PTC: Netflix’s “Big Mouth” Demonstrates Hollywood’s Penchant to Sexualize Children

LOS ANGELES (October 25, 2022) – The Parents Television and Media Council (PTC) is warning parents ahead of Netflix’s Big Mouth Season 6, available to stream on October 28, citing its history of content that sexualized or sexually-exploited child characters.

Big Mouth is an animated TV series about middle schoolers going through puberty and depicts 12 and 13-year-old children in sexual situations and engaged in sexual dialogue.

“If sexual predators hoped to create the perfect method to groom child victims, they couldn’t do any better than Big Mouth. Veiled in the name of comedy and artistic freedom, Netflix is turning children into sexual chattel. If this program were live action instead of a cartoon, each and every producer of the program would be in prison,” said PTC President Tim Winter. “The sixth season of this deeply disturbing, harmful content demonstrates Hollywood’s growing fascination to normalize the sexualization and sexual exploitation of children.”

PTC research of Big Mouth Season 4 contained content that included: a minor offering to perform oral sex on his own father; a minor exposing his scrotum; minors shown in a shower with erect penises; a minor urinating on another minor in the shower; a male minor character penetrating a female minor character with his fingers. Episodes contained visual depictions of sexual behavior, including depictions of the 12 and 13- year-old characters masturbating, and animated depictions of the genitals of the 12 and 13- year-old characters. A character states that he will have sex with excrement and then eat it. Episodes also featured “exotic” sexual behaviors that would be far outside the experience of an average 13-year-old.

“We are warning parents about this new season, given that children are watching – and especially because kids are inherently attracted to animated programming. In fact, a news story even cited that Big Mouth Creator Nick Kroll is frequently recognized by 13 and 14-year-olds because of the program,” Winter said.

“It should shock the conscience to see children sexually exploited for the sake of entertainment and financial profit, as they are on Big Mouth. When reports of child sexual exploitation have increased exponentially, Hollywood must scrutinize the part it plays in normalizing the sexualization of children and put a stop to this immediately. If #MeToo matters at all, then #OurKidsToo must also matter.”