In 2020, the French film “Cuties” was published on Netflix and quickly sparked backlash for showing minors in provocative situations. The film was about an 11-year-old girl joining a dance crew and claimed to be a critique of the way that young girls are oversexualized by the media and their communities. Many felt, however, that the movie only succeeded in oversexualizing and exploiting its own child actresses.
Whether or not the film showed its message in a poor manner, the core message is right: teens and children, especially girls, are exposed too early to sexualization. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys have experienced child sexual abuse (or CSA). About 1 in 10 teens have received online sexual proposals from adults.
Abuses Hidden in Plain Sight
Oversexualization of children has become so normalized in our society that it is on every TV, in every book and news story, and even in the way we sell clothing. This oversexualization is damaging, leading to minors developing PTSD, self-harming, and even contemplating suicide.
Credit: Female sexualization in top grossing films in the U.S. 2018, by age group, via Statista
Sexualization Inescapable at All Ages
Victoria’s Secret’s PINK has long been criticised for the oversexualized clothing they market to teens. In fact, it is a purposeful strategy, according to their Chief Financial Officer’s claim that 15-year-old girls want to “be older and be cool like the girl in college.” Yet the sexualization of children actually starts much earlier. Moms on social media have showcased the difference between clothes for boys and girls as young as toddlers. Shorts for toddler girls resemble “booty” shorts.
Swimsuits for elementary-age girls are both lacking in functionality and material, having high leg lines and being cropped on top. Pageants can take this to a whole new level, as is demonstrated in TLC’s 2009 series “Toddlers and Tiaras” with toddlers around 3 years old wearing adult-style makeup. Fashion is forcing toddlers to, in a way, grow up too soon.
Society Failing All Children
The worst part of this oversexualization of minors is that neither boys nor girls are protected. For boys, the headlines rarely ever call it abuse, instead minimizing or even celebrating the abuse. When girls experience sexual abuse, society most often blames the victim. Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and its film adaptation are a great example. To some, Lolita was a story depicting the horrors of a man abusing his young step-daughter, but Stanley Kubrick’s film instead turned the underage girl into a “sexy” temptress with her clothing and mannerisms. In real life, this mindset has been highlighted in public responses to the documents in the Epstein files. Megyn Kelly has made strong statements downplaying the reported abuses, dismissing the abuse of 15-year-olds as somehow different and unremarkable compared to the abuse of younger children.
Oversexualization is damaging, leading to minors developing PTSD, self-harming, and even contemplating suicide. Darkness to Light, an organization that prevents CSA, found that having a trusted adult and knowing the abuse wasn’t normal led to minors being more likely to disclose abuse. Overall, only 26% of abused children told an adult, and only 12% reported it to the authorities. This means that we are not doing enough to create a society where children feel safe. It is up to adults everywhere to do better and reject oversexualized norms, whether it is through receiving CSA prevention training or directly calling out problematic behaviors, products, and media.
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