Abigail Breslin has grown up in the spotlight. From her beginning as a child actress in Signs, to her current roles as a 17-year-old, she has always stole the hearts of the viewers that have watched her grow throughout the years. It seems like lately, however, she has gone from that sweet little innocent girl, to a sex symbol. She recently took part in a photo shoot with the famous photographer, Tyler Shields, where she posed topless in very provocative poses. The question on everyone’s mind is…is 17 too young for a child to be posing this way?

“I wanted to do something iconic with her, something simple but timeless,” Shields said. “She’s the perfect subject for something like this. Incredibly talented, beautiful actress but no one has ever seen her like this. There’s fun in that—showing someone to the world for the first time.”

Many therapists believe that Breslin participating in these types of photo shoots is simply sexualizing a minor. There are millions of sexual predators in the United States alone that view pictures like these daily and pray on children. Abigail Breslin is not yet 18, therefore she is still considered a child, and it is sad that she feels she needs to pose this way to prove that she is growing up.

“This is sexualizing a minor. There are registered sex offenders whose child pornography stash is less provocative than these images. While Abigail is exposing less than what a typical bikini model bares, her youth is being exploited exploiting with the lollipop accent. The public is being seduced by an under-aged girl. This tells young girls that it is okay; that this is what men want and that this is what a female’s worth is based on,” said Los Angeles therapist, Dr. Nancy Irwin.

However, Breslin and Shields defended the photo shoot saying it was all for “fun” and that the pictures are “art”. “Art is about interpretation so I’m sure there are people who think this is to much but she’s an actress if this was for a movie those people would praise her for being bold,” Shields said.

“I love working with Tyler, we always have a blast. We just do it for fun and he’s great,” Breslin said. “I don’t make these conscious decisions to do it to like prove to the world that I’m grown up. I think people see my work and see what I do and see that I’m grown up. But yeah, I’m almost 18. Every headline for the past three years has been ‘Abigail Breslin All Grown Up,’ so I am kind of growing up. I do want to try different things but it’s all for fun.”

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]