Responding to redness, exposed unhealthy opinions about puberty
The release of Pixar Turning Red has led some to share unhealthy opinions about online puberty, showing why it’s important to talk about it.
Pixar’s latest movie, Turning Red, is about a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl named Mei who is going through puberty. What Mei doesn’t realize about female puberty in her family, though, is that instead of just dealing with PMS and mood swings, all the women in her family gain the ability to turn into a giant red panda once they arrive. in the majority. Mei’s mother, Ming, hides this from her, resulting in a nasty surprise when Mei wakes up and realizes that she is no longer human. Red panda inside Turning Red is a visual metaphor for the intense emotions Mei feels as she goes through puberty.
While Turning Red it is undoubtedly a story about puberty, the periods are not actually mentioned so often. There are only two scenes in the whole movie that include tampons, tampons and painkillers. This is due to a misunderstanding on Ming’s part when the panda first appears. However, these two scenes were enough to reveal some unhealthy opinions about puberty and online periods – and some of the reactions were not nice.
Several Twitter threads have appeared in the last week criticizing parents who reacted badly to period scenes in Turning Red. The film has been widely praised for destigmatizing female puberty and for providing a positive and honest representation of the subject. The fact that there are already a lot of movies about male puberty that have not received so much criticism anywhere is another point that many people have brought up online.
Twitter user @IDontBlog shared a screenshot of a post on a Facebook group from a mother who expressed her dissatisfaction with the scenes of the period in Turning Red. Other users also criticized the reactions, such as @DynamoSuperX’s post emphasizing that periods are a completely natural stage in the lives of most young girls, and @msdanifernandez’s post pointing out that menstruating children are often very young when they start go through puberty. , so the subject should not be sexualized.
People didn’t like Pixar approaching a transition from girls to women in Turning Red.
I understand 100% why some people find the subject uncomfortable, but there is nothing “inappropriate” or “disgusting” about a woman’s period. It is a natural stage in their lives. I respect Disney for that. pic.twitter.com/aQ5TGmcoaT
– JOLLY J✨ (@DynamoSuperX) March 13, 2022
It’s weird that conservatives are sexualizing #Turning Red . My period came in the 5th grade. I was a child when I received him, like most children. I was looking for middle age. I’m 12. This is a baby. Therefore, it is NOT an adult topic. YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THEM BEFORE IT HAPPENS ✌🏽
– Dani Fernandez (@msdanifernandez) March 15, 2022
These opinions ironically reflect the beliefs of the older women in Mei’s life, who tell her to get rid of her red panda because it is dangerous and shameful. His morale Turning Red is that Mei must not be ashamed of her red panda because she is part of it, and her family was wrong when she encouraged her to hide and get rid of him. Expressing their disgust at the discussions about tampons and periods, the adults who condemn this narrative are no different from Mei’s family before the climax of the film.
Reactions like these show how stigmatized puberty is still and how important it was for Turning Red to be released right now. The appearance of these comments is worrying and proves that a Pixar movie about puberty was definitely needed at this time. Providing a positive view of a girl going through puberty, Turning Red It will help younger children understand the growth process and destigmatize the conversation – even if some people have not yet fully understood it.
To see Mei’s teenage journey, Turning Red is now available to stream on Disney +.
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