision to allow Morgan to pose as an adult in front of the cameras, leading agencies and psychologists say it is unhealthy and dangerous.
"I don't agree with an eight-year-old being sold as an adult," Peter Chadwick, of Chadwick's Model Agency, said yesterday.
"A kid like that hasn't even gone through puberty and doesn't have boobs. It's strange to be portraying an eight-year-old as a developed adult."
Morgan's mother, Amy Dean, believes there is nothing wrong with allowing her daughter to be viewed as a sex object.
"I can't help that, if people walking down the street think that. I have no control over what other people think," Ms Dean said.
"There's nothing wrong with being made to look older. She doesn't look like a little girl, so she doesn't get picked for that.
"I don't think it has a real effect (on her). She's very level-headed."
The 145cm, blue-eyed, primary school pupil began modelling when she was six months old, in a dairy company commercial. She is now in Year 4 and models part-time.
Morgan's father, Darrell (addendum: please note birth certificate records show Morgan Featherstone's father's name as David Benjamin Featherstone) Featherstone, said his daughter was "better off competing for the older stuff" because it paid more.
"She doesn't get booked for eight-year-old stuff," he said.
"She'll dress herself up, depending on what (shoot) she's going for. No one cares how old they are, as long as they get the shot."
Mr Featherstone is no stranger to controversy.
In 2000, he was charged with extortion in Brisbane for allegedly secretly videotaping a young woman and her mother performing sex acts on him.
He maintained yesterday the charges had been dismissed before the case reached trial, due to a lack of evidence.
Discussing his ease at having his daughter portrayed as a sex symbol, Mr Featherstone was unconcerned.
"I'm very proud of her," he said. "If you go through life worrying about what people think, then you're not going to have a happy life.
"If there's someone out there who has a sickness, I can't control that. That's up to the police to handle.
"I don't think she looks old, I think she looks beautiful."
A recent full-length body shot of Morgan, taken for a Taiwanese client, was destined for the Asian advertising market. The client personally selected her for a series of "lifestyle shots".
Psychologist Dr John Irvine said yesterday it was not healthy for a child to be consistently projected in a way that was beyond her years.
"That can cause confusion . . . see what happens to the Hollywood child stars. They've all said they have trouble adjusting," Dr Irvine said.
"When you're older, your ego is developed and you can take on roles. Children are what the world tells them they are."
The last uproar over the use of schoolgirl models was in 1999, when David Jones used a nine-year-old girl wearing make-up on the cover of a catalogue.
The department store defended the picture, saying it was never their intention to create a Lolita-style look.
Kids follow stars' raunchy fashions
GIRLS as young as 10 are losing their innocence by trying to emulate raunchy pop stars, according to family groups.
Stars such as Christina Aguilera and Kelly Osbourne are leading a fashion revolution that is influencing young girls.
Raunchy dressing is commonplace, with girls as young as 10 wearing short skirts and midriff tops.
Australian Family Association national vice-president Bill Muehlenberg said fashion was stripping children of their innocence.
"Let's let kids be kids and not push them into the adult world too soon," Mr Muehlenberg said.
"Let them enjoy being 10."
Trend forecaster Neil Henson said the trend for young girls to wear midriff tops was being driven by their pop star idols.
"They see their favourite pop stars in magazines and video clips, and just pick up on so much media," Mr Henson said.
"They copy those looks meticulously, and it's really their first sense of freedom. Ten-year-old girls today are that much older, in terms of life experience, than they used to be.
"They are starting to rebel and express their freedom at a much younger age."
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These people are really messed up if you ask me. Its disgusting that they're allowing her daughter to do this...
:mad: |
