Former French Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno introduced a ban on beauty contests for girls under 16 years of age as part of a gender equality bill.
Child pageant organizers would face up to two years and a fine equivalent to $40,000 if they violate the ban. The proposed law seeks to fight against the “hypersexualisation” of girls, which Jouanno believes is growing more and more prominent in French society.
“Let us not make our girls believe from a very young age that their worth is only judged by their appearance,” said Chantal Jouanno.
The ban was also prompted by a December 2010 French Vogue issue that featured child model Thylane Blondeau, then 10, posing provocatively in a photoshoot. Blondeau sported tight dresses, heavy makeup and sky-high stilettos, items normally worn by adult women but deemed inappropriate for young girls.
France’s upper house, the Sénat, adopted the ban after 196 members voted for and 146 voted against the measure. A handful of prominent politicians have stepped forward to declare that the ban is too severe, including France’s women’s rights minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. Vallaud-Belkacem proposed having “Mini-Miss” pageant organizers file for official permission to host the event rather than face fines or jail time. Her amendment was shot down.
The French lower house, the National Assembly, is scheduled to vote on the ban. If the ban pulls through, under-16 beauty pageants will be declared illegal in France.