Child Stars Being Sexualized

JaneEyre

Kindness matters - always
Joined
Jul 24, 2015
Messages
7,069
Reaction score
41,639
There's a Twitter conversation going on now about the child stars from Stranger Things being sexualized by adults. See this Twitter Moment where former and current child stars weigh in.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/927614135386497024

Amazing that this is happening now, given all the charges of sexual harassment and rape coming out of Hollywood. But it's not just Hollywood doing the sexualizing. It's regular, everyday adults as well. When they aren't sexualizing these kids, they are criticizing them, and then end up blaming fame when child stars crash and burn from drug abuse or commit suicide.

One article, "Stop Sexualizing Kids," is about Finn Wolfhard in particular.

http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/10/30/stop-sexualizing-kids-and-yes-that-includes-finn-wolfhard/

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Thank you for this. It makes my stomach turn to see kids being sexualized on TV and in real life.

When I hear a woman say something about her toddler’s “little boyfriend”, it disturbs me. Or when people think it’s cute when little kids kiss. I’ve seen people tell kids to kiss for a “cute photo” and it grosses me out. When I’ve said something, I’m told that I’m overreacting or that my mind is in the gutter. Huh? Sorry, nothing cute about it IMO. Are people really that much in denial??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This is a huge part of the problem:

“We were telling them to get close and hug each other, and Sullivan being Sullivan—he’s a very in the moment kind of kid—he just went for a kiss,” Bria, 23, says. “We just died laughing and Ella thought it was the funniest thing and she was just giggling. We thought it was cute.”

e10a4c12d70c2d48acb0739451b9f9b3.jpg



681e40388b2998cf9724ac3e071dbd36.jpg


http://people.com/human-interest/tw...rriage-shoot-theyre-so-adorable-together/amp/

That little girl is THREE YEARS OLD! Ugh.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
There's a Twitter conversation going on now about the child stars from Stranger Things being sexualized by adults. See this Twitter Moment where former and current child stars weigh in.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/927614135386497024

Amazing that this is happening now, given all the charges of sexual harassment and rape coming out of Hollywood. But it's not just Hollywood doing the sexualizing. It's regular, everyday adults as well. When they aren't sexualizing these kids, they are criticizing them, and then end up blaming fame when child stars crash and burn from drug abuse or commit suicide.

One article, "Stop Sexualizing Kids," is about Finn Wolfhard in particular.

http://affinitymagazine.us/2017/10/30/stop-sexualizing-kids-and-yes-that-includes-finn-wolfhard/

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Well that's weird. Hmu in a couple years! I'm going all personal experience again but again, my weird life... I had a friend, whose kid won model of the year as a child. Really cute kid, got a few commercials, etc... went to school, and moved on. My friend would post photos of her kids online, and this creepy dude would always make weird comments about her son. Very weird. Weird enough that I privately asked if he lived close to them. Thankfully he did not.

I think some of these comments are people just not even thinking how they sound, and, Hollywood needs to tone down the makeup on these kids. They do look much older than they are in that photo. If I hadn't watched Stranger Things, and known who these kids are, I'd not have not have thought any of these kids were under the age of 16 (age of consent).

My grandchild is in dance competition and her parents had a discussion with them about outfits, and makeup for her shoots. They don't want her to look like she is older than her age. When they are under the stage lights and such, makeup is necessary, but still doesn't need to be overdone.
 

When I was her age I would have loved that first outfit, the striped dress with the big sneakers. To me it looks appropriate for the time and place and her age. I would let me kid wear it too.

The others though? Nope and nope. My father would have grounded me and burned those shorts.
 
there's different kinds of kisses
not all are sexual

Thank you for this. It makes my stomach turn to see kids being sexualized on TV and in real life.

When I hear a woman say something about her toddler’s “little boyfriend”, it disturbs me. Or when people think it’s cute when little kids kiss. I’ve seen people tell kids to kiss for a “cute photo” and it grosses me out. When I’ve said something, I’m told that I’m overreacting or that my mind is in the gutter. Huh? Sorry, nothing cute about it IMO. Are people really that much in denial??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 1.07.19 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 1.07.19 PM.jpg
    53 KB · Views: 122
  • Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.45.54 AM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.45.54 AM.jpg
    55.3 KB · Views: 123
  • Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.48.15 AM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.48.15 AM.jpg
    47.1 KB · Views: 124
  • Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.47.34 AM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.47.34 AM.jpg
    28.5 KB · Views: 123
  • Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.45.36 AM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2017-11-07 at 11.45.36 AM.jpg
    56 KB · Views: 121
When I was her age I would have loved that first outfit, the striped dress with the big sneakers. To me it looks appropriate for the time and place and her age. I would let me kid wear it too.

