ABSTRACT
During the seven or eight years falling between 1993 and 2000, the image of a schoolgirl selling herself for extra pocket money to buy brand-name clothes filled men’s magazines, television documentaries, serialized dramas, comics, novels, and horror and art house films. It became the subject of political theory, sociological research and student dissertations and it stimulated local government and police reports and research. It became the catalyst to introduce new legislation to protect young women from exploitation and the pivot for broader political conflicts over gender equality and female empowerment.
