Sexy Baby Trope: Infanitilized & Sexualized

0:01 goo you are so refreshing you have the innocence of a child and the body of a prostitute who never had kids I'm a very sexy baby the sexy baby Trope refers to a female character who is portrayed as being simultaneously infantilized and sexualized this tro plays on exaggerated youthful characteristics such as naivity having a childlike demeanor innocence and even a high-pitched voice all coupled with being overtly sexual the term gains some mainstream attention from Taylor Swift song anti-hero where she sings sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby though the concept has always been a staple in film

0:47 and TV the phrase sexy baby refers to societal pressures on women to appear both youthful and sexualized the exact moment the sexy baby Trope was first introduced is unclear but it has persisted in almost all facets of entertainment a notable early reference appears in an episode of 30 Rock where Tina face character Liz Lemon criticizes a young woman for using a high-pitch sexy baby voice to appear more appealing the moment sazed a cultural phenomenon that had been present in pop culture long before the sexy baby Trope has been discussed and analyzed at length and there are different offshoots and depictions of the Trope but today I specifically wanted to examine how the Trope is depicted in a comedic tone this Trope has manifested in many characters over the years but in this video I

1:32 specifically wanted to examine the comedic portrayals of this strope and whether or not they subvert or perpetuate the sexy baby depiction often communic depictions of this Trope cize it as well as subvert and deconstruct the nature of the Trope so in today's video we're going to look at some of the different ways this Trope has shown up in media and whether or not they do a good job of subverting this Trope or fall into the Trap of Simply perpetuating it so let's start with probably the most comedic deconstructions of this joke one of the more prominent ways that the sexy baby Troke was deconstructed was in the show 30 Rock the 30 Rock episode TGs hates women explicitly calls out the sexy baby Trope as a cultural phenomenon in this episode Liz Lemon gets called out for sexist and misogynistic jokes made in the show how can they say that

2:17 we love women with Tracy gone our last episode was all Jenna this is Amilia aart I'm almost across the Pacific oh no my period and an effort to negate that allegations that TGs hates women she decides to hire an upand cominging young female comedian Abby Flynn only to find out that she has a very specific approach to her comedy from the moment she appears on screen Abby Flynn embodies every exaggerated trait of the sexy baby Trope look at all these dudes I knew I smelled sausage yes Abby she speaks in a Brey high pitched tone similar to Marilyn Monroe in some of her onscreen roles which is is meant to make characters seem innocent naive and non-threatening

3:03 Abby is also portrayed as being very girlish often wearing her hair in pigtails and wearing frilly and childish outfits often with a wide-eyed expression Abby plays Dumb and overly childish often using exaggerated baby talk to appeal to men where's little Abby going to sit guess I'll have to sit on somebody's layup you can sit there eenie please God meie mommy me pig me [Music] no often in these depictions these characters are just supposed with other competent less sexually available or desirable women to really underscore how desired they are by the men around them I'm Liz Liz thank you our nips just

3:52 touched mine are so hard mine are different sizes Liz is uncomfortable by aby's in assistence on using a high-pitched voice and childlike mannerisms to appear more appealing to men she argues that aby's behavior sets women back by reinforces the harmful idea that they must be both sexy and infantilized in order to be desirable to men Liz Prides herself on being a feminist voice in comedy so she's immediately wary of Abby because she believes her sexy baby Act is perpetuating regressive stereotypes about women rather than challenging them you and I actually want the same thing but we're not going to destroy AB AB we're going to fix her yes like you fix a dog we'll sterilize her no I'm going to show Abby that she doesn't need to

4:38 act like this hi I'm Jack it's nice to meet you hi hi however Liz never considers the possibility that some women are forced into these roles by sexist expectations within their industry a key layer of the episode satire is that Liz Lemon despite being a self-proclaimed feminist initially misreads the situation Liz assumes Abby is the problem believing that women like her are holding feminism back by catering to male expectations initially Liz assumes Abby is actively choosing to play into the sexy baby stereotype in order to become more popular and to be desired by men you can drop the sexy baby act and lose the pigtails but I like my pigtails my uncle says they're sexy enough with the gross

5:24 jokes and that voice I want you to talk in your real voice this is my real voice and the whole Sexy Baby thing isn't an act I'm a very sexy baby however it is later reveals that Abby was a normal competent comedian with a regular voice and personality she adopted the sexy baby Persona out of necessity not to appeal to men but to protect herself from them Liz discovers that Abby reinvented herself as a sexy baby because she was being stalked by a dangerous ex-boyfriend by transforming into a male fantasy a harmless infantilized sex object she was able to disappear from her past life and avoid danger you're right Liz I was hiding from a man who went insane after being electrocuted while watching Sleeping

