Innocence Lost

There has been an overwhelming amount of sexualization in the media over the past decade, kids are being sexualized and people aren’t doing anything about even when it affects our children's future.

Sexualization is the process whereby characters are portrayed and treated in an overly sexual manner. Typically these sexualizations are women and girls. It is common mostly of girls 6 to 11.

It’s crazy to think about how much we advocate and how much we are disgusted with pedophiles but we avidly give them ways to pursue these girls.

There are numerous articles and interviews that have talked about the overwhelming amount of children sexualization. Specifically, in shows/ films, these films are stripping the audience of there innocence and filling their young minds with thoughts that should be considered at an age of consent.

Shows/ films are going about sexualizing children is so discrete that people aren’t even being able to be held accountable for it. The kids aren’t aware of what they are doing when they wear clothes that reveal or exposes sexualized body part, convey animal-type behaviors (e.g., crawling, purring), unwanted sexual touching, kissing, hugging, caressing, etc.

These acts are very subtle but with wrong intentions can become pedophilic. The target audience isn’t always the only audience, just because it’s on a kids channel doesn’t mean other people aren’t getting to this material that they see as a method of arousal.

It doesn't stop at shows/ films it is carried throughout all forms of media. Millie Bobby Brown has been in the media since she was about 11 years old and ever since then, she has been sexualized on all platforms. In 2017 when she was only 13 years old an article came out saying “Why TV is sexier than ever” one of the people listed was Millie Bobby Brown.

There is nothing sexy about a 13-year-old girl. There is nothing suggestive of Millie Bobby Brown being sexual. So why are we sexualization being so accepted in the media?

Almost every kid has some type of access to media whether it be social media or shows/ films. With this access, they are exposed to this over-sexualization of children. Seeing Millie Bobby Brown, Jacob Sartorius, Finn Wolfhard, etc. being called “daddy”, stars 30+ years telling them to hit them up a few years, and being voted sexiest/hottest in magazines this gives kids the idea that they are supposed to be desirable and sexy.

We should be avidly protecting our children they don’t understand what they are doing when they are asked to play certain roles. We shouldn't put our kids in a position where they are unknowingly giving away their youth.

Wanna learn more about this issue, check out these articles https://mic.com/articles/186469/we-need-to-talk-about-the-gross-sexualization-of-millie-bobby-brown-and-the-stranger-things-kids#.fe5E82lM9

https://www.etr.org/blog/research-childrens-media/