The others though? Nope and nope. My father would have grounded me and burned those shorts.

Totally cute and appropriate outfit for 12, in the first pic. My granddaughter would love that and she's not even 12. She's totally covered and her dress hem is below fingertip length (a rule that used to be in effect in many school systems back in the day, until parents/kids got ticked about it.)

Second pic...NO. It's a cute outfit, but something that an 18+ might wear. A young lady showed up to a funeral in something similar recently, she was obviously over 12, closer to 18, but we were all of a mind, that if we were her parents she'd have been given a tongue lashing.

Third pic...It's just a butt ugly dress and shoes. I'm sorry. She's well covered and hem below fingertips, take off the big bows on the elbows, and put on some cuter shoes, for her age, and I think that it would be fine.

I will say, that more than likely, she is having a lot of fun going through the wardrobes and picking out these outfits. Her parents likely see it as her having fun, and it's a job, and are wondering...where to draw the line?

I'd have been allowed to wear shorts that short, yes, and I was raised Full Holiness Pentecostal. My outfit for the school drill team had shorts that short, and I was only two years older than MBB. It had a satin, V-neck shirt to go with the shorts. My parents kinda let us wear what we wanted as long as the major areas we were covered. My grandmother had a saying, A dress can be flipped up, easier than a pair of shorts can be yanked down.
 
Totally cute and appropriate outfit for 12, in the first pic. My granddaughter would love that and she's not even 12. She's totally covered and her dress hem is below fingertip length (a rule that used to be in effect in many school systems back in the day, until parents/kids got ticked about it.)

Second pic...NO. It's a cute outfit, but something that an 18+ might wear. A young lady showed up to a funeral in something similar recently, she was obviously over 12, closer to 18, but we were all of a mind, that if we were her parents she'd have been given a tongue lashing.

Third pic...It's just a butt ugly dress and shoes. I'm sorry. She's well covered and hem below fingertips, take off the big bows on the elbows, and put on some cuter shoes, for her age, and I think that it would be fine.

I will say, that more than likely, she is having a lot of fun going through the wardrobes and picking out these outfits. Her parents likely see it as her having fun, and it's a job, and are wondering...where to draw the line?

I'd have been allowed to wear shorts that short, yes, and I was raised Full Holiness Pentecostal. My outfit for the school drill team had shorts that short, and I was only two years older than MBB. It had a satin, V-neck shirt to go with the shorts. My parents kinda let us wear what we wanted as long as the major areas we were covered. My grandmother had a saying, A dress can be flipped up, easier than a pair of shorts can be yanked down.

I would have been allowed to wear shorts that short for activities, but not in public, and at her age I could wear a bikini for swimming and hanging around the pool but not around the mall.

I think you're exactly right about she's having fun, it's like playing dress up and it's fun to experiment with different looks. Some photo shoots are different though, like who can forget Brooke and her Calvins?
 
I just feel like she's too young to be pimped out by the media in photos like this -
attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php
attachment.php



https://www.buzzfeed.com/eleanorbate/turning-it-up-to-eleven?utm_term=.qe0qxBqw1#.qm0grmgzV

PS: Sorry the photos came out so big!

I've really no problem with the outfits. The pink one is a bit too old for 12, hike up the britches and I'd be okay with that one, but, she is covered, (I come from the era of halter tops, tube tops, and daisy dukes, so...) and her makeup is not over done. The only photos that I'd have problem with is the 3rd and last. Those look too adult-posed, to me, but that's just me. She's a kid, she should be having shoots where she's having fun, not taking serious adult type poses. I'm sure she had fun on the shoot though.
 
Eh, I guess Im overreacting - as usual. lol. ;) I just hate to se that whole "Lolita" thing going on in some photo shoots.

How could I forget Brooke and her Calvins?! IIRC, she was about 15. I was in High School at the time and as I remember, it was quite scandalous!
 
I would have been allowed to wear shorts that short for activities, but not in public, and at her age I could wear a bikini for swimming and hanging around the pool but not around the mall.

I think you're exactly right about she's having fun, it's like playing dress up and it's fun to experiment with different looks. Some photo shoots are different though, like who can forget Brooke and her Calvins?