6:09 with the Enemy I was cut out of that and yeah I am desperate for male attention because I feel safer having men around in case Troy comes back instead of blaming Abby for embodying a sexist Trope 30 Rock explores how women are often forced to conform to those roles as a form of Social and professional survival the episode critiques Liz's black and white white thinking and challenges her internalized sexist ideology this moment in the show reflects a long-standing feminist debate should we blame women for playing into sexist stereotypes or should we blame the structures that pushes women into adopting low stropes Liz never at any point condemns the men's reaction to Abby or considers their attraction to her behavior as any sort of moral failure all the responsibility is on

6:55 Abby to be a good representation for all women you know what Liz I have to EXP expain myself to you my life is none of your business except it is because you represent my show and you represent my gender in this business and you embarrass me which of course was never something she signed up for it also raised a very interesting conversation because Lizzie's competence and intelligence makes her less sexually desirable in the eyes of the men so there's that underlying feeling of jealousy that Liz has that her marit actually makes her less sexually desirable Liz herself is portrayed as unlikable or frigid by the media and by the men in the show show reinforcing how women who resist infantilization are often punished Abby meanwhile is celebrated for playing into the fantasy even though it's an act by the end of the episode Liz realizes that Abby isn't

7:42 the enemy sexism is another modern example of the sexy baby Trope is Cat Valentine from Victorious cat is depicted as a bubbly naive and often clueless girl with a high pitched voice exaggerated facial featur and a childlike sense of wonder yay cupcake hey Cat you're killing me what street are we on yeah what street let's just say it ain't Sesame Street I love Sesame Street Sun no while these characteristics alone make her a very likable and endearing character her petril is also Complicated

8:29 by the way it's constantly sexualized on the show despite being constantly infantilized in the show cat is often always depicted as being sexually desirable to the boys around her she is placed in flirtatious scenarios and very sexually suggestive scenes have you ever tried to get your whole big toe in your mouth check this out sometimes I wonder if you can get juice from a potato [Music] this contrast creates an uncomfortable mix where she embodies both the traits of a child and a desirable young woman for a long time I always struggled with

9:14 why I always found it uncomfortable when they show sexualized cat more than any other character and I realized that it was specifically because they insist on infanti her while also sexualizing her so even in innocent scenes where a character expresses a romantic interest in cat it still feels uncomfortable and predatory because the show makes cat appear childlike Cat Valentine's childlike qualities are her defining characteristics she speaks in a high-pitched voice dresses very girly and often misunderstands basic concepts

10:00 cat why did you just throw your drink in the trash cuz I wasn't thirsty which all make her seem much younger than she actually is her behavior is exaggeratedly naive she is easily excited by simple things like coloring and candy cat color the tiger yay crayons look I made my tiger purple than that doesn't happen in nature life's the worst here's a piece of candy yay I love candy and struggles to keep up with normal conversations with her peers her mannerisms further reinforce her infantilization she claps and jumps like a child and is very easily excitable she

10:48 also has poor emotional regulation and often throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way she sucks on Lollipops and carries around stuffed animals reinforcing a toddler like image and this depiction is especially troubling because cat's character never started out that way this was an intentional effort on the part of the riters even in the way cat dressed in the earlier parts of the show was more mature than the later parts of the show she would wear heels and jewelry and just looks like a regular teenager however as the show went on the way she dressed changed she was often always wearing flats to make herself look smaller and more petite than her peirs she would wear flowy FR dresses that made her look more like a toddler these traits make cats seem adorable and non-threatening fitting

11:34 into the mold of the manic pixie dream girl who exists to bring Whimsy and innocence to the lives of others anyone want some licorice I'll take some J thank however beneath the childish Persona there is a layer of subtle sexualization that plagues her characterization despite her overt childlike Behavior cat is simultaneously framed as attractive and flirtacious embodying the unsettling contrast of the sexy baby Trope oh

12:21 hi what's going on nothing I'm just going to the bathroom I mean not right this second while Victorious was a kid show it often included many moments that sexualized cat's interactions with other characters yeah now don't start something you can't finish while cat is depicted as naive she occasionally engages in overly flirtatious or suggestive Behavior often in a way that seems unaware or accidental this contrast between innocence and implied sexuality reinforces this idea that she is desirable precisely because she is clueless and childlike guys this is my friend moose yeah we

