A major scandal at luxury fashion brand Balenciaga has exposed the sexualization of children in our culture and highlighted a problem no one wants to address—the fact that our cultural “elites” seem to think this is OK.
The design company—well known for its collaboration with entrepreneur Kim Kardashian and for producing some of the ugliest, overpriced items on the market (think stiletto Crocs)—plunged into controversy following publication of photos in two Balenciaga advertising campaigns.
One photo features very young children posing with teddy bears dressed in sexual fetish apparel. Another, bizarrely, includes excerpts from the Supreme Court’s 2008 ruling in United States v. Williams, which upheld federal statutes on child pornography.
As public backlash built against the blatant impropriety and sinister nature of these campaigns, Paris-based Balenciaga removed the images from their platforms and issued an apology. The company claimed that it “strongly condemns child abuse; it was never our intent to include it in our narrative,” adding that the campaigns reflect “a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility.”
