cry babies

[charliesmum]

Was just watching this video clip regarding this hooplah over artist Jill Greenberg's lastest exhibit.

Apparently, in order to get the shot she needed, she would take a lolly away from the toddler who would then go into tantrum mode. She snapped the picture and gave the candy back.

Apparently some people think Jill Greenberg is a Sick Woman Who Should Be Arrested and Charged With Child Abuse. He goes on to say although Although the children are not sexualized, I consider what she is doing child pornography of the worst kind. Buh? And he compares parents who let her do that to parents who let their kids stay with Michael Jackson. Which, I'm sorry, is just too stupid.

I appreciate the fact it seems a bit cruel to take candy from a baby, but they'll get over it. They're toddlers. If they didn't cry at the drop of a hat, or a lollypop, then her taking away the candy wouldn't matter, now would it?

Norman Rockwell stuck a pin in a baby once to get it crying for one of his pictures, and he's still pretty beloved.

I think the pictures are kind of nice, really. Wouldn't want them on my wall or anything, but they really are rather pretty, in their own, weird way. The whole outcry strikes me as part and parcel of the whole 'entitlement children' thing we see so often - parents who get upset when told to keep their child under control in a public place, for example.

Click here to see pictures then let me know what you think.

Comments

[lietya.livejournal.com]

Abuse? Pornography?!!

Nope. Speaking as someone who was actually abused, not at all. You give me the choice at that age of having Mom take away my lollipop or shove me down a flight of stairs, no contest. (Sorry to be so depressing, but that type of analogy always drives me up a tree - every minor act of meanness isn't abuse, every minor violation or inconvenience isn't rape, and for heaven's sake, pornography is not a catchall label for "anything I don't like." Sheesh.)

It IS rather cruel, but no more so than a bunch of other things people do to toddlers - there are kids who'd scream like limbs were being ripped off if you bathed them, or tried to put them to bed, or took away the butcher knife they were about to teethe on. The real question, which everyone seems unable to grasp, is "is the result worth the cost?" (the answer being clearly "yes" in those cases, and perhaps less clear here).

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

every minor act of meanness isn't abuse, every minor violation or inconvenience isn't rape, and for heaven's sake, pornography is not a catchall label for "anything I don't like."

Yes, thank you. Taking away the kid's lolly is a mean trick, but it's not abuse. Especially since, after the photo is taken, they give it back.

I think that the fact that these kids are willing to scream their hearts out over having a lollipop taken away shows just how well they are treated by their parents to begin with. When I was a kid, if someone took something away from me, it was a fact of life and I knew better than to yell about it.

[lietya.livejournal.com]

"I think that the fact that these kids are willing to scream their hearts out over having a lollipop taken away shows just how well they are treated by their parents to begin with. When I was a kid, if someone took something away from me, it was a fact of life and I knew better than to yell about it."

Ooooh, *excellent* point. That's also true.

[zambonigirl.livejournal.com]

Sometimes children think they're being punished if you remove something. Especially if the parent's favored punishment is to take a toy or privilege away. I'm not defending either side here, but what the artist is doing is a tried-and-true method for pretty much every child, everywhere. Also, these kids can't communicate like you and I can. Little Ones cry, particularly if they're under 5. It gets them the attention that they want, and it often accomplishes their goals. It doesn't mean that they're spoiled, necessarily (though they can be), it can mean any number of things. I would assume that a lot of these children are more hurt and confused than anything. There's one little girl who looks particularly confused to me, but I don't know her, so I could just be projecting the faces that my niece gives.

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying these kids are spoiled, don't get me wrong. And as I said, I do think it's kind of a dirty trick to play on the little ones. I just don't think it qualifies as abuse to take candy away from a child who, in all likelihood, comes from a loving and supportive home, and I think to say that it does qualify as abuse disrespects abuse survivors.

[zambonigirl.livejournal.com]

No, I agree that it's not abuse or pornography (dear lord, that person has subsriptions!), but I do agree that it's wrong. Especially if this parent ever tells her child that she can't just take a toy away from a friend of hers without asking first.