Friday, December 1, 2017

Sexualizing Children in 2017

W Magazine has decided to put Millie Bobbie Brown on their "Sexiest Women Alive" list. There is a huge issue with this. She is 13 years old!!!
This got me thinking though. What about the others? What about Dakota Fanning? What about Brooke Shields? Why is younger better in the eyes of men? (Not all, but quite a few.)
Brooke Shields had nude scenes in a movie when she was 12 years old. She was playing the role of a prostitute. This role was "critically acclaimed." The movie was "Pretty Baby." Then, when Brooke was 14, she had a modeling contract with Calvin Klein. The slogan of that advertising campaign was, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." She said this in a way that had a purpose. To sexually entice. To make Calvin Klein's brand sexier. At 14 years old, she did the movie "The Blue Lagoon." Brooke Shields has nude scenes, but later says that older body doubles did the nude scenes. A good chunk of this film is about teenagers discovering sexuality.
Then, there's Dakota Fanning. She was the sweetheart of cinema for many years. This is until the movie "Hound Dog" came along. Now, this movie is about an abusive relationship from the beginning. But then, to get a ticket to see Elvis, a teenage boy rapes her. This is not sexualization to me. This is more about abuse. But many critics stated that they were shocked that Dakota's parents would let her do the scene when she was a mere 13 years old. Dakota shot back to her critics, "It's not really happening. It's a movie, and it's called acting."
Then, at 19, Dakota did a advertising campaign for Marc Jacobs. These ads were "deemed sexually provocative" and banned in a lot of countries. 19 is a very young age, but in the United States, this is considered "adult," and she can make her own advertising campaign choices.
Children learn the word "Sexy" so young these days. They fill the need to be "sexy" when they are 4 or even younger. 
How old were you when you first started hearing the word "sexy" as a descriptor for a person? I was probably around 4 or so years old. That creates an impact on a child's life.

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