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The photo above is of the unscripted kiss which has sparked controversy among many people as these children are being asked to perform such scenes without being fully comfortable with the role. Below is a screenshot of an “Instagram story” posted by 27 year old model Ali Michael, who is under fire for her inappropriate comment towards 14-year-old Finn Wolfhard from television series “Stranger Things”. This is another very recent example in which we are able to see how much these young children are being sexualized by older viewers. Although the model states in her apology that her intentions were never to sexualize a young boy, asking a minor to “hit you up” when they are no longer considered a child is definitely sexualizing them. 

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The child actors on the hit Netflix show “Stranger Things” range from ages 10-13 years old. In the new season of “Stranger Things” we see the transitions that these children are going through in terms of the way they dress, speak, and act. Not only are these children expected to act much older in Season, they are also expected to sexualize their onscreen characters. The link above shows an interview with the creators and cast of the hit Netflix show in which child star Sadie explains the unscripted kiss had her “stressed out”. 

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The photo above is of three-year-old “Toddlers and Tiaras” contestant Paisley Dickey in an outfit that imitated Julia Roberts character as a prostitute in the 1990 film “Pretty Woman”. 

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“Wearing heavy make-up and gold stilettos, Thylane Blondeau sprawls seductively on leopard print bed covers. The provocative pose might seem like nothing unusual for a Vogue fashion shoot – except that Miss Blondeau is just ten years old.” (Mahina Kalisi, 2014)

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Introduction

          In my blog I will be discussing how media plays an immense role in hyper sexualizing children. Various forms of media such as marketing, cinematography, music, and photography will be taken into consideration. This blog will discuss popular culture in depth and how it helps us, as the general public, to shape the concept of a child. However, I am more interested in how the idea of children that is portrayed on screen or in media is different than the average ‘child’. I believe that there are two ways that media portrays children, first off as innocent and inherently at-risk, in other cases they are extremely more mature and independent. With that being said, there does not seem to be a visible median, which displays the accurate representation of a child in 2017. Furthermore, I hope to discuss how this inaccurate standard for children set by media is reinforced through all types of media outlets. For example, young adults and teenage actors are now being accustomed to play pre-teen roles in various television shows and movies. These actors appear to be more physically and verbally mature, however, they are portraying a child who is at often time meant to be as young as 12 or 13 years of age. These aspects of role-playing and modelling as a child reinforces an unrealistic idea that the public is constantly being exposed to. Especially in present day, much of the older generations along with these young children are lead to believe that this is the developmental norm. 

          I am personally interested in opening up a discussion on this topic due to the fact that in a world where we can essentially control what children say and depict through social media, there are limited restrictions that prevent the overall hyper sexualization of children. Children are vulnerable and often lack a voice, which can give us a closer glimpse into their world via media. Although we have experienced childhood ourselves, the image an adult creates for them in the media could be distorting. At the end of the day, even though parents and teachers are unable to constantly filter what a child is exposed to on a day-to-day basis, it is crucial for supervisors of these children and students to at least be aware of what they are being exposed to. 

         Furthermore, I am interested in discussing how as adults we hyper sexualize children in media by displaying unrealistic standards for these children. Television shows such as Toddlers & Tiaras, Little Miss Perfect, and Stranger Things are all recent examples of the vast change in popular cinema and television over the past few years. It is unfortunate to see that these television series and reality t.v shows make much bigger headlines in news outlets and entertainment, compared to other global issues which should in fact be circling the media more often.