The Infantilization of Women and Pedophilic Beauty Standards in Western Culture
A Literature Review by Taylor Smith
Western society has established rigid standards for femininity over the years, and it has become prevalent that our culture has normalized and become desensitized to the pedophilic themes in these expectations towards women and girls. Not only is this a topic that is extensively present in everyday life, but is a topic that must be brought to light and uncovered to prevent the harmful connotations that come from it. Thus, how exactly has our society normalized the infantilization of women in respect to pedophilic beauty standards and sexual expectations? This paper will cover female beauty and sexuality, the unattainability of these standards, the Brazilian wax, child beauty pageants and the sexualization of young girls, and our desensitization to these issues.
It is clear that the West values women’s youthfulness and markets to prevent aging at all costs. The countless anti-aging products and surgeries and demonization of wrinkles contributes to this idea that as women get older, they lose value (Muir, 2021). We begin to see trends of what a woman should be and the correlation to youngness in the removal of body hair, preferency of being short and thin, and the smoothness of skin. To add, in a sexual setting women have long been expected to be submissive and innocent, and pornography websites glamorize the performance of teenagers, like the platform “Barely Legal” (Carlson, 2010). When the issue arises of why women’s beauty and sexual standards are known to be so unattainable and unrealistic, it is because they are based on child-like features. This uncomfortably leads into how our culture has normalized the pedophilic nature of the expectations of women.
A classic example of a trend that has become normalized in recent decades is the Brazilian wax, which Labre breaks down in her article perfectly. The removal of pubic hair became overwhelmingly popular in the late ’90s, and since then it has become a societal expectation for women, as well as a correlation to attractiveness and femininity (Labre, 2002). The wax procedure is painful and unnatural, and contrary to what many believe, there are no health or sanitary benefits from it. In fact, it only increases the risk of infections (Labre, 2002). It is clear that there is an association between the removal of body hair and the image of youthfulness, as prepubescent girls do not have any. This is where we see the bigger picture of this issue come into play, as femininity is associated with childlike-ness, then masculinity is associated with being an adult (Carlson, 2010). This supports the long-running issue of women’s inferiority and dependence on men, as well as unrealistic standards for women.
Another example that shows how Western society has normalized pedophilic views is child beauty pageants. Children, the majority of which are girls, as young as 6 months to 16 years old, don themselves in heavy makeup, dye their hair, get waxed, spray tan, and put on fake nails to be deemed the winner. The contestants put on revealing clothing and dance routines and get judged based on their attractiveness and poise. These pageants are popularized across the West, gaining even more attention with TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras, gaining hundreds of millions of views since their pilot episode in 2009 (Tamer, 2011). Although these types of contests have gained a bit more scrutiny recently, they still showcase how the practically-child-pornography is regular entertainment in the West and massively contributes to the sexualization of girls and infantilization of women (Tamer, 2011).
With many of the examples mentioned, we can see the connection between Western culture’s “beauty” and prepubescent girls. Muir’s article discusses how nowadays, young girls are encouraged to present more maturely than they are, more so than any past generation. This is tied to the erasure of the “tween” phase, as girls go from being children straight to trying to present as women with makeup and revealing clothing (Muir, 2021). With the rise of technology and social media, it is obvious why this issue is more prevalent today than ever as unrealistic images of how women should look are spread across the web and young girls try harder than ever to replicate them. Unfortunately, these unattainable standards result in only more harm to young girls like self-esteem issues, disordered eating, and worsened mental health (Muir, 2021).
We have become desensitized to the corrupt nature of our society’s views, especially as young girls are pressured by the media to oversexualize themselves, the issue becomes even more normalized. The vicious cycle of feminine beauty that our culture has established where girls try to look older and women try to look younger pushes forward the idea that bodies are only attractive when they are young. This, of course, is harmful in many ways, but most of all for putting young girls at higher risk for sexual violence as they try to present more maturely (Muir, 2021).
Our society has normalized this infantilization of women with pedophilic beauty standards and sexual expectations, and although it may be a controversial take, it is clear as day once you begin to see examples of it manifest around you everyday. From hair removal, to pornography, to child pageants, to the erasure of tweens, and the emphasis of appearing youthful, the signs are flashing red all around us. The unattainable standards that women are expected to achieve are disheartening and unrealistic for mature bodies, as well as contribute to negative mental health effects on young girls and increase sexual violence (Muir, 2021). We need to spread awareness of how wrong and harmful these normalizations are, and as more people recognize and call out examples around them, “beauty” will no longer be an achievement so many feel they fail to achieve.
References
Carlson, C. (2010). Desensitization of Infantilization. UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research XIII.
Labre, M. P. (2002). The Brazilian Wax: New Hairlessness Norm for Women? Journal of Communication Inquiry, 26(2), 113–132.
Muir, C. (2021). STOP: The Sexualization of Women & Girls. SUNY Open Access Repository (SOAR).
Tamer, C. (2011). Toddlers, Tiaras, and Pedophilia: The Borderline Child Pornography Embraced by the American Public. Texas Review of Entertainment and Sports Law, 13(1), 85–102.
