Anon NY Times Article on Girl Influencers and Leotard Brand Reps

[Anonymous (0e7e)]

I am a millennial who spent a lot of time on social media when I was younger. This was back when the average consumer was naïve to the business model of Facebook and algorithms that drive it. Things have changed now. We all know the mechanics of social media platforms. Some people enjoy gaming the algorithm to make money. Some people chose content creation as a legitimate career or supplementary source of income.

To the poster who said “I dont like it, but there is real money, like generational changing money, to be made if one is so fortunate to hit the right mix.” This is almost a good counter argument against the majority consensus in this thread…except for three points:

1. The probability of making a significant income from being an influencer is quite low. The median wage of an influencer is $22 an hour. [1]

2. The probability of child model attracting pedophiles is hard to measure, but definitely higher than we would care to admit (as discussed in the NYT piece).

3. The accountability of social media platforms and brand agencies in protecting children from sex predators is close to zero.

This is a very high risk and low reward scenario in my opinion. Do you really want part of your $22/hr wage be funded by pedophiles? Do you really want to expose your child to even the possibility of being groomed? I can think of a lot of careers and side hustles that don’t involve soft core prostituting a child. They have the rest of their adult life to go into the sex industry if that is what they want to do when they grow up.


[1] https://www.franklin.edu/career-gui...y-markers/how-much-salary-do-influencers-make

And the probability of becoming a blockbuster movie star, hitting the lottery, making money gambling, etc is very low and yet huge industries with billions of dollars and people lining up to try still do it. You get my point, human nature is to believe we are all exceptional and different, as long as that possibility exists to be the next Bjerken or Bratayley or D'Amelio there will be people putting their children up for this stuff.

 

[Anonymous (0e7e)]

Absolutely

Livy Dunne and Sydney Smith are adults...and as parents, its our role to ensure our children understand the difference. You can look up to someone and not copy them at a young age. While there may be societal issues, there is still responsibility that lies with each parent that sets up a social media account to market their child.

I think you are underestimating the power of social media/peer pressure/friends and overestimating the ability of parents and younger ones to discern the nuance of an adult being sexy on instagram and holding them up as some role model, but don't imitate them in these specific behavours. The point being, at the macro level, these and others are "successful" because they use sexual innuendo to drive likes and followers, they, and we (collectively) have created an environment that rewards this. We can tisk tisk this behavior all we want but until we start rejecting the whole model (this includes not only the businesses but also the influencers ala Dunne) people are still going to try and mimic this model of success. It doesnt matter that only a fraction of a percent actually do make it, if you do make it, it is generational changing wealth.

 

[gymgal]

I can't help but see the read across to a sport in which hundreds of thousands of families invest a vast investment of time and money but from which only a tiny, tiny fraction of a fraction ever see anything approaching a substantial reward.

This is assuming that parents are primarily putting their children into gymnastics for a "payout" like a scholarship. While this certainly happens, the vast majority of parents are not looking for a financial payout from gymnastics.

 

[Anonymous (3240)]

100% agree with many comments here. And sorry for the long rant that follows.

We had a Mom at our gym whose daughter amassed 100k+ followers (and still growing) doing this. At first, the Mom would talk about these crazy messages she would receive from perverted men and seemed shocked by it. (and they were very disturbing).

But, as the followers grew, she insisted that they were all gymnastics related followers. But simply clicking on this girl's follower's pages reveals incredibly disturbing details just like the article pointed. At least 90% of the follower's profiles are of much older men and many of their own Instagram pages show sexualized child photos and/or references to deviant sexual behavior, pornography and such.

This Mom is fully aware of this and chose to leave the gym after a couple of parents and coaches brought their concerns to her. Her response was that the other moms/kids/coaches were jealous of her daughter's success instead of realizing that they were genuinely concerned for her daughter.

Now, her daughter is a rep for many other brands as well, all of which are related to dance, swimwear, etc and show the same types of poses. She has an Amazon wish list that her "followers" can purchase from and her mother has essentially shut out any critics that voice their concerns, including those of her own family.

The whole situation makes me incredibly sad because the victim is the child. As the article pointed out, their brains aren't even developed enough to be able to choose something like this for themselves but I can't say the same for these parents. They are 100% aware of who is following their daughter (and why) and choose to turn a blind eye because of the money, fame and false promises of stardom.

