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The other day, 'Knee-Jerk-Reaction Dariush' wrote the following... but he thought twice before clicking on 'Upload'...

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Do you think it's right to take a three year old to a salon for a manicure? 'Cause if you don't, you may soon end up in a minority. Apparently several London salons now cater specifically to the under 10s and many more similar venues are going to start touting their wares in other parts of the country before too long. If you'd like to learn more about this intriguing trend, click here to see The Observer's recent report on it.

I was horrified when I first read the article I've just gone and horrified myself all over again by re-reading it now. Such is the degree to which my blood has curdled that I find myself unable to articulate exactly how I feel about this particular 'phenomenon'.

I think all I need to say is this: one of the salons is called Tantrum. We pay good money for little girls (SERIOUSLY little girls) to be made to look like grown women whilst sitting in a place called Tantrum. Someone please call Anton Chigurh and tell him I need help with my cattle gun.

At this point, I am rather curiously reminded of various images I've seen over the last few weeks of Coldplay. Their latest 'look' - put together to promote their new album - frequently sees them covering their faces with sand and grime in an attempt to distance themselves from their squeaky-clean past. Perhaps we should get Chris Martin to stand outside Tantrum and pour mud on his face so that all the little kids streaming into the place start thinking that dirt is cool. Failing that, we could always throw the mud at the parents.

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Then 'Marginally-More-Introspective, It-Takes-Him-At-Least-Five-Minutes-To-Answer-A-Question-Because-He-Tries-To-Consider-All-Possible-Responses-Before-Opening-His-Mouth-Dariush' thought, 'Hang on... what about kids from other parts of the world? Some of them have a much easier, more historically-rooted 'relationship' with make-up and jewellery, don't they?'

I'm no expert, but very young girls from the Indian subcontinent have kohl applied to their eyes, right? And they wear earrings from an extremely young age.

A picture of a rather heavily made up Asian girl wearing jewellery is considered appropriate for 'Western' postcards and travel brochures, but a similar image of an English kid receiving a beauty treatment at a salon is meant to elicit outrage. If we write off this little paradox as a case of 'cultural differences' are we being open-minded or hypocritical? Do let me know what you think, 'cause I can't see the answer very clearly... but then I may have applied too much Gaultier eyeliner today...

Comments

Lorraine said…
Ok, Knee-jerk-not-taking-time-to-think-this-all-the-way-through-because-I'd-rather-have-some-wine Lorraine says, Uh, the reason that makes your blood boil is because it hasn't been the tradition for the West to make up their little girls like women until fairly recently (generally speaking). The problem is precisely that such fussing doesn't have its roots in anything cultural/religious/tribal but rests in the fact that we sex up our kids way too young and then wonder why the underage birth rate is so high.

I don't have a problem with a tot having clean fingernails. In fact, I rather prefer it. But little girls should look like little girls and not Madonna.
Blogger said…
You may be right... but your Madonna point made me laugh, because I think she's been trying to play Miss Prim Lady Of The Manor for the last few years.

Hope the wine was good!
Lorraine said…
Yeah, I guess I never really bought the "Mrs. Richie" thing...and a glance at the tabloids on line at the market today suggest I had my reasons.
Blogger said…
Funny, I actually found the Mrs Ritchie guise more convincing than some of her other 'incarnations', but maybe that says more about me than her.

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