Written by Love Isn’t Enough guest contributor Gwen; originally published at Sociological Images
Diego Costa sent in an image of Jayden Smith, star of the remake of The Karate Kid, at a recent promotional event in China. In it, 11-year-old Jayden has lifted his shirt to show off his abs, while co-star Jackie Chan and a man I presume is the event host marvel at them:
What struck Diego is how this image was received differently than a similar image of an 11-year-old girl pulling up her shirt to show off her abs might be seen. For instance, The Huffington Post showed the image without any comment about its content. We might compare that to the public outcry over the images of Miley Cyrus wrapped in a sheet that came out two years ago. I also suspect The Huffington Post article might say something about the adult men in the above photo if it were a girl rather than a boy they were touching/ogling.
Apparently when he went on The View, Jayden said he’s “already a great kisser” and the audience cheered, though I can’t find a video of it.
Diego says,
Why is the exposure of boy bodies deemed appropriate whilst the revealing of girls’ bodies must always accompany relentless probing, judging and outrage? If we agree that we shouldn’t sexualize children, then let’s not do it to any child. And, while we are at it, let’s also not assume infantile heterosexuality by asking if boys already have “a girlfriend.”
Excellent points. I suspect if an 11-year-old girl went on The View and said she was a good kisser already, she and her parents would be attacked in the press, people would express horror, and rumors would circulate about whether she’s been sexually abused, is already sexually active, etc. etc. But when an 11-year-old boy does it? That’s cute! He’s on his way to being a smooth-talking ladies’ man!
I can’t decide if, or to what degree, race might be at play here. There is certainly a tendency to adultify non-White children — that is, to treat them as mini-adults rather than children at much earlier ages than White kids are. This includes sexuality (for instance, teachers often assume Black girls are sexually active at younger ages than White girls). My recent post on the hypersexualization of a 13-year-old Latino boy discussed this topic.
But I’m not sure if that’s playing a major role here, or if gender assumptions and him being the son of a much-beloved celebrity couple are the more important factors. Thoughts?
Although race certainly plays a part, though I don’t know in what way or how much, the problem is also gender. There is a GIANT divide in terms of sexuality when it comes to gender that gets passed onto children.
In school, its not uncommon for boys to verbally and even sexually harass girls, and this is usually brushed off as “boys will be boys”, even trying to find ways to blame the girl or show how she “asked for it”. (and if a girl were to do the same- she’d end up with a horrible reputation that’s mostly made up and, if anything happens to her, she’ll certainly be blamed)
On Disney channel, it’s pretty common for a young boy (as young as 7, I think) to have a crush on a girl a good 5-10 years older than him, often making as close to lewd comments a disney character could make towards her. Almost every time they’re shown in the same scene, he’s shown “putting the moves” on her. When girls have a crush on an older boy in the same way, she just gets all shy and smiley nearby and never makes suggestions to do anything less than innocent with him, I don’t think she even suggests wanting a kiss from him (if so, on the cheek)- while I’ve seen the boys actually pucker up expectantly.
In terms of the link about the Latino boy- they even show things like that, where a boy is obviously lusting after the teacher/an adult female. In 3rd Rock from the Sun, Tommy (in a teenage male body) actually tricks the teacher into a date. Although in the case you linked, race DEFINITELY played a part in it and it likely would have gone differently if the victim were a white male, even that has undertones in the media/society beyond race.
And I am sure that race plays a part in it even with what happened with Jayden, but I really don’t know how much. Maybe someone else can comment.
I’m realizing that the either-or way in which Gwen poses the question about race and gender assumptions could invite a conversation where commenters feel they must choose: is it race? or is it gender assumptions”
I’d really caution against that. Rather, I hope we can talk about the way these “isms” intersect (and may be complicated by having famous parents).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/willow-smith-9-looks-twic_n_603886.html
Irony. The 9 yr old Girl is spoken about in the way you mention….