My opinion? Start cracking down on the leotard, dancewear, swimwear companies that promote this stuff. One look at anyone's followers will reveal identical patterns amongst all of them - it is 90%+ older men with numerous photos of young girls posted on their profiles. And as another poster said, and I completely agree with, it's up to us as parents to hold those companies responsible for their conscious choice to encourage this.

I also think that these parents are likely culpable for a great deal of damage. I realize that this probably starts with good intentions, and trying to build a following to help support a future college career, but the reality behind it is incredibly dangerous on many levels. The damage that these kids could suffer from this is incomprehensible to me and I don't think any amount of clothes, money, and followers will help offset the victimization they will likely feel when they are older and have the maturity to make their own choices.

 

[Anonymous (119a)]

From Snowflake Designs (my girls considered doing it until they realized they needed 1000 friends/followers, and we only allowed them to have people they personally knew: family, friends, and classmates ... and they didn't know 1000 people, lol).

"Each selected ambassador runs a 6-month campaign on social media. During their 6-month campaign, ambassadors participate in monthly activities and engage with their fellow ambassadors to develop authentic friendships and bonds. The Snowflake Ambassador program is truly a sisterhood where we support and help one another work towards our goals in and outside of the gym!

With our ambassador campaign being primarily on social media, we want you to know that ambassador safety on the internet is a huge priority to Snowflake Designs. We encourage all ambassador accounts to be parent-run or monitored, we require parental consent to become an ambassador, we do not allow ambassadors to post inappropriate or dangerous content of any kind, we provide ambassadors with safety tips and reminders, and we take precautions on our accounts to keep gymnasts safe.

We always try to select a broad and diverse group of gymnasts to represent Snowflake Designs. For that reason, we select Snowflake Ambassadors based on a variety of factors such as but not limited to; gymnast age, gymnastics level, state of residence, background, number of social media followers, quality of posts and photos, etc.

Requirements as a Snowflake Ambassador:

• Maintain at least 1,000 followers on at least one social media account.
• Post at least 2 high-quality photos or videos with Snowflake Designs products every week.
• Use the Snowflake Designs social media hashtags: #snowflakedesigns, #snowflakeleotards, #snowflakeisgymnastics
• Link to the Snowflake Designs website and social media accounts in your posts.
• Do NOT apply to be an ambassador for other leotard companies during your ambassadorship with Snowflake Designs. You can be an ambassador for other companies, even those relating to gymnastics (i.e. equipment companies), but we would prefer our ambassadors to only represent Snowflake Designs leotards during their ambassadorship.
• Follow our social media posting safety tips and guidelines (these will be provided to you when you are selected)
• Only post appropriate content. No inappropriate or dangerous content on your account is allowed. We will ask you to take a Snowflake product post down if it is inappropriate or dangerous.
• The snowflake on our products must be visible in all photos or videos.
• Ambassadors must continue training in gymnastics during their ambassadorship. This rule does NOT apply to injury, injuries are part of gymnastics and we will be there to encourage and support you through it! However, if an ambassador quits gymnastics during their 6-month ambassadorship, they need to inform Snowflake Designs immediately and their ambassadorship will be forfeited.
• Have fun and love Snowflake Designs!"

I think this seems ok (except the 1000 followers), so maybe Snowflake Designs isn't bad.

 

[Anonymous (d2e5)]

I'm almost wishing that I didn't read this article or thread because once you see it, you really can't unsee it. So of course this makes me realize that the parents and the brands MUST see it, and are consciously ignoring it, or even perpetuating it. What I'm referring to is going to a leo site (not Snowflake - the one I am thinking of is ChalkWarrior) and clicking on one of their ambassadors who has a lot of followers, and then scrolling through the followers and seeing that the vast majority are adult men. It takes ten seconds to do this. And another ten seconds to view the reel that has the child not doing gymnastics but blowing kisses at the camera. I can't help but wonder what the heck is going on, and how we are all just turning a blind eye to this. I guess it's nothing new -- this type of thing has been going on in Hollywood and modeling for a long time -- but the idea that the parents and brands are naive to it is just so clearly not true. I remember when that site promoted accomplished gymnasts and their achievements but I guess the real money is elsewhere.

