14 DAY TRIAL // Do you remember what you were doing when you were 3 years old? How about when you were older, 5, 6, 7, or 8 years old? How about when you were 9? Whatever you did, whatever your tastes in play at the time, you probably didn’t even know what the word “career” meant.
Kristina Pimenova does. She’s been modeling since she was 3, and now at the age of 9, she has been dubbed “the most beautiful girl in the world.” She also happens to be the most controversial model right now, because of her age, because of some of the comments her modeling photos invite, and because people online think her mother is sexualizing her, robbing her of her innocence.
The facts
Kristina is the daughter of Glikeriya Shirokova and Ruslan Pimenov, a retired football player whose biggest achievement was that of playing for Russia in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The mother, as you probably guessed, is a former model as well and she is the one who has encouraged and made possible Kristina’s career.
Kristina has a huge following online: she’s on Facebook, where she has over 2 million likes to her page, and she’s on Instagram as well, with over 321,000 followers. Both accounts are actually handled by the mother, who promises she makes sure she filters all comments, deleting those that are inappropriate and encouraging users to keep everything they post kid-friendly.
On both accounts, the mother goes to great lengths to assure people that her daughter doesn’t post on the Internet. In other words, all the photos you see online of Kristina have been handpicked by her mother, whether they’re legit modeling shots or candids.
Despite her young age, Kristina has done a lot of modeling work: she’s done campaigns for Benetoon, Roberto Cavalli, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana, and has been featured on the cover of Vogue Bambini. Her mother says she discovered she liked to be in front of the camera when she was just 3 and she’d go to shoots with her (the mother). Kristina hasn’t stopped modeling since.
It’s no wonder why she’s so famous: a single look at a single photo reveals that this child is beautiful, breathtakingly so. She has deep blue eyes, honey blond hair, and the face of an angel. I know all children are beautiful, but Kristina stands out, she is probably the kind of child you stop and stare at in the street if you see her walk by you.
But isn’t she too young to be working in modeling and especially to be exposed online the way she is?
Let kids be kids, don’t project your unfulfilled dreams on them
You should see the kind of comments some of Kristina’s photos have encouraged, from the apparently innocent “she’s a babe” and “whoa, what long legs,” to the creepy message of “I like her” coming from a seemingly grown man.
Again, these are comments about a 9-year-old. She might be the “most beautiful girl in the world” (she probably is, based on her photos), but she’s still a kid and she’s being objectified and sexualized through the way people look at her modeling photos.
So no wonder Kristina is also the most controversial model right now: angry voices online are attacking the mother for projecting her own unfulfilled dreams onto her young daughter, forcing her to live them out for her when she clearly isn’t of age to make her own decision.
This kid is a kid and she should be shielded from the world until she can decide for herself if she wants to be a model, or for that matter, if she wants that many photos of herself to be posted online, where dangers lurk on every virtual corner. This sounds cliché, but you know it to be true.
By making Kristina model, the mother is robbing her of her innocence and of her childhood, she’s forcing her to grow up faster – if you thought exposing her online wasn’t bad enough. It’s exactly what those mothers who put their kids through kiddie beauty pageants are doing, the same voices are saying.
Kristina doesn’t and didn’t have a choice in this, for the very reason that she got started on it when she was 3. She might say she likes modeling and that she’s doing it because it’s her passion, but that’s a learned behavior. Because her mother put her in front of a camera at 3, she doesn’t know any different.
There’s nothing wrong with modeling, but a lot with people’s mind
As they say, there’s always 2 sides to every story, and the same applies to Kristina’s story and rise to international fame. Her mother doesn’t lack defenders, people who say that there’s nothing wrong with her having a modeling career and her photos online – and whoever thinks that must have a very perverted, sick mind.
In other words, there’s nothing wrong with the pictures (or their presences online): if there’s anything wrong, that’s with the person looking at them and seeing something twisted.
For instance, the photo that got the “long legs” comment isn’t inappropriate, because it’s just a picture of a child in a chair, photographed from a low angle. Whoever thinks it’s inappropriate is actually projecting their dirty thoughts on an innocent photo.
Kristina is a gorgeous child and not sharing her photos would be the real shame, the same defenders are saying on social media. Her mother, as her guardian, is entitled to deciding what Kristina should or should not do, and if she decided that she’s to be a model, she knows best. Mothers always know best.
What’s right and wrong?
I’m torn on this. I can’t imagine throwing away my chalk and my dolls and whatever else I was playing with when I was a kid to be a working model. Then again, I was happy when I was included in some fashion show held locally, and some nice lady slapped strawberry flavored gloss on me. I imagine most girls would have been thrilled too.
However, back in the day, we didn’t have social media, so even if by some strike of unimaginable luck I did get asked back for another show, I would have never had more fans than my extended family. And I would have run considerably fewer risks.
What are your thoughts on this? Undoubtedly, Kristina is a gorgeous child, but is she too young to model and to have such a considerable presence online? Is her mother wrong to do this? Let me know in the comments.
