Netflix children’s shows contain sexualized content despite Y7 ratings

One unfortunate casualty of an increasingly fragmented media market is the ability of parents to keep tabs on the content their children may be consuming.

With everything available everywhere, at once, it’s not unrealistic to expect parents to scan every video, short, YouTube channel, live series, Insta feed, and video game – it’s literally impossible. Netflix alone currently has 2.2 million minutes of content available, which translates to about 36,000 hours of programming. YouTube uploads approximately 700,000 hours of video every day.

Because it’s impossible to pre-screen everything your child might see across multiple platforms, services, and devices, we rely on parental controls, content ratings, and other tools that were supposedly created to help report Potentially problematic content. We learn to look for “Y,” “Y7,” “G,” or “PG” to see if something is appropriate and age-appropriate for our children.

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It does not mean abdicating responsibility; It is accepting our limitations as limited beings with limited time periods.

Netflix’s Vice President of Inclusion Strategy, Wade Davis, has been very vocal about transgender issues on social media. (Reuters/Mike Blake/Netflix)

When a parent sees that the cartoon series is playing Netflix It’s rated TV-Y7, and you can’t blame it for assuming the content is generally suitable for a child ages 7 and up, as the rating indicates. You might think that issues of sexuality or so-called gender identity would not be anywhere near this classification, but you would be wrong.

Here’s a dialogue from the TV-Y7 Netflix anime show, “Dead End: Supernatural Garden:”

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“It’s not the park. It’s – me. I’m trans, Norma. And everyone at school knows, and everyone at home knows. And me being here? It’s like I can just be Barney, and I can choose if and when to tell people. I’ve never been happier. And that’s saying something when I spent the day being chased by a terrifying zombie mascot. Bugsy reminded me how important it is to live your life unapologetically. So, I guess I Should I give a chance to live here you?”

After this clip went viral, internet sleuths began looking for other examples of Netflix series promoting the LGBTQ community and transgender ideology to children, and there were plenty to be found.

“Transformers EarthSpark” (rating Y-7) featured this conversation:

“Hey, it’s okay. I know I’m safe when I’m with my friends or other non-binary people.” “Non-binary?” “People who aren’t female or male. Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed…” “I always knew my pronouns sounded right, but… what a wonderful word for a wonderful experience.”

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“Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City” (TV-Y) introduces the children to Lime Chiffon’s parents: Banoffee, a transgender character, and Raisin Cane, who is non-binary. Banoffee enters the drag show, and says, “As a transgender person, I love living out loud as my most authentic self, and I wanted to dress as bold and unique as myself, which is hard, let’s face it.”

But here’s the real problem: most of these clips are several years old. The “Dead End: Paranormal Park” trailer is at least three years old. Most of those (myself included) commenting on it now were unaware of its existence until recently, when series creator Hamish Steele invited scrutiny by publishing a scathing response to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s tweet about… The assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Promotional poster for the Netflix series Cuties. (Netflix)

This means that these shows have been flying under parents’ radar for three years, getting an automatic pass, or at least, the benefit of the doubt due to their Y, Y7, and PG ratings.

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It’s hard to know how many kids have actually watched these episodes because Netflix doesn’t release audience numbers or demographic data. But it begs the question, how many kids are now left wrestling with questions about gender identity and sexuality that shouldn’t even be on their radar? How many people have already started down an irreversible path toward self-harm and body mutilation because of this political and social activism masquerading as harmless children’s entertainment?

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It is unforgivable.

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An oft-cited quote attributed to Maya Angelou says: “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

This isn’t the first time Netflix has courted controversy, and it won’t be the last. In May, Netflix released the final season of “Big Mouth,” an animated series that sexualizes adult children. In September 2020, Netflix lost subscribers Sexual depiction of children In the movie “Cuties”. In 2019, Christians boycotted Netflix over its blasphemous depictions of Jesus in the films “The First Temptation of Christ” and “The Last Traces.” In 2017, Netflix faced backlash for depicting a teenage girl committing suicide in the movie 13 Reasons Why.

A recent Babylon Bee headline read, “Conservative family cancels Netflix account forever for fifth time.”

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But it begs the question, how many kids are now left wrestling with questions about gender identity and sexuality that shouldn’t even be on their radar?

It would be easier for most of us to laugh if it didn’t come uncomfortably close to the truth. Netflix “declined to comment” on the latest criticism, according to Variety.

As parents, it’s time to be honest with ourselves about the compromises we’re willing to make for entertainment. We can’t anticipate every potential danger, every horrific piece of content our kids might be exposed to, but time and time again, Netflix has shown us who they really are. It’s time to believe them.