Netflix’s ‘Cuties’ stokes huge controversy by ‘sexualizing children’

Days after ‘Cuties’ started streaming on Netflix, a huge uproar has triggered against the web-film that is about pre-teen girls finding “liberation”. On its part, Netflix has described it as a “social commentary against the sexualization of young children” and a “powerful story”. Critics, however, have argued that the film crusades against the sexualization of young children by sexualizing them.

“We would encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie,” Netflix has been quoted as saying. But Tulsi Gabbard, the former US Presidential candidate, has lashed out against the show. “Child porn ‘Cuties’ will certainly whet the appetite of pedophiles and help fuel the child sex trafficking trade. One in 4 victims of trafficking are children. It happened to my friend’s 13-year-old daughter. Netflix, you are now complicit. #CancelNetflix,” she tweeted.

A dance scene in the movie has become highly controversial. Matt Walsh, a social media influencer, wrote, “Netflix released that ‘Cuties’ movie about twerking 11-year-olds. Fuller clips of the film are now circulating. It’s way worse than I thought, and I thought it would be extremely bad. VERY explicit sexual dancing, girls grabbing themselves, crotch shots, etc. These are children. There is a push to normalize pedophilia in our country. That’s not a conspiracy. It’s a fact.”

There has been a backlash from right-wingers. Nick Solheim wrote, “Suffice to say, libertarianism is a gutter ideology, and any society that can’t protect children from this kind of degeneracy and abuse doesn’t deserve to survive.”

So far, six lakh people have signed against Netflix and ‘Cuties’ in an online petition.