Sex and kiddie cartoons

[Mavericker]

Isn't that kind of treading dangerous ground with you put sexy female characters in kid shows and animated cartoon movies?

You had Jessica Rabbit in Roger Rabbit which was supposed to be a family film.
Hello Nurse in Animaniacs.
Lola Bunny in Space Jam.

What kind of message is that sending to kids?

Are they subliminally trying to get youngsters to think about sex early?

[Brandon Pierce]

Cartoons aren't just for kids you know.

Don't forget, there was also Cleo from Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats.

[Mavericker]

Cartoons aren't just for kids you know.

Don't forget, there was also Cleo from Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats.

Yes, and Dixie and Roxy.

But what was the point of putting them in kids' shows if they are meant for kids?

[Cartman]

Wasn't Roger Rabbit geared more towards adults?

[AlgeaX]

Yes, and Dixie and Roxy.

But what was the point of putting them in kids' shows if they are meant for kids?

Because cartoons aren't made solely for kids to the exclusion of everyone else, if they were this site probably wouldn't even exist. Lots of cartoon writers try to make their shows accessible to adults even if they're main demographic is kids. Check out any Greg Weisman show like Gargoyles or Spectacular Spider-Man for what Greg calls "writing on multiple levels".

You may argue that these are action dramas and therefore held to a higher standard then your typical toon but comedies are no different, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs and Freakazoid all made constant jokes based on American politics, decades old movies and even world history.

[Mavericker]

Wasn't Roger Rabbit geared more towards adults?

Yes-It was released under Touchtone Pictures.

[Blackstar]

Seriously, Mavericker? You're going to try this again?

And anyway, furries are the only people who are sexually attracted to cartoon animals, so it's hardly a issue.

[James]

Seriously, Mavericker? You're going to try this again?

I don't think the mods would mind me hollering out here - if members have any concerns about threads, please use the report button, don't open up the thread to question publicly.

[Blackstar]

I don't think the mods would mind me hollering out here - if members have any concerns about threads, please use the report button, don't open up the thread to question publicly.

Gotcha. I understand. Apologies.

[Mavericker]

Seriously, Mavericker? You're going to try this again?

And anyway, furries are the only people who are sexually attracted to cartoon animals, so it's hardly a issue.

Try what again? Discussing morals in kiddie cartoons?

Stop trying to ruin this thread.

Getting back to topic parents should monitor what cartoons their kids watch.

Also, what used to be considered family entertainment has changed.

They are sticking sexual innuendo in G-rated movies.

[Blackstar]

The problem with censoring "questionable content" in cartoons is that anyone can be offended by anything, so it would be impossible to make a cartoon with absolutely no questionable content in it. I very much doubt that a 5-year-old kid is having sexual feelings for a cartoon cat. Some teens and adults, sure, but a preschooler or a kid in 1st-3rd grade? Again, that's doubtful.

Also, drawing a female cartoon character to look attractive is not synonymous with making them sexually explicit or suggestive. Any who has impure thoughts after looking at Cleo from Cadillac Cats probably just has a dirty mind to begin with.

Different people view things differently. What 1 viewer may view as being suggestive or sexual, someone else may look at the same thing and see nothing questionable or objectionable.

[Silverstar]

How is someone stating his opinion "spoiling the thread"?

[Mavericker]

How is someone stating his opinion "spoiling the thread"?

By insinuating I want to cause trouble when I am not.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Try want again? Discussing morals in kiddie cartoons?

Stop trying to ruin this thread.

Getting back to topic parents should monitor what cartoons their kids watch.

Also, what used to be considered family entertainment has changed.

They are sticking sexual innuendo in G-rated movies.

Things are what you make of them. Kids probably won't even notice Jessica Rabbit's breasts, but adults and teens are so horny they sexualize freakin' Gadget Hackwrench, a cartoon mouse. It doesn't really do the kids any harm, only the adults respond to it because it taps into their desires. The alternative is creating a sexless world, which would ring so untrue to the adults that they would not be interested in the shows at all and would also destroy one of the major topics for comedy.

And at any rate shielding kids from such things as sex too strictly can be a bad thing. I'm no scientist, but it would seem to me that too much sexual repression could lead to sexual maladjustment. You deprive the child of a context in which to understand natural sexual feelings so they are forced to create an artificial, maladjusted context.

Parents really should sit down and have that birds and the bees talk. I know guys that seem to have gotten their sexual education from porn, which is mostly a grotesque distortion of human sexuality. They end up with some tell-tale weird preferences that are starting to become norms.

