The lingerie company, Victoria’s Secret, announced their first model with Down’s Syndrome. I didn’t ASK for this information. It was thrust into my brain without permission. Now that it’s in there, I’ve got no choice but to process it.

I’m not opposed to people with Down’s Syndrome becoming fashion models. That will be the easy response to any criticism I raise. “John, you jerk! You don’t want everyone to have a chance to succeed!” Even though it will make no difference to the perpetually offended, let me emphatically state that I support anyone making an honest living in any manner they see fit.

That being said, I can’t help but place the Victoria’s Secret announcement in the context of our current culture. I’m struggling to understand how I’m supposed to react. On the one hand, I’m told that women are coerced against their will into sex trafficking situations on a daily basis. I’m told that Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend was a victim of her male oppressor. I’m told that Prince Andrew took advantage of Virginia Guiffre when she was 17-years old. I’m told that Harvey Weinstein did unspeakable things to young girls who simply had no other choice but to submit to him.

And now I’m being told that a young girl with Down’s Syndrome should be celebrated for posing for pictures in her underwear. Do you understand my dilemma?

You will find it difficult to convince me that sexuality is NOT a factor in the selection of Victoria’s Secret models. There are NO models in the catalogue that are physically unappealing. Every woman in every catalogue picture is merely a prop for displaying lingerie. It doesn’t matter whether they have Down’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, or blindness so long as they make the underwear look good. Despite what the company claims, Victoria’s Secret models are NOT diverse. They are ALL physically beautiful.

I’m told that women shouldn’t be objectified. I’m told to appreciate girls clad in skimpy outfits for something other than their bodies. I’ve been scolded for ‘having a dirty mind’ for suggesting that girls should dress modestly. So when I see a young woman with Down’s Syndrome in her underwear who is likely going to announce in 20 years that she is being forced by powerful, rich men to do things that violate her conscience; what do you want me to say?

“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.” (1 Timothy 2:9)