#The Adultification of Black Children

[reasoningdaily]

Childhood, goes the conventional wisdom, should be a time of innocence, discovery, and careful guidance. Unless—as generations of Black people can attest—the kids are Black. In this country, Black children do not get the luxury of having their innocence presumed and protected by the majority-White society in which they live. 

Known as "adultification," examples of this disturbing phenomenon are rife. In a recent viral video, a White NYPD officer can be seen repeatedly punching 14-year-old Kyonna Robinson in the head; in November, a 12-year-old boy in Richmond, VA was pinned to the ground and given a concussion by officers who had volunteered to run the tennis program he attended; in October, a White woman in Caldwell, NJ called police when she saw 9-year-old Bobbi Wilson spraying a homemade insecticide on lanternflies in their neighborhood. "There’s a little Black woman walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees," the woman told the dispatcher. "I don’t know what the hell she’s doing. Scares me, though.”

It has always been so for Black children in this country, since well before the nation's founding. Treated by White society as expendable, an enslaved workforce, a nuisance, or a menace, Black children are not just dehumanized along with the rest of their communities but routinely treated as if they were adults, their childhood dismissed, denied, and stolen, with those responsible only rarely held to account.

In their research for “The Essence of Innocence," CPE Co-founder and CEO Phillip Atiba Goff and his co-authors found that the period of time during which White youth are not expected to be fully responsible for their actions can extend well into their late 20s. By contrast, Black children are often treated as adults by age 13, if not well before, regularly perceived as older, less innocent, and more threatening than their White same-age peers. 

One alarmingly frequent outcome is that, in any interaction they may have with the country's criminal legal systems, Black children are routinely held to adult standards. Moreover, Goff and his co-authors found, a broadly-shared association in White-dominated culture between Black people and apes predicted racially disparate levels of police violence toward children who are Black. 

The domino-like effect this has on the functioning of our criminal legal systems can be seen in the findings of two separate courts at opposite ends of the country. In March 2022, a Washington state intermediate-level appellate court issued a published opinion acknowledging frankly that “adultification is real and can lead to harsher sentences for children of color if care is not taken to consciously avoid biased outcomes.” 

The Washington state court's determination came just three months after the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the 1993 sentencing of then-14-year-old Keith Belcher to an effective 60 years' incarceration was imposed illegally—a direct result of the sentencing judge's reliance on the false and racist superpredator theory. 

The court found that the superpredator theory—which posits primarily Black children as potentially “radically impulsive [and] brutally remorseless"—amplified racist stereotypes and that, by relying on it, the trial court had violated Mr. Belcher’s right to due process.

There is some encouragement to be found in the fact that some in our criminal legal systems have begun to address this grievous reality, but as a growing body of deeply troubling evidence demonstrates, the simple truth remains that the vast majority of Black children who find themselves interacting with school resource officers, law enforcement, or the court system are met with rank dehumanization. The school-to-prison pipeline, itself a horrific expression of adultification, is frequently the reason these children find themselves in the country's criminal legal systems in the first place. 

Take, for example, a recent CBS report on arrests of elementary school children. Inexcusable no matter the racial identity of the child in handcuffs, CBS found that in 2015, the most recent year for which the federal government has figures, half of the fifth-grade or younger children arrested were Black—despite only making up some 15% of their schools' population. 

When Black children are held to adult standards, the harm goes far beyond their own lives and that of their families, the trauma affecting whole communities, not least because those responsible are so infrequently held accountable. Keith Belcher and his family had to wait nearly 30 years for the Connecticut courts to acknowledge its grotesque sentencing of a 14-year-old boy; the family of 14-year-old Emmett Till, tortured and murdered by a group of White men in 1955, is still waiting for someone to answer for his lynching. 

It is incumbent on the adults of this nation—within our criminal legal systems and across society—to take every step to end the systemic adultification of Black children, rectify its appalling injustices, and address the destruction it has wrought on entire generations of Black communities. The moment may pass, but the impact does not. Every child deserves to be treated, always, as exactly who they are: A child.

[ausetkmt]

It seems the mother of a Mississippi boy arrested for peeing in public is putting her foot down in the case against him. The boy was recently handed a probation sentence but after viewing the terms and conditions, but his mother said she isn’t signing off on anything.

Latonya Eason’s son Quantavious was apprehended by a Senatobia police officer in August after the boy was seen urinating near his mother’s car in a parking lot, police said. Eason said she was handling business inside an attorney’s office and left her son in the car during the meeting. But after not being able to locate a restroom, she said he resorted to urinating outside.

