BY JESSICA GOODWIN

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

 

Australian modeling agency Gear Model Management is raising eyebrows with its new search for talent. The agency is seeking models in Sydney as young as 13.

The agency’s head booking agent, Naomi Fitzgerald de Grave, tells the Daily Telegraph that Australia is limiting itself from international modeling by allowing older models -- that models in their mid-teens work in Australia, but then get shot down in Asia and Europe.

“I know people may think that 13 is very young, but that's what the international brands are currently looking for in Europe. Models are too old at 16 now, in Europe the demand is for smaller girls.”

But is 13 too young for a child to be thrust into the spotlight? A child psychologist who spoke to the Herald Sun says yes.

"No 13-year-old has sufficiently emotional, cognitive or intellectual maturity to handle an international modelling career ...This is a further example of a disturbing trend towards the adultification of young people and the erosion of childhood.”

And some in the Australian media agree, Marie Claire Australia’s editor points out how outlandish the comments are, tweeting..

“We wouldn't use a model till she was 16 so being washed up is ridiculous!”

According to The Age, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar says that although girls may be discovered young, they do not have to actually start working at such a young age.

''To suggest that 16-year-olds are too old for the modeling world is ridiculous. I know girls are often discovered under the age of 16 but generally we have a policy that they don't appear in the magazine until they are 16.''

Still, the French Tribune isn’t quite so vocal in their opinion, and seems to be more eager to sit back and watch

“While industry across the world is debating over the issue, it would be interesting to see how things in modeling industry evolve in the time to come.”