The “most beautiful girl in the world” is not a title that 5-year-old Jare Ijalana from Nigeria was expecting to receive when a photographer posted portraits of her to social media last week.
However, it was not long before Mofe Bamuyiwa’s breathtaking photos of the girl went viral, People magazine reported.
“Oh yes she’s human! She’s also an angel!“ Bamuyiwa captioned a striking portrait of Jare Ijalana on Instagram, adding that she wanted to “portray the interception between her childhood and adulthood so both stay timeless.”
The series of images drew thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, most full of praise for photographer and child, although there was some backlash from people who felt it was inappropriate to use makeup and wigs on children to enhance their beauty.
“Jare isn’t a professional model,” Bamuyiwai told Yahoo Lifestyle when asked about the photoshoot.
She explained that the girl, along with her two sisters Jomi, 7, and Joba, 10, have also posed for photos, and the children’s mother was even inspired to launch an Instagram page for the daughters called The J3 Sisters.
Other children have also dominated social media for their exquisite looks, such as 6-year-old Anastasia Knyazeva, whose Instagram account has drawn thousands of followers.
Not all parents are on board with praising their children based on their looks alone, though.
“Young girls today are exposed to greater scrutiny of their looks than ever before,” said one mom, Clare O’Reilly, in an article for the Daily Mail. “They are bombarded with images of beautiful women on social media, and many start sharing similar images of themselves very early in life.”
O’Reilly pointed out that parents may be making things worse, noting that a recent study found that parents of 30 newborns were significantly more likely to refer to a daughter as beautiful, pretty, or cute over a son.
“Is it any wonder that our little girls are turning into young women who are more preoccupied than any previous generation with their appearance?,” she concluded.
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