Tate County Youth Court Judge Rusty Harlow sentenced the 10-year-old to three months of probation and ordered him to complete a two-page book report on the late Kobe Bryant, per NBC’s report. Why? No idea.

Additionally, Quantavious has an 8 p.m. curfew as if a 10-year-old has places to be after that time. He was also prohibited from the use of weapons and ordered to submit drug tests at the probation officer’s discretion, according to family attorney Carlos Moore.

“It’s just a regular probation. I thought it was something informed for a juvenile. But it’s the same terms an adult criminal would have,” Moore said via NBC.

Read more from NBC News:

Latonya Eason, the mother of Quantavious Eason, had initially planned on signing the agreement to avoid the risk of prosecutors upgrading her son’s charge, as they threatened, but she changed her mind after reading the full agreement Tuesday, attorney Carlos Moore said. The prosecution threatened to upgrade the charge of “child in need of supervision” to a more serious charge of disorderly conduct if the Quantavious’ family took the case to trial, Moore said. After advising Quantavious’ mother not to sign the probation agreement, Moore filed a motion requesting the Tate County Youth Court either dismiss the case or set a trial. A hearing on that motion has been scheduled for Jan. 16.

Senatobia Police Chief Richard Chandler said the officer involved in the boy’s arrest violated their training on how to deal with children. Eason previously noted that she was denied the ability to drive her son to the station because the cops insisted on putting him in the patrol car.

However, per NBC, Chandler said those officer in question are “no longer employed” and suggested other officers would be disciplined. Eason ialso announced plans to file a lawsuit alleging the incident was racially motivated.

[guavagyal]

also, I am really fucking sick of (white) people infantilizing this school shooter. meanwhile they say black & brown kids are "grown" for less. this is mostly on Threads, but I saw a white woman say a black girl (6 or 7) was too "grown" for being scared of bugs outside. people adultifying black boys for giving water on the side of the road. adultifying Congolese, Haitian, & Palestinian children.

also these people saying that he shouldn't be charged as an adult for killing 4 people. again, black & brown children and even protestors are locked up for less. this whole thing pisses me off bc it could've been prevented a long time ago.

[yooniesim]

Okay, I'll be serious, promise. I've been saying (and seeing other people say) forever that the sheer level of alpha hate has a lot of anti-black undertones. But I've also seen some of it rooted in being anti-sexualization of children, pageantry, etc. I think a lot of people go way too far with that, not realizing what they're implying, while others gladly use it as an excuse to be anti-black. It depends on context, and as a whole I think well-meaning people should be wiser with their words and try to move away from using terms like "yassify" to describe what they're actually trying to refer to. Because that encourages not only the black alpha simmer hate in general, but also pushes that negative actions towards child sims all onto them, whether that was intentional or not. Really think about the terms you use before you use them, and what you're really trying to say before you post something. Because regardless of intention, words have consequences. Not only for yourself, but for the community that we all are a part of.

[the-shades-of-night-descend]

on an unrelated (but not really) note this masculinization of black women (accused of being transgender) in sports reminds me of how african children/children of african descent in soccer are often accused of lying about their age because they look older to the western gaze. i have heartbreaking memories of my white classmates laughing at the pictures of this soccer player who was 15 at the time and looked much older than his age. and it makes me think about children of african descent are often treated as adults by the people around them, which brings often to unpleasant, sad, traumatic, tragic, if not deadly developments and outcomes.

[endykelopaedia]

"black people are seen as hyper-masculine and face a lot of violence for it, so yes you can be oppressed for seeming or being masculine"

AHT!! lets talk! black people are not actually hyper-masculine. hyper-masculinity is a projection by people trying to justify anti-black fear and violence. it is not a true and then demonised observation about black existence. the hyperfocus on the masculinity of black people is itself racism!

when you call this issue of racism anti-masculinity or misandry or whatever, you are obfuscating the bigotry at play. ESPECIALLY given that it is overwhelmingly just white women's fear about black people's supposed hyper-masculinity that actually gets listened to & acted upon.

in addition, there are other addendums people tack onto their anti-blackness that completely cause this logic to fall apart when applied. Namely, adultification! black people, black children get adultified by white society.

