Actress Millie Bobby Brown recently opened up about the media's tendency to objectify girls and women in a podcast interview with The Guilty Feminist.
The Stranger Things actress burst onto the Hollywood scene as a twelve-year-old when she first started playing the character Eleven on the popular sci-fi Netflix drama.
In the podcast, she candidly spoke about how "gross" it was the way media, especially social media, "sexualized" her after turning 18.
Millie Bobby Brown said she has been sexualized \u201cforever\u201d as she opened up about the \u201cgross\u201d public reaction to her \u201ccoming of age.\u201dhttps://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniesoteriou/millie-bobby-brown-sexualized-18-birthday?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc\u00a0\u2026— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeed News) 1649861400
"I deal with the same things any 18-year-old is dealing with, navigating being an adult and having relationships and friendships, and it's all of those things," she said.
But her circumstances were very different compared to that of other girls her age.
"Being liked and trying to fit in, it's all a lot, and you're trying to find yourself while doing that."
"The only difference is that obviously, I'm doing that in the public eye."
"Definitely seeing a difference between the way people act, and the way that the press and social media have reacted to me becoming of age," she said, adding, "it can be really overwhelming."
There were literally countdowns for when she turned 18.\n\nIt\u2019s disgusting— Doctor (@Doctor) 1649787237
When the world realizes your legal, this is normal.— JohnBD \u2764\ufe0f\u3055\u3068\u308a\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7 (@JohnBD \u2764\ufe0f\u3055\u3068\u308a\ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddf7) 1649821767
Brown continued:
"But it's gross and it's true and so I think it's just a very good representation of what's going on in the world and how young girls are sexualized and so I have been dealing with that but have also been dealing with that for forever."
Unfortunately, this isn't new. Other actresses have suffered the same. I remember reading an article years ago warning that this might happen with Millie, the same way it happened to Emma Watson or Natalie Portman. I naively thought it would be different with her.— Leonardo Oliveira (@Leonardo Oliveira) 1649789901
I\u2019ve always been deeply mortified by how everyone in Hollywood keeps such a close eye on coming of age girls like Millie & Billie and then going full creeper/groomer mode on them.— b o n e s (@b o n e s) 1649804483
The British actress recalled a time when the media was more fixated on how her low-cut dress made her look like "a 16-year-old" at a red carpet event.
"I thought, ‘Is this really what we're talking about? We should be talking about the incredible people that were there at the awards show, the talent that was there, and the people that we're representing."
Society\u2026pic.twitter.com/Jj30bSjiwI— Mr. Noname (@Mr. Noname) 1649815386
This is a microcosm of every young woman\u2019s experience unfortunately— Toshyfresh. (@Toshyfresh.) 1649790945
The internet is a weird grim place— The guy (@The guy) 1649787469
Constantly being scrutinized on social media forced Brown to limit her online engagement to content specifically geared towards inspiring other young girls.
I'm glad she can see things that way. Good on her. Protect this woman pls— \ud83e\ude90Ethan\ud83c\udf19 (@\ud83e\ude90Ethan\ud83c\udf19) 1649790937
"You're not gonna see that part of me," she said of her personal posts.
"You get to see the things I choose to put out in the world."
"I hope if there's a 12-year-old that's told Instagram they're 18, and they've created an account, they're going on my account and they're not being exploited to the horrible world that's out there."
and we wonder why so many celebrities leave social media— Brandon Nezamoodeen (@Brandon Nezamoodeen) 1649787201
This isn't the first time Brown shared her experiences of being objectified by the media.
When she was 16, she wrote an Instagram post airing out her frustrations, writing:
"The last few years haven't been easy, I'll admit that. There are moments I get frustrated from the inaccuracy, inappropriate comments, sexualization, and unnecessary insults that ultimately have resulted in pain and insecurity for me."
She added:
"But not ever will I be defeated. I'll continue doing what I love and spreading the message in order to make change."