Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Beauty

MSNBC - Baby with Down Syndrome Lands Swimsuit Campaign

Breaking news! ...but should it be? 

I am not at all averse to the idea of a child with Down syndrome getting a modeling job. By all means, I am a huge fan of inclusion. Hooray, inclusion.

My gripe is with the fact that this is news at all. All children are beautiful - so why is Valentina the first child with Down syndrome that a major designer has signed? Why is inclusion so rare in the fashion industry that the simple act of it is worthy of its own headline? Shouldn't advertisements represent the populous, rather than an unrealistic 'ideal' of what every man, woman, and child should look like?


2 comments:

  1. i really think that this an advertising gimmick! Cute 10 month old kid peddling fashion. I wonder if you'll see kids and adults who are spastic, contorted, drooling, with mouths hanging open, etc. being hired as models. See, the issue is a cute child with DS and a contorted cripple...one sells clothes and other sells pity. Frankly, I would do all in my power to boycott this ploy....sorry for being a contrarian!

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    1. I think the idea of models outside the usual spectrum of catalog 'perfection' is nice, and little Valentina is adorable - but as you say, yes. Probably a marketing ploy.

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