Social media is abuzz these days over a French law banning child beauty pageants. The law was actually passed back in September 2013, but it seems that a lot of people are just now hearing about it, and they’ve got some opinions. Really strong ones.

The French government is not messing around when it comes to the ban. Any person who organizes a child beauty pageant in France will now be fined 30,000 Euros (around 35,000 dollars) and face up to two years in jail.

Politicians in France approved the law as part of a bill aimed at increasing gender equality (oui oui!). The bill was introduced after Parliament heard a report by French Senator Chantal Jouanno called Against Hyper-Sexualisation: A New Fight For Equality. In Jouanno’s words, “Let us not make our girls believe from a very young age that their worth is only judged by their appearance.”

According to the New York Times, Jouanno’s report was commissioned by the health minister of France after international public outcry over a French Vogue cover featuring a 10-year-old made up to look like a glamorous adult (which was every bit as creepy as it sounds). In response to the law being passed, Jouanno said, “It is extremely destructive for a girl between the age of 6 and 12 to hear her mother say that what’s important for her is to be beautiful. We are fighting to say: What counts is what they have in their brains.”

Cue our massive applause!

Image zoom ABC