We are assumed to be older & more independent, and thus less in need of the safety, care, sensitivity, accommodation one would give to a child, and this results in violence and neglect. it is directly observable in the way black children are more likely to get detention, suspended or expelled for the same behaviour as their white peers, s/a rates for black youth, and the arguments that 40 y/o cops give for brutalising & murdering black 20, 16, 12, 8 year olds who so much as breathe in their line of sight.

Given this then, following the misandry logic, we can say being recognised as older or as an adult is a form of oppression.

"black people are seen as older/more mature and face a lot of violence for it, so yes, you can be oppressed for seeming like or being an adult"

we can for the sake of this post name this oppression adultery.

i kid. but do you see the problem. being recognised as an adult is obviously, not itself a form of oppression, in fact quite the opposite, being recognised as adult can grant you a lot of privileges that children do not have.

and black kids are evidently, not adults or people who act like adults. they dont mature faster. black 18 y/os will also face the problem of adultification to justify violence against them. black maturity is not a true and then demonised observation about black existence. the form of oppression is racism, and adultification is the deployed means of enacting racism.

the means of combatting the adultification of black people would not come in creating adult positivity or "advocating" for adults or telling children not to fear adults. it comes in the form of learning about anti-blackness, unlearning anti-blackness, and actually directly combatting anti-blackness.

similarly the means of combatting the hyper-masculinisation of black people comes in the form of learning about anti-blackness, unlearning anti-blackness, and actually directly combatting anti-blackness.

Racism explains both of this phenomena far better than "misandry" ever could.

[callahanisms]

guys i love mike faist as much as the next person but please. i need someone to kill these young haymitch rumors. and here is why mike faist as young haymitch wouldn't work:

01. mike faist is currently 32 years old. he looks 32 years old. guess what? that baby fat is gone. even in panic he knew he was stretching suspension of disbelief. that man has renovated his own house. he's lived life.

02. he literally said himself that he can't pass as a teen anymore. challengers makeup and hair really worked some magic to give him the semblance of a fuller face like when he was younger.

03. mike faist playing a young haymitch ruins the whole idea of the hunger games. the idea is that you have children being forced to fight to the death. when you cast an adult man as a child, it inherently messes with that perception. you view the child as a man, not a child. and that's part of the adultification of many marginalized children, especially if those children are black and brown. (mike faist is obviously white but that's the general premise) they become viewed as less innocent. it ruins the political message of the series.

again, i love mike faist. and i love that he's reached the point in his career where he's doing stuff he wants to do. he picks and chooses his projects and i will sit down for each one. but i need people to think for a second why the mike faist young haymitch casting is a bad idea.

hollywood needs to find more people. new people, talented people. there are so many actors who can deliver young haymitch that have yet to be discovered and it's saddening to see that they might just cast the chosen white boy of the month. that's how you prevent opportunity and that's how you prevent the emergence of new talent while mike faist's stardom is on hold.

[punkeropercyjackson]

I really resent the idea Hobie isn't traumatized or has no mental health problems/emotional issues because he's so clearly an allegory for the adultification of black kids(and therefore actually one)like how Gwen is obviously an allegory for trans girls(and therefore actually one).The most you'll get out of Atsv fans on it is 'he grew up too fast' but they never go in depth into how much it must've hurt him and who hurt him.Society as a whole,no duh,but in the comics,he's implied to be an orphan and the only incarnations we have of his parents are his dad abandoning him as a baby and his mom turning abusive over it.That's what adultification,objectively,is-Child abuse.Hobie's not 'practically an adult',he is mentally and physically a minor and he was robbed of the right to be one nonstop,systematically.He had to fight for his right to exist,he has to fight for others right to exist and he dosen't really get to rest and just feel like a real kid all that often.Plus,realistically,Hobie isn't looked on positively in his world and that would do damage to anybody's self-eestem as a highly profilic public figure but especially to a black child and while he's the coolest ever the whole time,i can't buy he's always known that and i'll bet he was told the opposite by other kids growing up and how socially awkward he is sometimes makes me think his number of friends wasn't all that high and a common experience amongst alt/punk black kids is isolation and bullying from other children for being 'weird' and there's the confirmation he used to be homeless before his houseboat so the orphan status seems to be carried over to this take on him too

I know he wasn't onscreen for as long as Gwen so i don't fault people for not recognizing this and focusing moreso on her explicit traumatic experiences,moreover since it tends to involve him comforting her and i'm a sucker for troubled kid solidarity and romance,most of all since this one is canonically t4t and possibly transmasc4transfem specifically and even punk4punk too instead of them 'he was a punk,she did ballet' poserpills