13:06 know from fluffer nugget it's feron he sure is I love Canada really what do you love about it uh hey what is this some kind of quiz or something Cat Valentine's portrayal is not just an isolated example it reflects a broader cultural trend of infantilizing and sexualizing women in entertainment the fact that Ariana Grande who played Cat later leaned into a similar aesthetic in her early music career the high ponytail the soft baby voice oversized sweaters paired with thigh high boots suggest that this strope extends Beyond scripted

13:52 television into larger pop culture while Victorious was a comedy show aimed at kids the framing of cat's character contributes to a larger pattern in the media where women are encouraged to play into infantilized femininity to be more appealing so Kat ends up reinforcing the sexy baby Trope rather than challenging it in any meaningful way thanks to the sponsor of this video factor factor takes the stress of the preparing meals you can skip grocery stores all the prep perk and time it takes to cook a meal and have Chef crafted dietitian approved meals delivered right to your door you can choose from over 35 meals every week in including keto calorie smart vegan and more Factor offers a flexible option for getting the food you need you can change up your order every week or even pause

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15:22 video Annie from Community is a character who often embodies the sexy baby Trope throughout the show Annie is portrayed as a very smart good girl who's sweet and eager to please she's naive and also the youngest member of the group and as such the characters have a fierce protective attitude towards her and going to move all day hey budy can sing you guys that's great and he's pretty young we try not to sexualize her yet she's often frequently framed as an object of Desire particularly for older male characters like Jeff man is a collection of Base Animal urges to act on them and experience sinful pleasure would be morally no different

16:08 than taking a breath that's poignant right yeah part of Annie's characterization is that she is trying to reconcile becoming a young adult without falling into the easy trap of being over sexualized behind your back we do really think about stop with the pumpkins and the sweeties being younger does not make me inferior if anything your age indicates that you've made bad life decisions I'm sure I've made some some bad life decisions and maybe Annie's decisions will be better um but I think she needs to decide whether she wants to be considered a child or an adult because children get pity but not respect an adults they get respect but they also get to back of their head grabb and their face push through juuk boxes okay one of the more explicit examples of community starzing this strob is Annie's Christmas song in

16:55 this scene Annie performs a sexy Santa Baby inspired song hurts my little head when I'm lying in my bed with visions of sugar plumped socks is this a bit this moment is an intentional parody of the infantilization of female sexuality in media highlighting the uncomfortable reality of how women are often expected to be both young and sexy to appeal to male audiences Annie's Christmas song is a textbook example of the sexy baby Trope in action won't you be my daddy I'm a silly Christmas baby tell me what to deck cuz I forgot Annie throughout the performance Annie adopts a soft baby like voice exaggerating the kind of high-pitched childlike tone often associated with a Trope the song lyrics

17:41 play into the contrast between innocence and sexuality using holiday themed double on tanra to suggest a more mature subtext while also highlighting Annie's childlike ignorance to simple Concepts an's facial expressions and Body Language wide-eyed looks pouting lips and playful gesture further enhance the sexy yet childlike contradiction brain hoody understanding Christmas mistletoe for eie tastes good you smarty me dumb help witty have fun boopy doopy doop boop sex Annie's outfit and Persona reference a long-standing media tradition of sexualize Santa themed performances such as Santa Baby a song that itself plays

18:27 into the sexy baby Trope there idea of a naughty but nice girl asking Santa for gifts has been repeated in poop culture reinforcing the notion that women should be both youthful and flirtatious in order to be desirable Jeff represents the audience in this scene as he is uncomfortable with Annie's attempts to marry hypersexuality and infantilization instead of enjoying the performance Jeff looks visibly unsettled because he's aware that Annie's exaggerated innocence and flirtation creates an uncomfortable Dynamic this is beneath you you are an intelligent woman also you're Jewish I guess I have a lot to learn about holiday tradition the show critiques how male characters and by extension male audiences are conditioned to find this mix of youthful

19:12 cuteness and sexual suggestiveness appealing until they are forced to confront its problematic implications Community is a highly self-aware show that often parodies mediat tropes and Annie's Christmas song isn't an isolated moment her character is frequently used to frame and critique the sexy baby troop Annie is often dressed in girlish outfits Cardigans skirts and Bows reinforcing her innocence even as she is frequently sexualized in specific scenes her chushan Jeff and their teacher student power Dynamic play into the tropes theme of men being attracted to youthful innocent looking women despite being one of the most intelligent characters in the show Annie's social innocence is frequently paired with moments that frame her as an object of Desire making her a prime example of the

