Like so many events this spring, my little sisters’ dance recital was canceled, causing much disappointment after months of hard work. My youngest sister has found solace in leaping and twirling around the house in her recital costume, with the undeterred enthusiasm of a four-year-old who fully intends to be a princess-ballerina when she grows up. From my own days as a dancer and from my younger sisters’ current experience, I know the potential of dance to be a source of enjoyment that also builds confidence, coordination, and discipline.
Because of my interest in dance, Netflix’s recently released trailer and promotional image for a film called Cuties was both shocking and disappointing. The film artwork featured 11-year-old girls in revealing costumes and provocative poses accompanying the film description, “Amy, 11, becomes fascinated with a twerking dance crew. Hoping to join them, she starts to explore her femininity, defying her family’s traditions.” This sparked an outcry on social media, causing Netflix to issue an apology and replace the image (without changing the content of the film itself).
This is not the first time that Netflix has featured a film that portrays children in a sexualized manner. As World magazine pointed out, “It might be easier to give Netflix the benefit of the doubt on its artistic intent, though, if the company didn’t have such a poor track record featuring hypersexual material involving young characters.” Cuties is a symptom of a much deeper problem. It is a symptom of culture that does not understand human value and dignity, and that views the human body as a commodity. This same mindset fuels the widespread use and acceptance of pornography and the hypersexualized images that are so often on display in the entertainment industry and on social media.
Those who have attempted to defend the film have pointed out that the film’s director, Maïmouna Doucouré, explained that one of her reasons for making the film in the first place was to try and draw attention to the sexualization of little girls that happens at dance competitions and in the entertainment industry as a whole. She said in an interview earlier this year,
Today, the sexier and the more objectified a woman is, the more value she has in the eyes of social media. And when you're 11, you don't really understand all these mechanisms, but you tend to mimic, to do the same thing as others in order to get a similar result. I think it is urgent that we talk about it, that a debate be had on the subject.
Doucouré is right to point out that children are affected by the sexualized messaging they see on social media and in the entertainment industry, but her solution is completely misguided. Making a film about the sexualization of children in which 11-year-olds “twerk their way to stardom” only adds to the problem, especially when the film stars 11-year-old children.
The shocked reactions to Netflix’s promotion of the film show that, even in a hypersexualized culture, there is still at least some acknowledgement that children should not be viewed as sex objects. What many reacting to the film have missed is that the problem is not only that the girls were too young, but that sexualized dancing is not empowering for girls or women of any age. It is tragic and horrifying that little girls would believe that what makes them feminine is the ability to dance provocatively and garner “likes” on social media. It is equally tragic that this is a lie they believe because the culture around them has believed it, as well.
Attempting to find value and empowerment through hypersexualization misses what makes humans valuable. Humans are valuable because we are created in the image of God and are known and cherished by him. God created us body and soul, and our bodies are not simply a shell that our true self lives in—they are an intrinsic and inseparable part of our true selves! To be a human is to be an embodied soul. Commodifying the human body shows a disregard for human dignity. Nancy Pearcey has noted that, “Feminists complain that sexual hedonism objectifies women, but the problem runs much deeper: It objectifies the human body itself.” The objectification of women and girls is completely unacceptable, but we should also remember the bigger picture: objectifying women and girls is wrong because devaluing humans by objectifying the human body is wrong.
God designed the human body, and by extension, human sexuality as a good and beautiful thing. One of the tragic results of a society’s failure to grasp that is an entertainment industry that insists that objectification is empowerment and communicates that message to children. Doucouré’s comments on why she made the film in the first place shows that there are many who are dissatisfied with the status quo, but by failing to properly understand the root of the problem, the solutions they offer only make things worse. It is one thing to express shock and outrage at Cuties, but our response must move beyond that and not merely point out that this is wrong, but show why it is wrong and present a better way forward. Cuties is a reminder to Christians that we must continue to engage and help people to see the value and dignity that they have because they were created by God, in his image, and for his glory.
(Image: Youtube)