Still,lack of screentime never stopped anyone for making up tons of tragic aus for Pavitr and even The Spot and erasing Jefferson and Rio to do with them Miles too as if Miles G dosen't exist and pulled it off infinitely better than any fanon alternative universe Miles i've ever encountered.This is going to get some people tweaking too but this is also exactly why i hate No.irpunk and even the platonic concept of Hobie instantly respecting Noir.Hobie has much more street cred than Noir and way heavier trauma and Noir isn't even punk-He's an antifa but punk is a culture,not just an ideology and i find it an unearned superiority complex N/H shippers will disregard Hobie's actual romantic chemistry with Gwen based on her loving him for who he is and giving somebody to bond over mutual interests with and heal his inner child in the process to say he should be a freedom fighter and nothing more,as if he's not a 17 year old black boy and Noir very,VERY likely a middle aged white man who's culture(not punk)(judaism)is against pedophillic relathionships as a religious rule.There's no evidence for Hobie being an adult but there's plenty borderline text saying he's an adultified black teenager and i wish it was spoken on instead of performative 'lmao fuck captalism' jokes as you buy official Atsv merch and stereotyped sexualization over a character who never got to grow up,not as a 'real kid' nor enough to be in the proper headspace to explore his sexuality as openly as a normal teen

[reasoningdaily]

The devastating impacts on reproductive rights and individual lives after the fall of Roe continue apace.

One study showed that as early as five years old, society perceives Black girls as “less innocent” and “more adult-like” than their non-Black counterparts, placing an unfair expectation on them to act more maturely.

The latest high-profile account to detail the gut-wrenching effects arrived in Time this week. The story—”She Wasn’t Able to Get an Abortion. Now She’s a Mom. Soon She’ll Start 7th Grade”—centers on Ashley, a 13-year-old girl from Mississippi who in the fall of 2022, according to her mother, was raped by a stranger in her yard.

The assault resulted in a pregnancy that she was unable to terminate because of the strict abortion bans in Mississippi and its bordering states, each enacted after the overturning of Roe. Ashley’s mother, Regina, told Time that she didn’t have the resources to take her daughter to the nearest clinic hundreds of miles away in Chicago.

This story, recounting Ashley’s trauma and highlighting the many systems that failed her, is an incredibly difficult read. But one line has especially stayed with me:

“One nurse came in and asked Ashley, “What have you been doing?” Regina recalls. That’s when they found out Ashley was pregnant.”

This is the question a nurse chose to ask when confronted with a Black child in clear distress, who had shown up to the emergency room unable to stop vomiting.  Not “What happened to you?” or “Are you okay?”

The nurse reportedly asked a 13-year-old child, “What have you been doing?” It’s hard not to see the suspicion and implicit blame in the question. That culpability, deployed with equal amounts of derision and judgment, is something that I and many other Black women and girls are all too familiar with. 

Victim blaming reaches people of all races. But Black girls stand at a uniquely horrifying intersection where both gender and skin color are weaponized against them.

One study showed that as early as five years old, society perceives Black girls as “less innocent” and “more adult-like” than their non-Black counterparts, placing an unfair expectation on them to act more maturely.

In 2017, Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality reported that participants in a study perceived Black girls as needing less nurturing, protection, and comfort than white girls. These virulent misconceptions, of course, can be traced back to historically racist stereotypes about Black femininity. GLCPI wrote:

“These images and historical stereotypes of Black women have real-life consequences for Black girls today. According to [Jamila] Blake and colleagues, “these stereotypes underlie the implicit bias that shapes many [adult’s] view of Black females [as] … sexually promiscuous, hedonistic, and in need of socialization.”

The results of this adultification are pervasive. Black girls are often punished more severely in schools and the criminal justice system than their white peers. The ripple effects can be found all over popular culture.

Huff Post’s Taryn Finley attributed this societal perception as a key reason why R. Kelly, whose accusers were primarily Black women and girls, was able to remain successful despite allegations of child sexual abuse surrounding him for several decades. And they can be found in questions like, “What have you been doing?”

Girlhood is a delicate period. It should be a time for crushes and school dances, not confronting the dark realities of misogyny and racism. It’s time for society to allow young Black girls to be girls, instead of forcing them into becoming women. Not ask, like the nurse in this story, “What have you been doing?”