19:58 trop in action however unlike the other shows that uncritically reinforce these ideas Community calls attention to and mocks the Trope making it a rare example of self-aware media critique Christen Wick's character shaana and SNL is another parody of the sexy baby Trope exaggerating and subverting the archetype of the idealized woman who is both infanty and hypersexualized this character appeared in multiple sketches shaa initially presents as the ultimate male fantasy a woman with a breathy voice slow seductive movements and an aura of sexual desirability is it warm in here or is it just because I'm wearing my jacket inside it's because you're wearing your jacket inside oh then I

20:44 guess I better take it off hubba hubba however each sketch quickly takes a turn when she engages in crude disgusting and off-putting behaviors completely breaking the illusion of the sexy baby okay Apple time to get hot and sticky then go in my mouth oh yeah big vitam by highlighting the up of the Trope through extreme contrast Kristen

21:31 Wick's portrayal Sates the way media conditions audiences to accept infantilized female sexuality as an ideal while also showcasing how shallow and unrealistic it truly is in each sketch at first glance Shauna appears to be a textbook sexy baby character a woman who by Design is meant to be as appealing as possible to the men around her shaa speaks in a soft high pitch baby likee breathy tone a core aspects of the sexy baby Trope would you mind looking and telling me if my tail is still squished I'd be happy to do that I'd be check it out okay is it is it working okay everything's working for me yeah her voice is meant to sound delicate and

22:18 alluring reinforcing an image of femininity that is non-threatening youthful and above all submissive she moves in an exaggeratedly sensual manner flipping her her hair biting her lip and elongating her words playing into the Classic Hollywood stereotype of the ideal sexy woman her physicality is designed to Captivate the male characters setting up the expectation that she is the embodiment of effortless childlike sex appeal okay [Music] [Applause] hot marry Moses I want to see her do that under a

23:06 sprinkler the male characters in The sketches instantly fall for shaa reacting with awe desire and admiration this immediate unquestioning attraction plays into the media's reinforcement of infantilized women as the Pinnacle of desirability what's really great about Shauna's character is how quickly the sexy baby illusion falls apart revealing just how absurd it is just as the male characters are fully captivated by Shauna's exaggerated sex appeal she suddenly does something completely revolting such as burping farting or coughing up flim eating food in a gross way or making gross bodily noises oh it looks like all the stuff is still on the bottom how do I mix it up again just go like this yeah try that that looks

23:52 perfect that's perfect just keep going like this good just keep going like that just keep doing that or maybe I can mix it up like this my own special way here I go these behaviors are hilariously at odds with the perfect sexy Persona she initially presents breaking the fantasy that the sexy baby aesthetic is effortless or natural unlike real life examples of the sexy baby Trope shaa is completely aware or indifferent of how she is perceived in contrast to the media's expectation that women must be hyper aware of their attractiveness at all times shaa seems oblivious to her

24:38 own seduction and by extension her off-putting behaviors that turn off the men around her making her behavior even more ridiculous one of the most telling aspects of these sketches is how the male characters react to Shauna's disgusting moments at first they are entirely mesmerized by her beauty but as soon as she does something revolting they are visibly d Disturbed yet there is still always at least one character that is attracted to her no matter what travel around a lot just in circles with me I don't know what to see and when I do know what to see I giggle excuse me it's not my [Laughter] laugh you are a polished Diamond so are you this plays into the

25:26 critique of how men in media and sometimes real life are conditioned to overlook infantilized women's quirks or flaws because they still represent the idealized female sexuality when I did that chair I got so hot think I better take off my sweater [Music] okay to oh that woman just gives me the Shivers the fact that men still find themselves drawn to Shan even after her disgusting Behavior exposes just how fake and performative the sexy baby Trope is suggesting that men's attraction to it is based more on social conditioning rather than reality Kristen Wick's portr of Shana is not just a

26:11 parody of one type of woman it is a satire of the entire idea that women must balance innocence and sex appeal in order to be desirable to Men by exaggerating both aspects of the Trope the childlike femininity and the sex appeal to absurd extremes the sketches EXP shows how untenable these expectations are by disrupting the fantasy with gross disgusting Behavior the sketches challenges the audience on whether or not the sexy baby ideal of desirability was even a realistic ideal in the first place in a way shaa deconstructs the sexy baby Trope by showing what happens when the illusion is broken proving that the Trope itself is built on an unrealistic impossible standard another offshoot of the sexy

