Desmond I Amazing in marketing campaign for Claire's

[SunsetBeetch]

Firstly, have to say I have nothing but sympathy for Desmond, who I believe is being exploited by his parents.

But is this appropriate for a company that sells accessories to teenage girls?

"Retailer of toys and accessories aimed at girls, Claire's, has recruited 12 year old drag act Desmond Is Amazing to do its marketing. A former chair of PIE said he was turned on when Desmond danced sexually for adults. Claire's has deleted this tweet but kept its Facebook post up t.co/tbYJxvrefM "

twitter.com/ripx4nutmeg/status/1263360087894175751?s=19

Claire's just gives the usual "We are inclusive and kind blah blah blah" response to any criticism

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

I think that might be a different child drag queen, Datun. Desmond is the one interviewing a convicted murderer with a picture saying Rohypnol on the wall behind him, and pretending to snort ketamine.

thepostmillennial.com/child-drag-queen-desmond-is-amazing-is-in-real-danger

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

They're endorsing it all though.

[Clymene]

They are getting their arse handed to them on Facebook

[ITonyah]

Almost wish I was on Facebook to see that.

[SarahTancredi]

Yes it is. I've asked HQ to remove it. It's pretty depressing, though, that there is more than one

Yep. I mean we are all for letting kids wear what they like and like what they like. Not sure why that entails late night trips to gay bars, talking to murderers about ketamine and posing with naked men

[Clymene]

Oh they've deleted the thread. Thousands and thousands of people saying they won't ever take their kids there again. I think this might have been their Gerald Ratner

[DidoLamenting]

Without wishing to be cruel- Desmond is not "amazing" nor, without wishing to be cruel, an attractive child, even with all the make-up and glitter.

He is a very odd choice for Claire's

[Clymene]

Here's Desmond at a gay club where people are throwing money at him

[Ereshkigalangcleg]

Without wishing to be cruel- Desmond is not "amazing" nor, without wishing to be cruel, an attractive child, even with all the make-up and glitter.

Novelty value and queer theory points for smashing boundaries and child autonomy.

[SarahTancredi]

cly

Yes I was about to ask where I it as I cant see. And many other posts dont show all the comments. There are angry emojis but no comments

[backseatcookers]

He looks really poorly in recent pictures, if he isn't ill then he must be absolutely exhausted and not enjoying it anymore I think. Poor kid, the number of irresponsible decisions by the adults in his life is shocking.

[ITonyah]

How could the stylist have seriously done that to him without feeling depressed?!

[blubellsarebells]

Im glad they are getting their arse handed to them.
Why would they think this was a good idea?
Of all the lovely looking and talented kids on modelling agents books all over the world they choose this one.
He looks ill, hes not particularly attractive and hes painfully thin.
Im only sad i cant boycott them.
The stuff they sell is a load of overpriced shit anyway, much nicer, cheaper better quality things can be found in h and m, tesco and matalan.

[SarahTancredi]

Why would they think this was a good idea

I never get it either. Theres no middle ground with this shit.if you dont support every last bit of it right down to murderers and drug taking then somehow you want them all to come to harm. No we just want you to safeguard the kids properly ffs

[FamilyOfAliens]

Of all the lovely looking and talented kids on modelling agents books all over the world they choose this one.

It doesn’t have to be a “lovely looking” or “talented” child - if they are truly inclusive, that is.

[UpperLowercaseSymbolNumber]

Jeez.

Should boys be able to have long colourful hair, wear hair accessories, make up and jewellery? Yes

Should boys be able to shop for these items from Claire’s? Yes

Is it ok to have a boy doing advertising of these items? Yes

Is it ok to have this child given their background And adult Orientated entertainment doing it? No.

[ITonyah]

No, but just one who looked happy and not utterly spaced out and ridiculous would be good.

[BringbackLang]

That poor boy. Why can't they just let him be a child FFS. He's going to need a lot of therapy when he's older.

[Datun]

Novelty value and queer theory points for smashing boundaries and child autonomy.

I'll never forget, after several people trying to explain queer theory to me, someone said basically it's all about transgressions.

Transgressions are good, even when they're not. And always progressive, even when it's abusive to children.

And you can see it. You can absolutely see it. Ooh, a kid drag queen. Make up and a wig. Blur those boundaries. So arty. Sooo cooool.

[SarahTancredi]

No, but just one who looked happy and not utterly spaced out and ridiculous would be good

I think we should stop criticising his appearance. He looks now he looks. Bis looks arent the problem. Hes autistic so maybe he cant smile on cue how you i would expect a model to , and autism can lead to picky eating which isnt good for anyone health. And if hes not happy he shouldn't have to pretend he is in photos. None if this is about this poor kid. It's the parents the issue is with.

[TheProdigalKittensReturn]

Desmond needs a whole lot of good meals, some sleep, and more responsible parents. Sadly it doesn't seem he'll be getting any of the above any time soon.

[ITonyah]

I think we should stop criticising his appearance

He is literally a model for an appearance based company

[SarahTancredi]

He is also a ( insert word we arent allowed to say any more here) child.

Smiling enough for the camera is the least of his worries right now. And he may one day read this...

[Clymene]

Tom O'Carroll describes Desmond as hot on his blog. That tells you everything

[DidoLamenting]

I think we should stop criticising his appearance. He looks now he looks. Bis looks arent the problem

His looks are extremely relevant to being used as a model. Desmond is not, to my eyes, a pretty child. One might think it's a good thing that a child who is not conventionally pretty is being used but Desmond is being used because he is a "child drag queen" and for no other reason.