[ausetkmt]

Black Toddler 'Arrested' By White Child In Rosa Parks Role-Play At Daycare

I would never allow my child to attend any academy that would engage in this type of direct manipulation of history and children's impressions.

How would they feel if it were reversed?

Parents, you need to pay attention to these types of actions at schools because they directly impact your child's future. Whether you wanna believe it or not, it does.

This is training for the public school to prison pipeline. Starting in preschool.

this school should be sued to filth for this

[burst-of-iridescent]

Your response to that anon makes it pretty clear they're right lol. Katara did support Aang unconditionally, especially with his trauma as she could empathise as someone who is ALSO a survivor of genocide and the last of their people (water bender and air nomad). But Aang also was supportive of her- when she wanted to free the earthbenders, him and sokka helped, he wanted to refuse to continue teaching from Pakku because he wouldn't teach Katara, he helped her with the Painted Lady, and the Southern Raiders comment is not as condescending as you think. Yes, it was shitty, but you really think they would've turned their back on Katara? They shouldn't have said that to her but him and Sokka know if she kills Yon Rha, it will not bring her closure. And as for her doing all the labour, that's blatantly untrue. In Bitter Work the whole argument between Toph and Katara is that Katara is (rightfully) mad that Toph only wants to do her share, arguing that everyone around camp does their part.There’s multiple episodes in which the gaang help pitch the tent and perform campsite duties. There’s a whole episode dedicated to how katara and sokka are both sick, resulting in aang having to run across the world to retrieve them medicine, and he continued trying to get the frogs for his friends even when captured. There’s an entire episode dedicated to how the gaang cannot get anything done without sokka, who usually manages their schedules and itineraries and helps ensure that they’re on track. There’s plenty of moments in which aang and katara are goofing off, and sokka gets mad at them for not sticking to his carefully curated and meticulous schedule and for putting a wedge in their plans to save communities (see: imprisoned and the painted lady). There’s moments when toph assumes responsibility; there’s moments when aang assumes responsibility. and then there’s moments when none of them have any clue on what to do, when they literally act like children navigating a world that’s constantly trying to kill them. Because they are children, which in episode 1 we see Aang telling Katara she is still a kid. Whether you ship it or not, a big part of their relationship is that they are children. They're a team, they all support each other. Saying she shoulders everything and that Aang is just selfish and callous is a blatant lie. They have helped each other throughout the series a lot. There are moments when they both say and do things that aren't good to eachother, but that doesn't make their relationship instantly toxic. Aang kissing Katara w/o consent was wrong, it's why I don't ship it, but saying Katara was reduced Aangs mother figure, especially when he played a large role in her acting like a kid again, and also grew up communally so the concept of a mother isn't something he would even think about. The constant adultification you insist on of Katara is just weird, there's a reason black and brown women hate it so much, especially when katara has stated she dislikes being seen as motherly

wow that is a whole lot of words you're trying to shove into my mouth, huh? don't worry though; unlike you, i know how to make a good argument, so let's go through this flaming pile of garbage you've dumped in my asks to see exactly what that looks like!

i don't know where you got this idea that i think katara does everything for team avatar while the rest of them sit by and twiddle their thumbs; i have never said that, and i never will. my argument isn't about katara's relationship with the gaang (though for all that she says they divide the chores equally in the chase episode, you will notice that much of the time it is always katara you see in the background cooking, training aang, or doing work around camp - make of that what you will), it is about katara's relationship with aang, and the severe imbalance of emotional labour in that relationship.

let's look at how many times katara supports aang in the show when he's in need of it:

S1:E3, The Southern Air Temple: katara pulls aang out of the avatar state when he's grieving over the loss of his people, then holds and comforts him afterwards.

S1:E12, The Storm: katara listens to aang's regrets over running away, assauges his guilt, encourages him, and ultimately inspires him to move on from his past and start anew.

S2:E3, Return to Omashu: katara listens to aang's worries about bumi and tries to reassure him.

S2:E9, Bitter Work: katara coddles aang when he's sad about not being able to master earthbending, motivating him to keep going and trying to convince toph to give him an easier time.

S2:E10, The Library: katara pulls aang out of the avatar state again, this time actually putting herself in danger (the only one to do so, you might notice) by walking into the middle of a sandstorm while aang is in an highly volatile state of extreme power. keep in mind that katara knows exactly what can happen when aang isn't able to control himself, because of that lovely incident back in book 1 where she was burned thanks to his recklessness, and yet the duty of calming aang down falls to her yet again.