 

[Anonymous (0a93)]

What I'm referring to is going to a leo site (not Snowflake - the one I am thinking of is ChalkWarrior)

Chalk Warrior really need to have a word with themselves. One of the most recent posts on their Insta grid is of an eight-year-old girl posing in a leotard, and among the "Nice" comments from other gymnasts there's a whole bunch of deeply creepy ones from men who have never posted a single picture and exclusively follow accounts of pre-teen girls in gym, cheer and dance. But I guess that's fine as long as the orders keep rolling in.

 

[Anonymous (0035)]

Chalk Warrior really need to have a word with themselves. One of the most recent posts on their Insta grid is of an eight-year-old girl posing in a leotard, and among the "Nice" comments from other gymnasts there's a whole bunch of deeply creepy ones from men who have never posted a single picture and exclusively follow accounts of pre-teen girls in gym, cheer and dance. But I guess that's fine as long as the orders keep rolling in.

I agree. I also have issues with the size and location of the handprint logo.Too big to be displayed anywhere in the pelvis area. (I am a survivor of CSA so this is likely why I find it so offensive).

 

[Anonymous (d462)]

From Snowflake Designs (my girls considered doing it until they realized they needed 1000 friends/followers, and we only allowed them to have people they personally knew: family, friends, and classmates ... and they didn't know 1000 people, lol).

"Each selected ambassador runs a 6-month campaign on social media. During their 6-month campaign, ambassadors participate in monthly activities and engage with their fellow ambassadors to develop authentic friendships and bonds. The Snowflake Ambassador program is truly a sisterhood where we support and help one another work towards our goals in and outside of the gym!

With our ambassador campaign being primarily on social media, we want you to know that ambassador safety on the internet is a huge priority to Snowflake Designs. We encourage all ambassador accounts to be parent-run or monitored, we require parental consent to become an ambassador, we do not allow ambassadors to post inappropriate or dangerous content of any kind, we provide ambassadors with safety tips and reminders, and we take precautions on our accounts to keep gymnasts safe.

We always try to select a broad and diverse group of gymnasts to represent Snowflake Designs. For that reason, we select Snowflake Ambassadors based on a variety of factors such as but not limited to; gymnast age, gymnastics level, state of residence, background, number of social media followers, quality of posts and photos, etc.

Requirements as a Snowflake Ambassador:

• Maintain at least 1,000 followers on at least one social media account.
• Post at least 2 high-quality photos or videos with Snowflake Designs products every week.
• Use the Snowflake Designs social media hashtags: #snowflakedesigns, #snowflakeleotards, #snowflakeisgymnastics
• Link to the Snowflake Designs website and social media accounts in your posts.
• Do NOT apply to be an ambassador for other leotard companies during your ambassadorship with Snowflake Designs. You can be an ambassador for other companies, even those relating to gymnastics (i.e. equipment companies), but we would prefer our ambassadors to only represent Snowflake Designs leotards during their ambassadorship.
• Follow our social media posting safety tips and guidelines (these will be provided to you when you are selected)
• Only post appropriate content. No inappropriate or dangerous content on your account is allowed. We will ask you to take a Snowflake product post down if it is inappropriate or dangerous.
• The snowflake on our products must be visible in all photos or videos.
• Ambassadors must continue training in gymnastics during their ambassadorship. This rule does NOT apply to injury, injuries are part of gymnastics and we will be there to encourage and support you through it! However, if an ambassador quits gymnastics during their 6-month ambassadorship, they need to inform Snowflake Designs immediately and their ambassadorship will be forfeited.
• Have fun and love Snowflake Designs!"

I think this seems ok (except the 1000 followers), so maybe Snowflake Designs isn't bad.

The problem with this is that it is all talk. I know a couple of brand ambassadors and it only takes clicking through a few of their followers to find one that appears to be a grown man who is following hundreds or thousands of little child accounts and porn accounts. These creepy accounts that are following little girls regularly leave dirty comments that can be seen by anyone, who knows what they are sending privately.
So, yes, Snowflake gives the parent information on how to stay safe but they are not taking any responsibility on themselves for keeping these children safe.
I would like to see leotard brands say they will watch the followers of their ambassadors and drop any ambassador followed by unsafe accounts. I would like to see leotard brands ask the parent for the demographics of the child's accounts followers (this information is readily availbale!).

Personally I do NOT like what I have seen in brand ambassadorship and would never allow my daughter to do it... but I do think there are real, legitimate ways that parents and brands could work to make it safer and I don't see very many doing these things.

