Should Muslims Cancel Netflix because of Cuties?

Maybe you missed all the uproar over the movie “Cuties” which is now streaming on Netflix. The movie is about: “A talented 11-year-old girl (who) joins a hip-hop dance troupe”. Although it sounds innocent, the movie is not. The 11 year olds engage in twerking, sexting, and watching pornography on a cell phone. The girls are often in sexually exploitative positions as characters and as actresses. The abhorrent behavior is causing righteous indignation across party lines. Sen. Ted Cruz is even calling for an investigation to determine if Netflix violated any child pornography laws. The cancel culture is serious about this movie!

Should Muslims (or anybody) cancel their Netflix subscription because of this movie? Honestly, that’s up to you. I am not, even though I am appalled by the content. But I am even more appalled by the hypersexuality that our children witness everyday. If this movie helps to rip the blindfold off of our eyes, then I applaud it while also hating it. But for anyone who has been observing what is going on in our society, this movie is no surprise. This moral desensitization has been building for a while now.

When I go in the store to buy summer clothes for my kids I’m shocked. The shorts for my son hang past his knees, while the ones for my daughter barely cover her butt. Not modest enough to wear even inside of the house! Television shows portray tweens in romantic relationships. Relationships that they cannot possibly handle at that age. By high school they believe that everyone has had sex and that virginity will make you an outcast. Singers like Cardi B and Meghan Thee Stallion convince them that strong empowered women are promiscuous. And a song like WAP can crack the top 20 when years ago it wouldn’t have EVER been produced.

I’m heartened to know that we can still be outraged. That we still care enough about our girls to be concerned about this movie. But I also care about these facts. Child sex trafficking is at an alarming rate. During the pandemic the number of online “enticements” of children has increased by 90%. Child sex trafficking accounts for 30 percent of all human trafficking. And in this country 52% of sex trafficking victims are Black or Latino. We have a real problem in this country and in this world. This problem didn’t start with “Cuties” and it won’t end with “Cuties”, unless we end it.
I’m including some links to organizations that are working to solve this problem. Feel free to check them out or find an organization in your community to assist. Taking these actions might do more to help an endangered child than canceling your Netflix membership. But any action at all will help more than no action at all.