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“Bikini Bottoms”: College Student Uncovers Sexualization In Children’s Cartoons, Prompts Outrage And Debate
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“Bikini Bottoms”: College Student Uncovers Sexualization In Children’s Cartoons, Prompts Outrage And Debate

College Student Breaks Down The Sexualization Of Kids' Cartoons That She Never Realized As A Child, Receives Mixed ReactionsCollege Student Breaks Down The Sexualization Of A Children’s Cartoon, Starts A Fiery DebateStudent Digs Deep Into The Sexualization Of Kids' Cartoons Using SpongeBob As An Example - Receives Mixed Reactions OnlineWoman 'Cancels' SpongeBob After Discovering Just How Sexualized It Is, Starts A Heated DiscussionCollege Student Had To Analyze SpongeBob SquarePants For Sexualization In Children's Cartoons, Shares What She Discovered On TikTokStudent Analyzes Sexual References In Kids' Cartoons, But Some People Say She's ReachingCollege Student Dives Deep Into “SpongeBob SquarePants” And Can’t Believe Just How Many Sexual And Indecent References She Discovers“This Assignment Blew My Mind”: College Student Inspects A Popular Children’s Cartoon For Sexualization, Sparks An Important Debate
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Meet Sarah LeMoine, a fourth-year media and communications college student and TikTok creator who sparked an important debate on sexualization in children’s cartoons.

Her recent TikTok video captioned “Spongebob Is Cancelled” which amassed 7.7M views exposes the indecent references hidden in plain sight in Nickelodeon’s children’s cartoon that many generations of kids grew up with.

LeMoine’s research started with a class assignment for her “Children, Advertising, and Consumer Culture” course. Along with her classmates, she was assigned to prepare a group presentation reflecting on children, advertising, and sex.

But the TikToker couldn’t believe the discoveries she made in the multiple shows we all watched as kids, so she decided to share them with the viewers. A debate in the comments ensued, so pull your seat closer.

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    While doing the class assignment, college student Sarah LeMoine discovered an abundance of sexual references in popular children’s cartoons she shared them on TikTok

    Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0

    First, the student broke down the findings she made in “Spongebob Squarepants”

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    Image credits: Nickelodeon

    Image credits: Nickelodeon

    Image credits: Nickelodeon

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    Image credits: Nickelodeon

    Together with her assignment group, LeMoine did a form to find out what people think of these characters and the results were just as shocking

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    Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0

    So she revealed the results and shared which particular characters were sexualized and how, and “Spongebob Squarepants” was far from the only cartoon

    Image credits: disney

    Image credits: disney

    Image credits: Fox

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    Image credits: warnerbros

    Image credits: disney

    Image credits: warnerbros

    The student  also shared some thoughts about the whole assignment

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    Image credits: Nickelodeon

    Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0

    This is the viral video the TikToker posted on her channel, amassing 7.7M views

    @saaaarrrrraaaah2.0Spongebob is cancelled♬ original sound – Sarah LeMoine

    LeMoine’s arguments sparked a discussion and many people agreed with her in the comments

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    Other people disagreed with LeMoine and saw nothing wrong with “Spongebob Squarepants”

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    Some people pointed out that a handful of these cartoons were actually meant for adult viewers

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    Liucija Adomaite

    Liucija Adomaite

    Writer, Community member

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    Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

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    Liucija Adomaite

    Liucija Adomaite

    Writer, Community member

    Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus.

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

    Read less »

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Mindaugas Balčiauskas

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

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    ToGo
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I always thought it was so adults didn't die of boredom watching the same series 100 times. I was watching a kids show the other day (for nostalgia reasons) and realised how funny it was and that I really didn't get half the jokes when I was little. Not sure how much harm its really doing, if any.

    Zedrapazia
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah, yes Louis from Family Guy is for *kids* now. What a b******t article, does this woman not have enough hobbies?

    OwenHasADHD
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "People are sexualizing kid's cartoons!" Goes out of her way to sexualize a kid's cartoon

    Mrs.Pugh
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Exactly. For any of the things she said were sexual, she had to MAKE them sexual.

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    ToGo
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I always thought it was so adults didn't die of boredom watching the same series 100 times. I was watching a kids show the other day (for nostalgia reasons) and realised how funny it was and that I really didn't get half the jokes when I was little. Not sure how much harm its really doing, if any.

    Zedrapazia
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ah, yes Louis from Family Guy is for *kids* now. What a b******t article, does this woman not have enough hobbies?

    OwenHasADHD
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "People are sexualizing kid's cartoons!" Goes out of her way to sexualize a kid's cartoon

    Mrs.Pugh
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Exactly. For any of the things she said were sexual, she had to MAKE them sexual.

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