SOOO.... today... today im in the mood for a little rant. Its a full moon outside, I broke 3 nails, the skin on my face hurts. But the main, and probably only thing worth ranting about is a casting I had today.
A Lingere casting.
so let me begin.
I arrive with my bikini ready and spirits decent. I had a nice 4 hour break in the middle of the day so had time to grab sushi with Lina and after, spent a nice amount of time in a vintage shop being entertained by a Japanese lady with flaming red lips, who was determined to try to speak french with us. By the time we were being picked up, I was feeling as ready as I could before 5 hours of castings, and even had a bounce in my step as I made my way to my managers car. We knock off a few castings from our list, and then arrive at this one. This casting that I'm sure I at least have a better chance at than the 12 year olds standing across from me. We were beckoned to a designated changing area where we could put on our bikinis. When we were finished we waited. We waited like cattle in a cold room, bare footed, and in torture from each others scrutiny. I cringed as I watched a girl, who could have been no older than 13, grab her pencil-thin thigh and squish it hard between her forefingers, exclaiming to her friends that she still had to "lose" some from here... Of course to which her companions replied "no, your so skinny! look at my _____". I thought it an interesting dynamic, considering they then proceeded to eye up each others and everyone else's, legs tummies and forearms for any traces of fat or flaw. I was nausiated. I sat by my booker wearing at least my leather jacket for a little warmth and modesty. Could I have been the oldest person here? I mean, I'm not even on the older end of the scale as far as modeling in goes. In fact I can only recently drink alcohal legally. As I watched these girls bouncing their giddy energy around the room, I was sure it would be at LEAST half a decade before any of them could. Both me and one other girl who had also hit puberty waited quietly with our jackets and our managers.
One by one we went in. I was waiting in the doorway with my manager as the girl before me took her place in front of the judging panel, her manager attempting to sell her to the clients with her portfolio and information. They eyed her up. They eyed her down. She hadn't any waist. She hadn't ANY breasts... And she most certainly didn't have any hips. She did have hip bones though, and some ribs, and even a cute little baby face and slight pot-belly to match. Me and my manager exchanged a glance. She was a baby! A half starved baby at that! We were sure the client would smile politely, hand her her portfolio, and send her on her way with a big mac and a story book.
And just as I was imagining this little scenario, the client said, "Prease try somesing on".
WHAATTT!??? ( this was loudly in my head, I did not in fact shout this)
My manager and I exchanged another look, this time with cocked eyebrows. We waited. She bounced across the room to the other changing area, and back again. Every japanese male with in eye-shot was looking at her. This is of course normal for castings to have groups of people all looking at you, but something is weird when a little girl, obviously lying about her age, wiggles across a room in lingere, while tossing her hair here and there for some extra flare. And knowing that there's a line up in the room over of a bunch of little girls waiting to do the same.
I went in. I came out.
I didn't mind much, because lingere isn't really my strong suit, and I'm pretty sure my tatoo would have gotten in the way anyhow.I Had hardly put on my t-shirt though before 3 other girls around my age had gone in and come out too, having not been asked to try anything on. Surprisingly the only girls who had more than an AA cup. I guess they WANT children. or people who look young anyway. But c'mon!
I BET THEY HAVE BARBIES AND PONIES IN THEIR APARTMENTS WAITING FOR THEM TO COME HOME AND HAVE A TEA PARTY WITH THEM!....... or they're from really bad home lives, or need to support an entire family, or got in the drug scene at 11....
But when should the line be drawn? When should the managers and agencies of these young girls put morale in front of money? When will clients learn how to create their "image" more appropriately for their target market, by using real women for lingere instead of sticking a Nu-Bra of a 12 year old? Let me tell you about a little thing called photoshop. If you can put makeup on, and photoshop a prepubescent girl into looking like she 25, why not spare her her childhood and photoshop another beautiful woman to suit the image. Its not hard. Happens all the time. Pimples, gone. Birthmarks, gone. That little piece of thigh you might not like? well, thats gone too. But I think there isn't enough emphasis on age in the modeling industry. It does make one grow up fast, and lets face it, standing in underwear in front of an entire room of strangers trying to look cute as people search for your flaws is hardly anything most individuals have to go through in a lifetime.
For many girls, they come into the industry when they are most impressionable, so teaching them early on that they are objects of desire, and can make money from it... well, how will they learn to grow more as individuals if thats all they're taught they're worth? Im lucky I started at 17... Many start at 12 and 13. What were you like at 12 and 13?
And then leaving the building, my manager, the wonderful Taka, chased away a group of Japanese men who had gathered to sneak a peak through the partially curtained window.
And we wonder why we have pedophiles.
...
Your last line really hit the nail on the head! Unfortunately, the scene you describe is all too common in Japan. There is a whole (legal) industry in Japan specializing in producing images that stay just barely on the legal side of statutes defining child pornography. If you really want to know more, try doing a search on the Japan Times for relevant articles. Only, be prepared to see some of the articles speak of it in approving tones. :( Why does this happen? I can only guess, but maybe it's because children that age are vulnerable and won't argue as easily. To certain kinds of men that might be appealing. :( There's also a "tradition" of that kind of thing in Japan that goes back a long time. Just think of the girl Murasaki in The Tale of Genji. (If you don't know what that is, try searching the Japan Times.)
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot more I could say, but this comment's too long already.
wisewit
I've already noticed the cultures messed us preoccupation with youth. the animated porn ( which seems more common than REAL porn) is full of 'effed us scenarios where school girls are getting raped. sometimes by men with knives, sometimes by aliens etc. And then the girls here! all making their voice a few octaves higher, dressing like little dolls or children running around calling everything "cute" like their lives depend on it. Very soft spoken and apologetic. its not necessarily a bad thing to be like that, but when an ENTIRE CULTURE accepts young childish behavior and appearance as normal ADULT behavior and appearance... where do people- where do men- distinguish the line between adult and child?
ReplyDeleteIm wondering all about this now. ive give that site a look for sure.
thanks :)
Just to be clear: the Japan Times is just a newspaper and they don't particularly focus on child porn etc. but they're more willing than most Japanese papers to discuss social problems in Japan. I know I've seen various articles about porno, prostitution, and child porn there, but I don't remember what any of them were called. You'll have to use the search engine, but I'm not quite sure what you'll need to put in it. If you want to find the articles on The Tale of Genji, you can probably just type that into the search box.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to be fair to the Japanese, things aren't always as bad as they seem. Japanese people may look all the same but inside they can be really, really different, so it's hard to know what's really typical. . . . It's also not easy understanding the significance of what you see. Japanese culture is not easy to get a handle on. At first it looks really different. Then it looks deceptively similar to western culture. And then. . . .
wisewit
of course i know that. i quite love the culture actually. im just getting used to these other underground pieces that arent so commonly discussed and that are more taboo in other cultures including my own, but are openly acceptable here. I find many things beautiful about the culture here, which is why i keep coming back, but every now and again things catch me of guard.
ReplyDeleteim not at all implying that japanese people are bad, or anything like that at all! im mearly making an observation and giving an opinion based on it.
:)
Yeah, I loved it in Japan, too, especially my homestay in Yamashina (near Kyoto), but I didn't think everything was perfect there. Some of my classmate did, or seemed to. They kept saying Japanese ice cream was better (I did like the ソフトクリム), the baseball was better, the stores were better . . . Well, I don't think that's realistic either. The truth, both the good and the bad, is seldom that simple.
ReplyDeletewisewit