Hi friends, if you couldn’t tell by the title of this article, I’m a little dumbfounded that we have to discuss this topic and explain basic morals because apparently no one knows how to behave!
There have been murmurings of pedophilia rings in Hollywood and other hubs of power disparities like congress, for years. Corey Feldman was one of the most common stories as he has vowed to make a documentary unveiling the power disparities and abuse that occurred at the expense of child stars. The conversation has come up again as the stars of the Netflix series Stranger Things are becoming victims of gross sexualization. Lead actress Millie Bobby Brown was voted sexiest actress of 2017 at 13 years old by W magazine. In the same linked article it discusses how 14 year old Finn Wolfhard was tweeted at my 27 year old model Ali Michael to “hit her up in 4 years.” I don’t know about you all but this shit makes my skin crawl.
Our first woman accused of abuse (that I have seen post Weinstein) is Demi Moore. An old video has resurfaced of her passionately kissing an expressing love for her costar Philip Tanzini who was celebrating his 15th birthday. Demi was 19 at the time and since the video has been recirculated, people are furious. Many are demanding wholehearted outrage calling out double standards saying if the genders were switched there would be overarching disgust. I’m glad the public is reacting this way because one of the most important things to consider moving forward with the destruction of these disgusting practices is that EVERYONE needs to be held accountable. Man, woman, non-binary, young, old, white, or POC, we need to denounce the sexual mistreatment of others, especially in cases of large power disparities.
These are kids, actual children that need to be protected. Being in media spotlights or other highly public viewing places does not excuse the fact that this is wrong and needs to stop. The kids from Stranger Things specifically have been getting the most heat as the ever so favorite “what did you expect, you’re famous” excuse is being flung at their faces.
In more politically concerning news, a pedophilia scandal involving Roy Moore (candidate for Alabama senator) has been breaking headlines this past week. Moore is accused of dating and engaging in sexual activity with teenagers, the youngest being 14 while he was 32. It should be noted that Moore is outright denying the allegations and claiming it to be a liberal slander campaign. However, considering most of the republican party has been calling for him to stand aside in the coming election, it may be safe to assume that some may be questioning his innocence.
In a twisted cynical way, I’m glad these stories are coming out. If the next place we clean house to remove sexual predators is in our government then I will be thrilled. I hope that this leads to a revolution of people who are no longer afraid of the power and abuse certain positions in this country can hold. I hope that we will engage in a time where no one is able to find themselves with so much systematic power that they do not fear justice. I want justice for these kids and teens, I want outrage!
Until next time, stay furious!
featured image via.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
I echo your fury regarding the exploitation of sexualizing children. Right on!! However, I would like to remind readers that there is a difference between being sexually attracted to minors, and actually abusing minors. For example, many pedophiles don’t act on their fantasies, while many people who do abuse children do so for reasons other than being specifically attracted to minors, such as opportunism, ease of controlling/subduing their minor victims as opposed to adult victims, etc. I feel it’s the behaviors of the abusers that need to be curtailed and controlled, not a potential sexual attraction of which a minor-attracted person cannot rid themself.
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I think that these are great points. Underage sexualization has been so normalized on TV. I always think about that when thinking of the Kardashians and Jenners, who have so much spotlight and are so, so young…
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Yes, I second @cervixsays. I have seen many documentaries and done, admittedly, a minuscule amount of research on the idea that pedophilia is a mental illness. It is something a person cannot help, but they can control their actions, and in fact many of them do control their actions because they are aware it is wrong. I feel as if we should be able to see the difference. This is such a hard concept to grasp though, I am aware.
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