Opinion
There’s something very noticeable about people who haul their kids along to “Drag Queen Story Hour”, or celebs who parade their they/them offspring for the paparazzi. The overwhelming smugness. The obvious, preening joy at the attention they’re receiving. They’re merely the latest iteration of the infamous Stage Mother, of acting and child beauty pageant notoriety.
And, just like the worst of those Stage Mothers, they’ll let anything happen to their children, in order to bask in the reflected glory. Brooke Shields’ mother pimped her daughter out for nude photospreads and movie roles at ten years old. Writer Dorothy Hewitt likewise literally pimped her underage daughters out to the creme de la creme of the late 60s/early 70s smart set.
As one de-transitioner has reported, his mother all but forced his “transition” on to him as a young boy at least in part because she got off on the attention. It progressed to the point that she was dragging him along to gay nightclubs, to be pawed and drooled over by adult men.
But this kind of creepy stage mother behaviour is far from exclusive to trans groomers. Far too many parents are perfectly happy to virtually pimp out their children for Insta-fame and cash.
In one photo Rosie lounges on the ground, wearing a tight crop top, staring into the camera. In other photos she poses like a model, looking over her shoulder, pouting.
These images have been posted to an online platform where “fans” can subscribe for “exclusive” pictures of their favourite influencers.
Fans need to be over 18 to subscribe. In other words: adults only.
But Rosie is a child. She’s only allowed on the platform because one of her parents manages the account.
And faster than a New Zealand politician drooling over “Cute Boys” from the Philippines, the raincoat brigade is all over it.
Comments such as “beautiful”, “bloody hot”, “gorgeous”, “so cute”, “so attractive” or “babe” flood Rosie’s page, often accompanied by fire or heart emojis. Many of these appear to be from men.
They tell her she has the body of a “goddess”, compliment her “cute” feet, tell her they’re “in love” with her and that they “want to see more”.
Subscribers pay about $30 a month to see photos of Rosie and some pay even more to send her personal messages.
And those are just the least of it. Much of the pedo fangirling is even more openly disgusting.
In chat groups, adult male “fans” share deepfake porn, and talk about how they masturbate to the photos. Some upload dick pics including pictures of her face. Some even offer to roleplay as the little girl in sexting sessions.
And if all that isn’t alarming enough:
One user posted: “I need to see her in person, they live near me. I just saw the mom post the park near my house.”
Other chats include violent rape fantasies, including thoughts of following a girl to school and abducting her.
Why on earth would any parent knowingly expose their child to this sort of risk? And knowingly it is: they know perfectly well who their turning out their child online to.
Some parents Four Corners have spoken to feel resigned to live with this attention, seeing it as a price to pay for making their child a social media star.
Others appear to be actively courting the men to make money.
“There are many parents who know exactly what’s going on,” says Lyn Swanson Kennedy, who works with Collective Shout, a not-for-profit organisation that lobbies against the objectification of women and children.
“They wilfully turn a blind eye, justifying the means by the ends, whether it’s fame or profit.”
ABC Australia
Well, we live in an era of overwhelming narcissism. One UK survey found that half of teenagers don’t want a career, they just want to be famous. Not famous for anything — just “famous”.
And if that means encouraging paedophiles to drool over their children, well, whatever it takes.