Crossing the Line, As Usual

There's really no question that the photograph above is sexually violent. There's also no question that the subject is underage, the child supermodel Hailey Clauson, who is 17. Max Pearmain, a British fashion editor and stylist (I'm pretty girly for a straight guy but not so girly that I know exactly what a "stylist" does professionally) is apparently the brains behind the full layout which can be seen on his blog.

Kudos to Jezebel, probably my favorite online magazine, for bringing this to light.  As they already point out, it's unbelievably creepy. And it joins a child with a porn star for a photo shoot (they're holding hands in one shot).  While this isn't the crime of the century, it's really the kind of thing that should be avoided.

Yes, I know. We Americans are dull, overly uptight puritans.  We should be more relaxed, like our free-wheeling European betters. Whatever.

First, a child is a child.

Second, no woman should be portrayed this way; with a large hand, attached to a hairy arm, grasping her throat. To the extent that excites someone, it's wrong and so are they. But lo and behold, at the time of this writing, the first two comments to the Jezebel story "point out" that what was being depicted was 1) consensual and 2) common, apparently, for women during sex.

If erotic asphyxiation is an agreed upon activity between consenting, legally competent adults, then I'll be the last person to stand in it's way. But that's a far cry from depicting the strangulation of a child in a way that is most definitely meant to be sexually stimulating.

I hope and pray that Hailey Clauson grows to be a healthy, happy and strong woman, able to enjoy her beauty and success and make the most of every opportunity. If, God forbid, she instead stumbles onto a tragic path because of what she's being joined with and exposed to now, I'll have little patience for the hand-wringers who will then wonder how it happened.