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Should Teen Model Do Risque Photos?

A mom asks on our forum: My daughter who is a model with a well respected agency in New York and who has been modeling since she was 13 in regional and national magazine and fashion layouts.

My daughter has recently been asked to work an assignment which would require partial nudity. The pictures would not show anything but she would have to be nude for the shoot. (her breasts would be covered by her hands or she would have her back to the camera). She has just turned 16 and I am not sure that this would be appropriate for a teen. She is complaining that I am going to ruin her career. I would like some input from disinterested parents.

Forum member desiderata123 offers this advice: I feel your pain. I modeled as a teen/young adult & every move seems to be a slippery slope of keeping your morals & moving your career forward. The shoot itself sounds likes it's being tastefully done & doesn't honestly bother me, but maybe that's because of my exposure to modeling-you can't survive if you can't objectify yourself. However, I think it's wise to keep as much nudity out of the picture as possible at 16. My first reaction to your dilemma would have to be based on your daughter's own maturity level & whether or not you could personally stay with her. If you can't stay with her & play "bad cop", would she honestly be able to say no if they decide to "go in another direction" & ask her to do more than she's comfortable with? Not all changes of direction are lecherous, many are truly artistic, which makes it hard to say no when you can truly see their point of view & agree that it would make a great artistic shot. I think it would be a rare girl who would be able to put a stop to things once the pressure's on ("all the time & $ we've spent so far on this shoot will be wasted"). Things usually progress so slowly it's easy to get in too deep before you know it. I think you & your daughter have to set a very firm & explicitly detailed boundary in the calm light of day, make sure your booking agent & the client are fully aware of them, (communication is key) & then stick with it so there's no pressure to make rash decisions in the moment. Good Luck! You can see this mom's answer on the forum.

Asking our parenting community: I really like the idea that these parents will help their teen keep others from crossing a moral line. When a teen has set their goals at a young age and their future career is something they are working on, weighing in the good and bad is often what parents have to do. Have you every found yourself dealing with a career minded teen? How did you keep their drive from taking over their lives? Please share your thoughts, experiences and advice in the comments area.

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