To Be Or Not To Be Sexy?
Before I start giving my humble opinion about the hypersexulaisation of teenagers in the media I would like to start off by saying that I am an 18 year old woman and I have felt uncomfy about the way teenage girls have been portrayed in the media since I was 12. So I think it’s safe to say that we have a problem. Now I am all for women being comfortable in their skin, showing as much of it as they please, and frankly doing whatever they want. I am not ok with the obsession that the media has with youth.
(Ahseeit Photo Credit)
If hollywood was being completely accurate with the way teenagers looked they would look like well…...ACTUAL teenagers. And they would cast well…...ACTUAL teenagers to play these (oversexulaized) roles. Often times teens are not casted to play these roles because they are looking for full grown women in their mid twenties to play a 16 year old girl.
I am no goon. I am aware of the fact that teens engage in sexual activities often, but not like how hollywood portrays it. Teenagers are awkward inexperienced human beings when it comes to love (trust me I’m 18 I would know), and that is almost never the case when we see them on the tele. We hurt the youth when we sexulaize them. When young girls watch movies and or series like FEAR, Spring Breakers, Pretty Little Liars etc they are not thinking “Wow what a great movie.” They are thinking “Why aren’t I having sex yet? When will my breast get bigger? Why do I look so young?”
Poison Ivy Movie
Can you believe that? We have youth questioning why they look young. I have nothing against the movies previously stated, however teenagers should not be portrayed that way because most of them simply are not that way. And if I an 18 year old woman, is uncomfortable with the way girls my age are being portrayed, then imagine how other girls even younger than me feel. When we have significantly older men counting down the days until young child stars become “legal” that’s disturbing. Natalie Portman talks about being sexualized at 13 years old after her breakout role in Leon The Professional:
Scene from Leon The Professional
“I excitedly opened my first fan mail to read a rape fantasy that a man had written me. A countdown was started on my local radio show to my 18th birthday euphemistically the date that I would be legal to sleep with.”
Natalie Portman talks about being sexualized at a young age
I am not sure who we are trying to please when we sexualize youth. I believe we are past the era of catering to pedophiles. Every beautiful, sexy, elegant, intelligent woman starts off as a little girl, and that is ok. Let the youth develop on their own terms. If you want to watch coming of age stories without feeling like you are watching soft porn I recommend Booksmart, To all the boys I loved before and Napoleon Dynamite.
Scene from Napoleon Dynamite.
If hollywood was being completely accurate with the way teenagers looked they would look like well…...ACTUAL teenagers. And they would cast well…...ACTUAL teenagers to play these (oversexulaized) roles. Often times teens are not casted to play these roles because they are looking for full grown women in their mid twenties to play a 16 year old girl.
I am no goon. I am aware of the fact that teens engage in sexual activities often, but not like how hollywood portrays it. Teenagers are awkward inexperienced human beings when it comes to love (trust me I’m 18 I would know), and that is almost never the case when we see them on the tele. We hurt the youth when we sexulaize them. When young girls watch movies and or series like FEAR, Spring Breakers, Pretty Little Liars etc they are not thinking “Wow what a great movie.” They are thinking “Why aren’t I having sex yet? When will my breast get bigger? Why do I look so young?”
Can you believe that? We have youth questioning why they look young. I have nothing against the movies previously stated, however teenagers should not be portrayed that way because most of them simply are not that way. And if I an 18 year old woman, is uncomfortable with the way girls my age are being portrayed, then imagine how other girls even younger than me feel. When we have significantly older men counting down the days until young child stars become “legal” that’s disturbing. Natalie Portman talks about being sexualized at 13 years old after her breakout role in Leon The Professional:
“I excitedly opened my first fan mail to read a rape fantasy that a man had written me. A countdown was started on my local radio show to my 18th birthday euphemistically the date that I would be legal to sleep with.”
I am not sure who we are trying to please when we sexualize youth. I believe we are past the era of catering to pedophiles. Every beautiful, sexy, elegant, intelligent woman starts off as a little girl, and that is ok. Let the youth develop on their own terms. If you want to watch coming of age stories without feeling like you are watching soft porn I recommend Booksmart, To all the boys I loved before and Napoleon Dynamite.
Scene from Napoleon Dynamite.
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