S2:E11, The Desert: aang snaps at katara and then leaves her to take care of herself and the rest of the gaang all on her own in a highly dangerous environment. don't worry though, she'll still find the time to sympathize with him and comfort him, though he certainly isn't going to apologize and will, in fact, have this lovely exchange with her instead:

"What's anyone else doing?! [Pointing his staff at Katara.] What are you doing‌?!"

oh nothing aang, just keeping everyone alive and together, and being the entire reason they survive the desert at all. thanks for the support, though!

S2:E12, Journey to Ba Sing Se Part 1: katara reaches out to aang multiple times in this episode, offering her love and support, and ultimately helping him to snap out of his depression over appa's loss (he still hasn't apologized for his behaviour in the previous episode, in case you were wondering).

S3:E1, The Awakening: katara tries to help aang deal with his feelings of guilt over Ba Sing Se, heals him, brings him food, and even stays behind to look after him (funny you don't see either sokka or toph doing that)... all while dealing with her own sadness and anger over her father. aang does notice this, by the way! though naturally, he does nothing about it.

S3:E9, Nightmares and Daydreams: i'll cut this one a little slack, because sokka and toph do try to help out with aang's anxieties too. note, however, that katara checks on aang five separate times in this episode alone - far more than either of the other two by a clear margin.

S3:E17, The Ember Island Players: katara is the only one to notice aang is upset after the play, goes to see if he's okay and... well, you know how this one ends.

let's do a little tally and... that clocks in at a whopping 10 times that katara offers aang her love, support and comfort, including almost all of his lowest moments.

now let's look at the number of times aang supports katara when she is in need of it:

S1:E9, The Waterbending Scroll: aang encourages katara to waterbend, pushing her to have faith and be confident in herself, allowing her to waterbend successfully and defeat the pirates.

S1:E18, The Waterbending Master: aang defends katara against pakku and cheers for her during her fight; he does also, however, undercut her very real anger at pakku and tries to dissuade her from fighting at all under the impression that it's for him instead of the injustice that's been done to her so... we'll consider this a wash.

S2:E17, Lake Laogai: aang rests a hand on katara's shoulder in wordless support after jet dies.

S3:E8, The Puppetmaster: aang pulls the hand-on-shoulder move again while katara cries after defeating hama... except this time, sokka's on her other side doing the exact same thing so it can't even be counted as an emotional support moment exclusive to aang, the way all of aang's are to katara.

final calculation: 2, 4 if i'm being generous. four against ten, and even if you combined all of them together, aang still doesn't provide even half the depth of support and care that katara does for him in just a single incident.

see how that might be what we call an imbalanced relationship?

They shouldn't have said that to her but him and Sokka know if she kills Yon Rha, it will not bring her closure

except who brought up killing yon rha? aang. who immediately conflated justice with revenge? aang. who pushed his own culture's values of pacifism onto katara? aang. and who was ultimately wrong about blanket forgiveness and inaction being the path to closure for katara? aang.

you don't need to take my word on it. katara corrects aang herself when he inaccurately assumes she did what he wanted her to: "But i didn't forgive him. I'll never forgive him."

if aang had his way, if katara had never confronted yon rha, her rage and grief and resentment would've simply continued to fester inside her. katara made peace with her trauma on her own terms, by finally getting to see yon rha for what he really was: not a nightmarish bogeyman who left her powerless and afraid, but a weak, pathetic, human man who didn't even deserve the mercy of death, and whom she was able to reclaim her power over.

aang doesn't extend to katara even a fraction of the empathy, understanding and faith she always offers him; rather, he instantly jumps to the worst judgements about her intentions, preaches to her about how she should heal from her trauma, and only deepens her stress and anger while she's reliving the worst moment of her life.

that is not support. that is not friendship. that is aang making katara's struggle about himself, just as everything else in their relationship already is.

saying Katara was reduced Aangs mother figure, especially when he played a large role in her acting like a kid again, and also grew up communally so the concept of a mother isn't something he would even think about

buddy, i assure you i'm not the one making katara aang's mother. you can take that up with the writers who made a self-referential joke about katara acting motherly to aang (unless you think "stop rubbing your eye and sit up straight when you talk!" is somehow a romantic thing to say to your future husband), who have katara coddle aang multiple times, who framed katara holding aang's dead body like the virgin mary holding jesus, and who literally had her dress up and pretend to be his mother.