26:57 baby Trope is the born sexy yesterday Trope which is a term coined by YouTuber pop culture detective it specifically refers to characters in sci-fi or fantasy settings that are both infantilized and sexualized sometimes literally being born or made for the Gaze of men the movie poor things also fits into that Trope poor things is a dark dramedy that attempts to explore female autonomy bodily agency and sexuality at its core the film deconstructs The sexy baby Trope Bella Baxter embodies the sexy baby Trope in its most extreme and literal form she is both hypersexualized and childlike but not by choice she's an adult woman with the brain of her unborn baby having been resurrected through a scientific

27:43 experiment where a fetus's brain was placed into a grown woman's body from the moment Bella awakens she exhibits pure uninhibited curiosity about the world including her own body and pleasure unlike traditional sexy baby characters who are artificially naive for male fantasy Bella's innocence is genuine because she has the brain of a child however as she develops men around her begin to project their own desires onto her her guardian Dr Godwin tries to keep her under control treating her as a child who must be protected from the dangers of the world Duncan a self-absorbed lawyer views her as an idealize sexual Conquest completely innocent and easily molded into his fantasy these men attempt to shape Bella into their version of an ideal woman one

28:31 who is innocent dependent and sexually available yet non-threatening this Mires how the sexy baby chope is used in media to create female characters who are both desirable and easily controlled while many films use the sexy baby aesthetic to cater to the male gaze poor things turns it against itself exposing some of its dangers Duncan is drawn to Bella Because he believes she is the ultimate male fantasy sexually adventurous naive and eager to please he exploits her lack of social conditioning and molds her into his perfect submissive lover however as Bella gains knowledge and Independence Duncan becomes frustrated with her yourself what you are now going to explain to me is bad can I never win with you it is the worst thing woman can

29:17 do we should definitely never marry I'm a flawed experimenting person and I will need a husband with a more forgiving disposition God she was only appealing to him when she was childlike unknowing naive and easily controllable Duncan like all men who want sexy babies don't want Partners they want a fantasy a play thing something they can dominate unlike traditional sexy baby characters Bella's sexuality is not manufactured for male consumption it is purely her own she takes a lot of agency in discovering it for herself I have examined my situation I need sex and money I could take a lover another wed bur who would keep me but may require an awful lot of attention or else it's 20 minutes at a

30:04 time when the rest of my day is free to study on the world and the Improvement of it hence I seek employment at your musty smelling establishment of good time fornication she's not performing innocence to appeal to men she's genuinely learning about herself and the world around her this distinction is critical because it exposes the difference between real female agency and the fake innocence imposed by patriarchal expectations Bella actively chooses to explore her desires rather than being passively sexualized by others she refuses to conform to male expectations even when men attempt to mold her at every Point doing what feels good and right to her regardless of how it made the men around her feel actually I would like to go what

30:52 better you have a courage sir yes let us go then Bella let me go God Max you will not stop [Music] me by the end of the film she completely outgrows the sexy baby Persona becoming fully independent this trajectory challenges the Trope by showing that women when given true Freedom do not remain infantilized fantasies they grow up they become complex self-actualized individuals by the end of poor things Bella completely Rejects the infantilization forced upon her she stops being controlled by men Bella's transformation from naive to hyper intelligent is crucial it shows that women are not naturally sexy babies they

31:39 are made to be that way by social conditioning as she learns more about her world her sexuality does not disappear but it becomes truly her own she Embraces complexity rather than conforming to Fantasy most sexy baby characters remain Frozen in their childlike sex appeal to maintain their desirability Bella however grows past it now the movie has faced a lot of criticisms for its depiction of female sexuality and empowerment and whether or not the movie even subverted the born sex yesterday Trope I definitely think that the movie did not make a strong enough point to condemn the men's attraction to her childlike nature but I did think Bella's transformation and rejection of the men's influence in her life was noteworthy the sexy baby Trope reinforces infantilization as a means of making women more desirable yet non-threatening while some characters

32:25 subverted many still embody in a way that caters to the male gaze the trop's persistence in the media reflects broader societal discomfort with fully realized autonomous women instead favoring those women who remain young naive and easily controlled the sexy baby Trope is a persistent and problematic media archetype that infantilizes women while simultaneously sexualizing them whether played for humor like in 30 Rock traditional appeal like in Victor or Community or as a critique like in poor things this Trope reveals society's discomfort with women who exist outside rigid expectations of femininity by continuing to call it out and deconstruct these portrayals media can move toward more nuanced and empowering representations of women ones

33:11 that allow them to be complex mature and fully realized and in control of their own identities so that's it let me know what your thoughts about this strob are below be sure to like comment and subscribe and I'll see you guys next time