Revisiting the problem with protecting the innocent
Last winter I quoted, inspired by the sexual undertone in Balthus’s paintings of children at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, an article about the negative consequences of equating childhood with innocence. In “Who Are You Kidding? Children, Power, and the Struggle Against Sex Abuse,” Jenny Kitzinger criticizes people’s tendency to describe childhood as an innocent time and space for at least two reasons: [1] If defiling the pure and deflowering the virgin is supposed to be erotic, then focusing […]
Categories: Alexia Raynal, ZiR • Tags: Balthus, child prostitution, childhood, children, immigrant children, innocence, sexuality
