“Bikini Bottoms”: College Student Uncovers Sexualization In Children’s Cartoons, Prompts Outrage And Debate
Meet Sarah LeMoine, a fourth-year media and communications college student and TikTok creator who sparked an important debate on sexualization in children’s cartoons.
Her recent TikTok video captioned “Spongebob Is Cancelled” which amassed 7.7M views exposes the indecent references hidden in plain sight in Nickelodeon’s children’s cartoon that many generations of kids grew up with.
LeMoine’s research started with a class assignment for her “Children, Advertising, and Consumer Culture” course. Along with her classmates, she was assigned to prepare a group presentation reflecting on children, advertising, and sex.
But the TikToker couldn’t believe the discoveries she made in the multiple shows we all watched as kids, so she decided to share them with the viewers. A debate in the comments ensued, so pull your seat closer.
While doing the class assignment, college student Sarah LeMoine discovered an abundance of sexual references in popular children’s cartoons she shared them on TikTok
Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0
First, the student broke down the findings she made in “Spongebob Squarepants”
Image credits: Nickelodeon
Image credits: Nickelodeon
Image credits: Nickelodeon
Image credits: Nickelodeon
Together with her assignment group, LeMoine did a form to find out what people think of these characters and the results were just as shocking
Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0
So she revealed the results and shared which particular characters were sexualized and how, and “Spongebob Squarepants” was far from the only cartoon
Image credits: disney
Image credits: disney
Image credits: Fox
Image credits: warnerbros
Image credits: disney
Image credits: warnerbros
The student also shared some thoughts about the whole assignment
Image credits: Nickelodeon
Image credits: saaaarrrrraaaah2.0
This is the viral video the TikToker posted on her channel, amassing 7.7M views
@saaaarrrrraaaah2.0Spongebob is cancelled♬ original sound – Sarah LeMoine
LeMoine’s arguments sparked a discussion and many people agreed with her in the comments
Other people disagreed with LeMoine and saw nothing wrong with “Spongebob Squarepants”
Some people pointed out that a handful of these cartoons were actually meant for adult viewers
I always thought it was so adults didn't die of boredom watching the same series 100 times. I was watching a kids show the other day (for nostalgia reasons) and realised how funny it was and that I really didn't get half the jokes when I was little. Not sure how much harm its really doing, if any.
Ah, yes Louis from Family Guy is for *kids* now. What a b******t article, does this woman not have enough hobbies?
If you could actually read instead of being a d*ck. It was for school moron.
Load More Replies...
"People are sexualizing kid's cartoons!" Goes out of her way to sexualize a kid's cartoon
Exactly. For any of the things she said were sexual, she had to MAKE them sexual.
Load More Replies...
This person must have some really long arms to be able to reach such far fetched conclusions. Are there semi hidden dirty jokes hidden in a lot of cartoons? Sure. What of it? By the time kids spot them they are adult enough to appreciate them for just being jokes. The chum bucket one was especially far fetched imho.
The last comment group is on point. MANY cartoons for kids also has content for adults that just fly over childrens' heads. As for kid show characters being attractive ... well jeeze, humans being attracted to other humans is truly absurd, right? Even anthropomorphism, purposely making non-humans look more human so we can relate to them (and part of relating can include attraction). I do think they were stretching with Mr. Krabs though, he's a flipping crab!
Why is it all about female characters? There are tons of muscular, flirty, attractive guys in cartoons. Tarzan, Flynn Ryder, even the fox from the Robin Hood cartoon.
Power Puff Girls -- Miss Bellum lives at 69 Yodelinda Valley. For anyone not quick on the uptake, "Yodel in the valley" is slang for... how to say this on BP... going south on a lady.
That show even had a one shot villain named, I kid you not, D**k Hardly. That episode had characters constantly shouting "D**k!" thoughout it and it was hilarious.
Load More Replies...
Leave Sponegbob alone, dang. If you don’t like it, then don’t watch it. And teach your children to think for themselves. Society is full of nasty ideals and ideas, you have got to teach your children to be able to deny those things while maintaining a healthy and happy existence.