I wore my drill team shorts to various competitions. They weren't skimpy, but they were short, and we did have an ascot that we wore in the v-neck (forgot about that). I was permitted to wear one-piece or bikinis (my parents preferred one-piece though, but, allowed it) My mother was very much on matching, fashion, and she dressed to the nines. Still does. She was asked for her autograph once when she was in NYC, they thought she was some big movie star of that era. Mom didn't show anything, but she was a knock out. Rarely wears pants outside the home.

The Calvin Klein shoot? I remember that one! She was 12, too!!! I was by zero means a prude, but that commercial, and her only 12, was just scandalous, to me, even in that era.

Wanna know what comes between my and my Calvins?
[video=youtube;YK2VZgJ4AoM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2VZgJ4AoM[/video]
 
Eh, I guess Im overreacting - as usual. lol. ;) I just hate to se that whole "Lolita" thing going on in some photo shoots.

How could I forget Brooke and her Calvins?! IIRC, she was about 15. I was in High School at the time and as I remember, it was quite scandalous!

I know what you mean. They find a cute kid, on a popular show, and sign them on to sell a clothing line. Parents are probably looking at their kid's future, probably don't know a lot about photo shoots and Hollywood, and are even shocked at how the photos turn out (Wow! What a great job, he/she did!). I saw the boys from Stranger things on a talk show the other night and they cracked me up. The eldest one was dressed to the nines and a cute kid, but seeing them on the talk show, interacting and goofing off, you could definitely tell that they were young boys. Someone seeing them in a photo shoot , or head shot, for the first time, never having watched the show, probably wouldn't know these kids were under age, and might make an inappropriate comment. If I didn't watch the show, and saw these pics, especially a couple of them, I'd never think that MB was 12.
 
I don't like to criticize her clothing myself, although there is a line I would reach with my own kid. I'm not wild about the shorts, but then I remember the really short and god-awful Terri cloth shorts we kids wore in the early 80s (and the teeny kid bikinis).

The real problem is when adults sexualize children, using words to describe them that should be reserved only for adults - like "hot," or "scrumptious."

It's perfectly fine for 13 year olds to express attraction for other 13 year olds and talk about them being hot. But it's not for adults.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
Brooke had already been filmed in the nude, portraying a prostitute in the movie Pretty Baby, before the Calvin Klein commercial was made. I think she filmed a sex scene but I never saw the movie.
 
This is one of MBB's commercials, for perspective to the Brooke Shields commercial.

10/2016
[video=youtube;BB2hXAk2e2s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2hXAk2e2s[/video]
 
I don't like to criticize her clothing myself, although there is a line I would reach with my own kid. I'm not wild about the shorts, but then I remember the really short and god-awful Terri cloth shorts we kids wore in the early 80s (and the teeny kid bikinis).

The real problem is when adults sexualize children, using words to describe them that should be reserved only for adults - like "hot," or "scrumptious."

It's perfectly fine for 13 year olds to express attraction for other 13 year olds and talk about them being hot. But it's not for adults.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Oh, please never let those come back into style for girls, or the boys, I pray! When we're at the creek, or here at the house, they can play in their underwear for all I care (well, we haven't reached certain ages yet), but out in public, everyone is appropriately covered.

The words "hot" and "scrumptious"? The latter would make me ill if it was even said about an adult. Bleh. However, those are the words the dude was using to describe my friend's teen son!!! Married w/kids, too. Weirded me out big time. She didn't see what I was seeing though. She's older than I, and saw it as a compliment, or joking, of sorts. I saw it as, your friend might have a problem, b/c he knows the kid's age. No mistake.

Some of these comments could be mistaking a child, for older than they are. In the Brook Shields video, does she look like any 12 y/o I've ever seen? Nope. She looks near on 18 to me. Hence the scandalous nature even back then. If I hadn't known her age and someone made a comment about how "hot" she is in that commercial, I'd not thought a thing about it, tbh.
 
Brooke had already been filmed in the nude, portraying a prostitute in the movie Pretty Baby, before the Calvin Klein commercial was made. I think she filmed a sex scene but I never saw the movie.

Not everyone had known that though. I had heard it was "rumored". It was spoken in hushed tones that she'd been allowed to play a part in an adult role. I never saw the movie. That's one thing that my parents did not take us to, after my mother committed her life, VERY early in my life. Movies. So, really, the Calvin commercials were the first I'd seen of her, other than maybe a late night talk show, maybe. We didn't even HAVE a movie theater in our town. lol
 
One thing that I have thought about, is, that everyone who laughed at Corey Feldman, might want to be listening to him now.
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
188
Guests online
806
Total visitors
994

Forum statistics

Threads
589,938
Messages
17,927,928
Members
228,007
Latest member
BeachyTee
Back
Top