Great Britain: Miss Vogue

Nine-year-old Vogue from Cumbria in northern England practiced for three full months how to walk confidently in high heels. She also trains every week with coaches to perfect her stage presence. Vogue already has plenty of practice in the elaborate routines involved giving her perfect makeup and a glamorous hairstyle. She wears expensive dresses as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

It was Vogue’s own wish to participate in beauty contests for children. Her mother supports Vogue in this, even if at first she had her doubts. She drives her daughter across the country, for example, for the “United Kingdom Junior Preteen” pageant.

Although child beauty pageants are often viewed critically, they are booming in countries like the USA but also in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. And in the UK, where according to BBC estimates around 10,000 children take part in these competitions every year, often encouraged by ambitious parents. Vogue entered her first contest at seven, but also pursues a very different passion: soccer. She dreams of one day playing for the English women’s national team. For a while, Danish photographer Emilie Toldam accompanied Vogue, witnessing small triumphs and defeats—and spoke to her mother, who believes that beauty pageants are instilling her daughter with an ambition that will serve her well throughout life.

Photographer: Emilie Toldam, Denmark

Emilie Toldam, born in 1996, lives in Aarhus and holds a Bachelor’s in Photojournalism from the Danish School of Media and Journalism. Her range of topics extends from wedding photography to portraits, from stories on childhood and adolescence to family life. Toldam worked for the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten and won several prizes in various Danish competitions.

Credits Texts: Peter-Matthias Gaede, UNICEF.