Gee, for a guy that thinks pornography and masturbation is a sin, you sure talk about sex and cartoon porn a lot. Also, you do realize that kids read this forum, right? Maybe you don't need to make every other topic about sex.

[Ed Liu]

How is someone stating his opinion "spoiling the thread"?

By insinuating I want to cause trouble when I am not.

Ahem:

I don't think the mods would mind me hollering out here - if members have any concerns about threads, please use the report button, don't open up the thread to question publicly.

Everyone, this is not difficult to understand, but if it takes dishing out warnings over it to get the message through, we'll be happy to oblige.

Now knock it off.

-- Ed

[Silverstar]

Well, the others here have a point: First, that not all cartoons are strictly for kids, and that the little kids looking at characters like Jessica Rabbit and Hello Nurse aren't getting the same...well, impulses, we'll say, as the older guys watching them.

I'd also like to point out that just drawing an attractive female character doesn't automatically qualify as "questionable content". Everyone from age 6 to age 60 has seen a pretty girl and knows what a pretty girl is, so it's not going to poison or corrupt the world to depict an attractive female character in a cartoon. Keep in mind also that not everyone finds cartoon characters attractive, so to some such depictions are perfectly harmless. It all boils down to one's personal tastes and/or inclinations.

Finally I wouldn't exactly put Hello Nurse and Cleo the cat in the same breath as Jessica Rabbit. The Nurse and Cleo are more 'living room' attractive whereas Jessica Rabbit is more 'big screen' hot. It's like comparing Donna Reed and Shelley Fabres to Veronica Lake. So it's not really the same vibe, at least not to me.

[Mavericker]

Things are what you make of them. Kids probably won't even notice Jessica Rabbit's breasts, but adults and teens are so horny they sexualize freakin' Gadget Hackwrench, a cartoon mouse. It doesn't really do the kids any harm, only the adults respond to it because it taps into their desires. The alternative is creating a sexless world, which would ring so untrue to the adults that they would not be interested in the shows at all and would also destroy one of the major topics for comedy.

And at any rate shielding kids from such things as sex too strictly can be a bad thing. I'm no scientist, but it would seem to me that too much sexual repression could lead to sexual maladjustment. You deprive the child of a context in which to understand natural sexual feelings so they are forced to create an artificial, maladjusted context.

Parents really should sit down and have that birds and the bees talk. I know guys that seem to have gotten their sexual education from porn, which is mostly a grotesque distortion of human sexuality. They end up with some tell-tale weird preferences that are starting to become norms.

Gee, for a guy that thinks pornography and masturbation is a sin, you sure talk about sex and cartoon porn a lot. Also, you do realize that kids read this forum, right? Maybe you don't need to make every other topic about sex.

You need to stop trying to judge me.

Kids should learn about sex from their parents and not from public schools.

I was raised Christian-my parents objected to me taking sex ed so I sat outside the classroom.

A lot of older people watch kid shows and get excited watching them-that's why there's so much Teen Titan porn out there.

[Shawn Hopkins]

You need to stop trying to judge me.

Kids should learn about sex from their parents and not from public schools.

I was raised Christian-my parents objected to me taking sex ed so I sat outside the classroom.

A lot of older people watch kid shows and get excited watching them-that's why there's so much Teen Titan porn out there.

Well, that's what I said, basically. Parents should talk to their kids about sex and older people get excited watching cartoons. There's no disagreement there.

[Dudley]

Having beautiful women in cartoons is perfectly fine.
Not everyone finds cartoon characters attractive, and those people don't see it as a big deal.

[Ed Liu]

A lot of older people watch kid shows and get excited watching them-that's why there's so much Teen Titan porn out there.

ShawnHopkins' original point is that some of those older people would be making porn about anything, no matter how overtly sexy or plain it was. If people are making Teen Titans porn, I do not think that the right answer is to cover up Raven, Starfire, or Beast Boy.

Besides, the number of people who have watched cartoons with sexy characters drawn in them for decades without any serious deleterious side-effects. The number of people making porn about cartoon characters is vastly smaller than the number of people watching them, but you seem to be viewing the extreme minority as the norm.

I also can't help but notice that you're zeroing in on the women exclusively, when characters like Tarzan or He-Man are running around in even less clothing. It cuts both ways.

To answer the original question, no, I don't think that putting sexy characters in cartoons is some subliminal attempt to get kids to think about sex early.

-- Ed