"We've always had loads of kids looking to become celebrities, but the photos
they send in to us have become more and more risque. Sometimes, you'll get
photos of a kid dressed in a tiny, ultra-low cut tank top and micro-miniskirt,
standing there spreading her legs wide. You have to ask yourself: 'Is this
really an elementary school girl?" an employee of a major talent agency tells
Josei Seven.
"Seeing these little girls wearing fashions clearly designed for women in their
late teens or 20s and their faces caked with make-up can be pretty
overwhelming."
Parents have mixed feelings about the trend.
"I've got a girl in junior high who tells me 'these fashions are the in thing'
and 'everybody's wearing them.' I don't want to come down on her too hard,
because if she's too different from the other kids around her, it could make
life real tough for her," one 40-year-old mother says.
Another sees no problem in dressing young girls as though they were
streetwalkers.
"What's wrong with fashion that exposes a lot of skin?" a 36-year-old mom asks.
"If the kids like it, let 'em wear it. I think it's kinda cute."
Yumiko Mizuno is one mother who has no qualms about letting her daughters bare
it all if that means a one-way ticket down easy street. Mizuno is paying
particular attention to her 11-year-old daughter who's keen on getting into
showbiz.
"If we got an offer for her to do a swimsuit photo shoot, of course I'd snap it
up right away. With glee," Mizuno tells Josei Seven. "Nude shots and adult
movies are out, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with swimsuit shots where
she puts on sexy poses. The kids may be a bit embarrassed, but they've got to
learn that this is their opening to the big time."
Writer Yuki Ishikawa says moms keen to flog off their young daughters for fame
at any price have adopted a too cynical view of life.
"A lot of housewives' satisfaction with life depends more on their husbands
than on themselves. How they fare in life depends on how their hubbies go. They
want to make their daughters into women who are going to be alluring for good
men," Ishikawa says.
It's this same allure that has others worried, particularly because of the
recent spate of violent crimes against children, particularly little girls.
Stage mom Mizuno, though, says such fears are unfounded.
"Even if some guy gives a girl a lecherous look, the kids know enough to just
ignore him and walk away. It's all right," she says.
Others aren't so sure. In the meantime, the trend continues.
"It's become something of an issue within the business. Once upon a time,
parents used to forbid their kids from being in swimsuit shots or photo shoots.
Now, we get parents telling us their kids are willing to do anything, even
swimsuit shots," the talent agency employee says. "We even get some parents who
tell us that if we really want them to, they'll make their kids take everything
off. We don't want to have to deal with that sort of thing."
But one mom says it's worth it to do whatever it takes if fame and fortune
await.
"Frankly speaking, I'd feel pretty good about myself, too, if my daughter
becomes famous," she says. "And if she becomes a top pin-up model, then things
become easier on the financial front, too."
Scribe Ishikawa is not convinced.
"If these mothers were truly satisfied with themselves, there'd be no reason
for them to put their daughters through what they're doing," Ishikawa tells
Josei Seven. "The moms should work at bettering themselves. They're not happy
with their lives and want something better, but have given up on doing it for
themselves and are instead forcing their kids to succeed as their substitutes."
Copyright 1999-2006, Mainchi Daily. Used with permission. All rights
reserved. Ryann Connell is a Staff Writer and Senior Desk Editor for the
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