I believe it has everything to do with what his *parents* allow him to do and present himself in the media. Being an actor is a job that involves marketing oneself. Will and Jada are cool with how Jayden is treated in this media and what he says about his movie role, what he has to do as an actor.
The parents have a say in if they felt his sexualization is too much. And a short time will show what happens with Willow–she isn’t that much younger than Jayden.
I see two privileged Black children who are given liberties that regular Black children may or may not have because they are not buffered by the privilege and public status of their parents.
And on the sexualization of children. I’m with you on that 100%. All children shouldn’t be sexualized although I saw the picture of Jackie Chan (who was one of his trainers in Kung fu) admiring the work that Jayden, his student, put in under his tutelage.
Miley Cyrus wasn’t showing off the hard work she put in her body as an athlete. She was trying to be grown and sexy.
And you can’t talk about the sexualization of children and ignore race.
Black boys are often shown in the media by their athletic ability and physique.
White girls are often shown in the media by how sexy they can be. Yet I suspect that if they were showing their athletic bodies by showing their abs, no one would blink an eye and neither would the girls parents.
Bill Ray Cyrus doesn’t seem to care how sexualized his teenage daughter is in the media. Sad.
I disagree Mer because Willow isn’t showing her abs or any part of her body. She is pretty covered up. There is nothing sexualized about the way she is dressed, even though she’s not wearing bows and party dresses. She just has a more mature haircut (a’la Rihanna) and is wearing an outfit that an older child might wear, yet she isn’t showing off body parts.
At the doctor’s office the other day, I heard a nurse call a 4-year-old boy a “little stud.” My husband and I were stunned. I wondered if the nurse understands what the word means or if she thinks it’s cute to talk about a very little boy like that. I realized in retrospect that I’d heard people refer to little boys in that way a lot, even talking about their “sexy muscles,” but it never bothered me until I had a son of my own. Yikes.
Thanks for sharing this. As the mother of a 12 year old son who is as obsessed with his “two-pack” as he is about girls, I definitely think there’s a sexual element there, and it’s very sad to me.
This reminds me of the time Lil Wayne was on Jimmy Kimmel discussing how old he was when he lost his virginity. I can’t remember the exact age, 12 maybe, but Kimmel thought it was the most awesome thing ever, especially because it was with an older woman. While I was watching it all I could think about was how young that is and how disgusting it was that an older woman would take advantage of a child that way. Of course Kimmel and the audience were whooping and hollering, what a stud little Lil Wayne was! Sheesh.
I think absolutely race plays a part in young children being sexualized but it also intersects with gender. The media targets children younger and younger with images that are far too adult for them but the message gets through and children want to dress and act more mature than they are developmentally ready for.
Being Latina and “Middle Eastern,” and a girl, I experienced immense amounts of sexualization as a child in the U.S. I’m 27 and still dealing with this. It is maddening and it often feels that no one can hear me when I stand up against this.
It doesn’t surprise me that the media or those of the general mainstream public that lack any cultural sensitivity would see “sex” in Jaden’s presence.
BTW, here’s the link of Jayden on The View: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/entertainment/movies/Jaden_Smith_and_Jackie_Chan_Know_Karate_All__National_.html
Hear the “really?!” response from the interviewer when Jaden said he was more nervous about the kissing scene then the action scenes.
Ooops, I didn’t find the clip of him talking about it on The View, but I found that clip from NBC.
I believe Jaden made the same comment about “being a good kisser” on Oprah as well.
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Yes, I agree with the post. Boys are sexualized very young in American culture. Boys are taught that their self-value, self-worth, and inner happiness comes from having a body builders’ body: very muscular with large arms and abs, having many girlfriends and sexual partners, and behaving violently. So, they are taught their own sexuality from pornography, the entertainment industry, and let’s not forget: the male figures in our personal lives. You know, the fathers, uncles, and friends who show and tell boys how to behave with women. Boys are not given a lot of support in this country. There are many unhappy young guys that grow up to be miserable men, even though they followed our culture’s rules of male sexuality.