 

[Anonymous (d462)]

I'm almost wishing that I didn't read this article or thread because once you see it, you really can't unsee it. So of course this makes me realize that the parents and the brands MUST see it, and are consciously ignoring it, or even perpetuating it. What I'm referring to is going to a leo site (not Snowflake - the one I am thinking of is ChalkWarrior) and clicking on one of their ambassadors who has a lot of followers, and then scrolling through the followers and seeing that the vast majority are adult men. It takes ten seconds to do this. And another ten seconds to view the reel that has the child not doing gymnastics but blowing kisses at the camera. I can't help but wonder what the heck is going on, and how we are all just turning a blind eye to this. I guess it's nothing new -- this type of thing has been going on in Hollywood and modeling for a long time -- but the idea that the parents and brands are naive to it is just so clearly not true. I remember when that site promoted accomplished gymnasts and their achievements but I guess the real money is elsewhere.

The difference is that in Hollywood and the modeling industry there are laws to protect children. Yes, it had to get bad before the laws were created, but there are currently laws... in the world of influencers there are no laws yet.

 

[Anonymous (c6bf)]

I agree. I also have issues with the size and location of the handprint logo.Too big to be displayed anywhere in the pelvis area. (I am a survivor of CSA so this is likely why I find it so offensive).

Their whole existence is offensive; just looked at the homepage of their website; the main image on desktop is a headless shot of a young gymnast doing an aerial that prominently features the pelvic area, yuck!

 

[Anonymous (0035)]

Their whole existence is offensive; just looked at the homepage of their website; the main image on desktop is a headless shot of a young gymnast doing an aerial that prominently features the pelvic area, yuck!

It really is gross and so unnecessary for showing the strength and beauty of the sport.

 

[Anonymous (ad20)]

Their whole existence is offensive; just looked at the homepage of their website; the main image on desktop is a headless shot of a young gymnast doing an aerial that prominently features the pelvic area, yuck!

for the record, I see the entire gymnast on the homepage.

 

[Anonymous (5a0a)]

The whole thing is horrifying. It is awful as a mom to see these parents all over the FB groups following this trend like lemmings and offering their daughters up to online pervs like candy. I follow a woman on tick tock who advocates for protection of kids online- she frequently talks about how "kids are not content" and her channel has opened my eyes so much to what is going on out there. Parents are literally acting as digital pimps for their daughters and the kids don't even see a dime. She cited one case where a mother sold her daughters used and dirty leotards to old men for money! I guess to me this is nothing more than flat out child abuse. We don't allow children to be sold in real life but online its okay? It isn't and these parents know what they are doing is wrong but they literally don't care. Its disgusting. If you want to check out some tick tock accounts that discuss this issue further see : fortes latifi and also mom.uncharted

 

[Anonymous (0035)]

for the record, I see the entire gymnast on the homepage.

For the record, this is what you see. I have to scroll down to see the head. The pelvic area is dead center of my screen.

 

[Anonymous (c6bf)]

On an iMac; I don't see a head at all; even when scrolling it's a body cut off at the knees and shoulders. Assuming that's not their intention, they need to fix that. If that was my child in the pic I would be super pissed off that they posted that picture and didn't check how it would appear on all devices.

 

[Anonymous (ad20)]

For the record, this is what you see. I have to scroll down to see the head. The pelvic area is dead center of my screen.

You claimed it was a headless shot, which is untrue. The entire image is posted. I do agree that the web designer should have ensured that the entire image would be viewed without scrolling.

 

[Anonymous (0a93)]

Chalk Warrior really need to have a word with themselves. One of the most recent posts on their Insta grid is of an eight-year-old girl posing in a leotard, and among the "Nice" comments from other gymnasts there's a whole bunch of deeply creepy ones from men who have never posted a single picture and exclusively follow accounts of pre-teen girls in gym, cheer and dance. But I guess that's fine as long as the orders keep rolling in.

Not long after I posted this, the post in question (which had been up for a week) was deleted...

 

[Anonymous (0035)]

Good! Hopefully they change the headless-for-most-but-not-all-but-still-inappropriate-pelvic-display-athlete-image.

 

[Anonymous (5a0a)]

Chalk warrior and all leotard companies should only do pics of athletes doing gymnastics. Not in a full face of makeup with sexualized poses or in the jungle or whatever. These are garments for an athletic endeavor- not the Victoria secret catalog!