Sex/uality Artifacts

For my artifact, I chose this clip from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants. The episode features a controversial sequence of events in which Spongebob, Patrick, and Spongebob’s boss (Mr. Krabs) break into a house with the intent stealing woman’s underwear. Spongebob and Patrick even admit they “score here all the time.” The crew is eventually caught and punished, but it did raise quite a controversy. Many parents were concerned about the reaction the episode may draw from their children. Does it expose kids to an invasive and illegal aspect of sexuality at too early an age? What sort of questions does it raise? During the episode, going on a “panty raid” was described as the cool thing to do. Will seeing their favorite cartoon characters partake in this activity also make them think it is “cool”?  This is also not the only episode of Spongebob which causes parents to concern. Originally intended for adults, Spongebob features episodes involving references to jail rape, public nudity, and gay marriage (controversial for some parents). Outside of the sexual realm, there is even an episode where Spongebob and Mr. Krabs murder a health inspector and spend the rest of the episode trying to escape conviction. While these depictions seem to trivialize major breaches in morals, Spongebob continues to be a very popular show. One may wonder, how could a parent let their children watch these images? That is because it is debatable whether this actually has a negative influence on children. As an avid watcher of the show while growing up, I can tell you I almost never understood any of the sexual references in the show. The jokes were meant for a different age level, and I did not question them. Also, even if children are understanding the concepts shown, that does not necessarily mean they adopt them. For the moment, not enough research has been done to determine how these small exposures influence how children develop sexually, mentally, or emotionally. At the moment, the decision is given to the parent.