It’s not uncommon for teenage girls to work in the fashion industry. But it comes as a bit of a shock that Kristina Pimenova, who is only eight years old, is being named the “most beautiful girl in the world” after years of consciously opposing the sexualization of young girls and encouraging equitable treatment and healthy lifestyles for minors.
Pimenova, a Russian model born in 2005 in Moscow, signed deals with the children’s lines of Armani, Benetton, Fendi, and Roberto Cavalli when she was just three years old. She was featured on the cover of Vogue Bambini, has more than 2 million fans on Facebook, and has 416,000 followers on her mother’s Instagram account.
Children have always been used as models, but Pimenova’s situation is particularly troubling because of her sizable social media following, which makes her vulnerable to global trolling. She’s been called a “babe” and “flawless,” several readers have even commented on her lengthy legs and other body parts. Pimenova has even received marriage proposals despite not being old enough to enter the wedding aisle.
However, following recent media exposure, Pimenova and, more notably, her mother, Glikeriya Shirokova, a model, have come under assault. One Instagram user commented, “My child would never wear shorts this tight and small—ever.”
Another person remarked, “Parents like you are why girls grow up with many issues… Also, so many sick people are out [there] who sexually view these.” One person even referred to the disturbing images as a “pedophile’s dream.”
Shirkova responded to the complaints by telling MailOnline: “You must think like a pedophile to see something sexual in these pictures, so it is time for you to see a doctor.”
She maintains that all of the images are entirely innocent. Despite accusations that she is using her daughter’s attractiveness for gain, she argues that the issue is with individuals with psychological problems. She responded, “I do not accept those claims about sexualizing my child.”
How young is too young is a never-ending topic of discussion. The discussion may have begun with Brooke Shields’ Calvin Kleins advertisement from 1980 when she was just 13 years old.
At the time, she asked, “You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” Still, Angelina Jolie, Liv Tyler, and Cameron Diaz began modeling at 14, followed by Charlize Theron and Cameron Diaz at 16.
In recent years, children have continued to appear in too seductive poses despite guidelines put in place by organizations like the Council of Fashion Designers of America to prevent the industry from utilizing younger models. At the age of six, Dannielynn Birkhead made her debut as the Guess Kids Girl.
The dance prodigy Maddie Ziegler, who starred in Sia’s most recent blockbuster music video “Chandelier,” has begun to pursue a modeling career after leaving Dance Moms. At age 11, Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber was named the face of Versace’s children’s collection. Each of these young girls has experienced blowback because of how they look, and beauty pageants, which have existed forever, exist solely to judge young girls’ appearances.
According to Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., on her website Parenting Science, “the most common worries are that girls will learn to view themselves as sex objects, or that girls will develop anxieties when they fail to meet popular beauty standards.” The psychologist wonders if media depictions of sexualized girls alter how society perceives youngsters and if viewers are more prone to believe that young girls are willing participants in sexual behavior when they see children in vulnerable positions.
For some reason, boys are not subject to the same scrutiny. Hudson Kroenig, who recently started kindergarten, has walked in numerous runway events and appeared in Chanel advertisements. Romeo Beckham is the face of Burberry, and the news of his selection was greeted with delight and praise for the adorable decision. One more example of the absurdly early onset of double standards.