and for your information, katara is a motherly figure - not just to aang, but to every member of team avatar besides zuko (and suki, if you count her). that's not my opinion btw, as you seem to believe. that's canon, confirmed by both sokka and toph in S3:E7, The Runaway:

Sokka: When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a mess, but Katara? She had so much strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom. It really seems like my whole life, Katara's been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's there. And now, when I try to remember my mom, Katara's is the only face I can picture. Toph: The truth is sometimes Katara does act motherly, but that's not always a bad thing. She's compassionate and kind, and she actually cares about me. [Wipes away tears from her left eye.] You know, the real me. That's more than my own mom.

so no, anon, i'm not the one "insisting" on katara's adultification. she was adultified the moment her mother died, because she was forced to step into her mother's shoes - and she did it so well that she became a surrogate parent to her own older brother. she is a child who was forced to sacrifice her childhood, and who will never be able to find it again. that is the fundamental tragedy at the heart of katara's character, and an integral part of what makes her who she is.

there's a reason black and brown women hate it so much, especially when katara has stated she dislikes being seen as motherly

really? women of colour hate being pushed into motherly roles, and seeing female characters like themselves being forced to do so? damn, i wonder if there's any way that i, a south asian woman living in southeast asia, would know that?

i don't need you to tell me what brown women think and feel. i understand first-fucking-hand what we go through, because i've seen it in my own female relatives, in my friends, in their families, in every aspect of my society. i've felt the expectations of my culture on my gender since i was a child, and that is just one of the many reasons why i ship zutara: so that at least in a fictional world, some fictional brown girl is able to have an equal relationship with a partner who respects her, admires her, supports her, cares for her, and loves her just as much as she does him.

i'm glad we can both agree that katara hates being seen as motherly. i hate it too, which is why i despise kat.aang, because the last thing that katara needed after losing her childhood being a mother was to lose the rest of her life to it too, stripped of her agency and legacy, forever stuck looking after a man who will always make her do too much labour without once recognizing it, let alone returning it.

now kindly get out of my inbox with your faux progressive concern, and take your subpar media literacy skills with you while you're at it.

[aaronymous999]

Some people REALLY need to hear this… I don’t have a problem with people enjoying characters or even consuming smut but the smut I see about POC in particular is REALLY bad.

It usually disregards their character, and it’s so weird with Hobie in particular as OP stated- because this dude shows zero interest outside of platonic interest in the movie despite what your interpretation is. These characters are well- CHARACTERS outside of their sexuality and that should be respected. Again I’m completely fine with people shipping their OCs with Hobie or Miguel or anyone else, but if it gets to a point of stereotypes and OVER sexualization it’s not okay.

Analyzation of Hobie Brown's sexualization on Tumblr (Also a little bit of ranting cuz it pisses me off like crazy)

Summary:

I'll be going over different stereotypes but I'll focus on the sexualization of black characters in the media specifically. Then I'm gonna relate it back to Hobie Brown and give a little lecture/stern-talking to at the end.

TW: Mentions of sex and sexuality, stereotypes, some mentions of pedophilia

Hobie Brown is not the only hyper-sexualized black man in the media. Almost every attractive black man from a TV show has been turned into a toy for fan fiction writers, including Prowler Miles/Earth-42 Miles (That's a whole other post). The same thing happens with POC characters like Miguel O'hara.

The hyper-sexualization of black characters has been around since the beginning of the integration of POC characters into the media. However, racist perceptions/stereotypes of African-Americans and other POC people in general have been around for even longer, results of white supremacy and "white man's burden"-based imperialism.

African-Americans specifically have been subject to stereotypes such as "being unable to control themselves" since the 1500s, during which black men in particular were being characterized as almost "animalistic." This translated into stereotypes which are still common today, like the stereotype that black men have more sexual prowess than other races.

Bell & Harris (linked below) find that many of these modern hyper-stereotypical images of Black folks have historically depicted them as violent, involved in criminal activity, deadbeat drunks or drug-addicts, or unable to control themselves sexually, financially, or physically. These images render the Black middle class invisible and reduce Blackness merely to pejorative categories. Such descriptions of Black masculinity are problematic for media consumers and emasculating for Black folks. For media viewers, such images relegate Blacks and/or Blackness to the role of being “the problem” and Whiteness as what is normal, typical, and ideal in comparison. Further, portrayals of Blackness juxtaposed against the backdrop of “Whiteness as the ideal” are problematic. They enable the media to influence how audience members construct and/or “view” members of various cultural communities and impact how traditionally marginalized community members may view themselves.

