Sally Mann's Exploitation Of Her Children

Sally Mann photographed her children, Emmett, Jessie, and Virginia in natural elements of children growing up. The photographs have raised controversy due to the nudity of the children as well as the exploitation of the children. Many wonder if Mann acknowledged the risk she was putting on the children when she released the images. This leads to the idea that if the children, aged twelve, ten, and seven years old, could freely give their consent for the images to be published.
I believe that Sally Mann knowingly put her children at risk by releasing the images. This is believed because she photographed her children’s nudity. To some, this can be considered an exploitation of children due to the private and personal details photographed. Woodward wrote about how the children were concerned that they would look like “dorks” and “dweebs.” Mann put the benefits from the photographs over the mental consequences of her children. I believe that Mann knew the consequences of photographing her children in such a way, but she put the benefits of the photographs above the …show more content…
This is established to prevent child pornography, as well as children under the age of 18 are still legally children. Parents should be trusted to make logical decisions about what situations their children are photographed. Mann who photographed her children in the nude gave parental consent, but with so much of the children’s private areas exposed, it raises the questions of the children feeling comfortable with the images. Young children do not have the ability to give consent because of their lack of understanding of who is going to see these images, as well as the idea that the photographs will follow them through their lifetime. Mann should have either not shot the images while the children were without clothing, or have waiting until the children were at least 18 years old to feel comfortable with the