So in summary:

Black characters are sexualized because of stereotypes that have been around for centuries, results of extreme prejudice and blatant racism, which people continue to spew today. By sexualizing black characters in the media so freely, writers are emasculating their black readers and being casually offensive without even realizing it.

By writing about black characters like they're objects, especially black men, you are disrespecting the image of African-Americans in the media, and harming the media's interpretation of them, which eventually leads to worse stereotypes and worse situations for them to have to deal with.

Now let's specifically talk about Hobie Brown.

Why exactly is he so sexualized on Tumblr? The same reasons listed above. He's an attractive black man, so many fan fiction writers find him fair game to create their stereotypical smut-ridden stories, and completely disregard his entire character.

Despite him having zero romantic interests and not even being displayed as a sexual character, people are automatically assuming that he would have a high sexual prowess and would be very sex-motivated.

Do you see the similarities? Blatant racism.

The stereotype that black men have a higher sexual prowess is translating into Hobie Brown's character, which is why there's so much smut written about him. This is also the reason why there's not as much fluff written about him. Because according to these stereotypes, African-American men don't have emotions. They're so masculine that they would never talk about their feelings. They're sexual toys and nothing else.

Do you see the problem with this?

Now this is all without even addressing the fact that his age isn't confirmed. He could be anywhere from 16-25 years old. I personally think he's a teenager, because of the fact that he hangs out with Gwen and Pav who are canonically 13 and 16, and because he looks like a teenager and acts like a teenager.

Overall, the message of this post is-

The hyper-sexualization of black men in the media has to be addressed. Hobie Brown is only the latest victim of sexual stereotypes and this isn't okay. No character should have their entire storyline, plot and characterization stripped down to their sexuality. It's disgusting.

The writers spent a lot of time and put a lot of effort into Hobie's character. By stripping him down to his looks and his sexuality, you are disrespecting the writers and you are feeding into stereotypes. Don't be a supporter of casual racism. Don't be a supporter of stereotypes. Don't be a supporter of sensualizing characters. Don't be a supporter of casual pedophilia.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. Here's a pretty picture of Hobie.

He looks so done 💀. Me after seeing people continue to write smut about him.

Note: I'm not African-American, so if anything I said needs editing or if any of the stereotypes I mentioned are inaccurate in any way, please reach out to me! I'm trying to be a better writer and any type of feedback would be very helpful <3

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10057104

Bell & Harris:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17513057.2016.1142598

https://fabulizemag.com/adults-thirsting-over-underage-characters-is-weird/

@ignocubo

[queenvlion]

[itsyagergzero]

its been over a year since across the spiderverse came out. Are we ready to talk about how ppl for sure saying Hobie was like over 21 is a product of the adultification of Black children (esp boys) or naw

[atla-confessions]

Adultification has mostly two contexts.

The first is mainly based in psychology, describing a phenomenon where a child has been forced to grow up too soon due to being burdened with adult responsibilities at a young age, resulting in this precocious approximation of maturity from a kid who really doesn't have the foundation or experience for true maturity. This is explored in the text itself. Katara and Sokka most notably (although it also applies to most of the child cast) deal with this in-series as the core of both of their arcs, having essentially had to raise each other and take charge of a village that had no young adults in it because of the war.

The other, also called adultification bias, is the racial prejudice whereby brown and black children are often automatically viewed in a context that robs them of the childhood that their peers are viewed in, and treated and seen in a context as if they're genuinely adults much younger. This is something you see on a meta level from the way fans talk about certain characters, such as saying Katara's figure is womanly and proves that she's meant to be more adult and lack childlike qualities, while characters like Ty Lee or Suki don't get that reading. Or the way a large sect of atla fans will disparagingly meme on and broadly demonize Katara for bringing up her grief about her late mother "too much" because they're annoyed she hasn't grown past that already, but the same sect of fans are extremely forgiving of Zuko lashing out at Iroh over things as small as tea, and his repeated mentions of honor are viewed as endearing instead. And Katara is viewed as whining too much for talking about what she's lost and is too mean or selfish for not dealing with it maturely from the start, but Toph saying that she gave up her noble home life and therefore is exempt from chores or from playing nice is seen reasonably for what it is: the start of the arc of a child who's not used to dealing with others.

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