This is......so stupid. Most of the things she brought up didn't even make sense. ¨Mr. KrAbS nAMe iS an StD rEfRenCe--¨ bestie he is literally a CRAB. like. Also, we all know there are adult jokes in kids cartoons. They are there for the parents, not to corrupt kids or some bullsh!t like that. No need to get all pearl-clutchy.
Worse, his daughter is a sperm whale! Oh the horror! (Not really horrific, just fin and silly.)
Load More Replies... There's a centuries old tradition in UK of 'pantomime' This is a very formulaic show, usually based on a fairy tale, performed in theatres at Christmas time. It features cross dressing characters, bawdy jokes and sexual references. The thing is that all of this is done in such a way as to go over the heads of innocent children and therefore to be 'deniable' ie 'It's your own dirty mind' Children see and enjoy the basic story and get involved in the crowd participation parts. Adults enjoy this but laugh at all of the hidden jokes too. Everyone has a good time and never, no matter how prim, has any group complained about pantomime..
Nope. I once read article written by some students who analyzed classic fairytales and nursery rhymes and found something sexual in every single sentence. According to these students it was scientific proof that children are "sexually corrupted" from early age I am no expert, but it sounds like bs to me.
Classic fairytale, especially Grimms tales, we're not originally written for children.
Load More Replies... 
1. Chum is fish chunks spread in the water to attract sharks, tuna, etc. 2. People who like children, appreciate them, and work with them deserve better than to he labeled “groomers” for your clout. (I’m labeling this brand of Karen “Marjorie” after our Q-Anon congresswoman)
Yes, her comment about chum is a far as I got. And her tirade speaks volumes about her need to sexualise everything, not the cartoons.
Load More Replies...
I think she's finding stuff that's not all there, but adult humor/innuendo in cartoons is as old as cartoons. Go back and watch some uncensored classic Looney Tunes from back in the day, as an adult. It will feel different from when you were a kid watching.
Yes a lot of cartoons contain some sneaky adult references, but the way they are done means the only dirty you find is what you already have in your brain. A lot of these though are reaching. This is some borderline Mary Whitehouse rubbish. Go looking for filth and you will find it.
If you look hard enough you find something. Like Mr. Kenny said, the town refers to the Bikini atoll for example. And what happens if somebody decided to make female characters ugly to fight the "male gaze" can learn from Warner and Space Jam 2 - they got mocked to no end thanks to their decision and the reason they told the viewers
I think this woman's delusion is an example of what lack of sexual release can do to a person. Honey, go flick the bean and chill!...
I have had it with these social justice warriors. Why the f**k woud you go on and ramble about a kids show sexual inuendo's when those Kids that watch these shows don't even get these jokes until they are more wiser and older. Goddamn let us have or fun. What the f**k is wrong with People these days are you so bored to an extent that evers damn thing has to be a problem ffs. And screw you bored panda for your censorship
This is what happens when people with high IQs and low EQs are left to themselves for too long! LOL!
Cartoons have long had innuendos in them so adults can tolerate watching them a million times. This girl has her panties on too tight and needs to calm the F down. Quit ruining stuff for the rest of us. This is why we can't have nice things *eyeroll
Pft god help this taliban lady if she sees this episode of "i am weasel" - https://www.megacartoons.net/queen-of-denile/
Sooo now it's a problem that women characters have the bodies of..women? Seriously it's so stupid
Only very sexual repressed people see sex everywhere between the lines. Spongebob especially has had jokes for adults for sure, but everything here mentioned is complete b******t and not worth an article. "Anyone can write on Bored Panda." Obviously, but perhaps shouldn't.
1. You are complaining about sexualization in media but you are a tik tok creator who appears to be using a filter to make yourself more sexually appealing. 2. Yes, many kid's cartoons / movies in the USA have adult themed stuff to appeal to the parents who are the ones actually buying the movie tickets / controlling the TV. Not just sexual, many other jokes and such that go over the head of my grandkids. I laugh, but I also appreciate stuff like Ghibli movies that don't do that. 3. You are reaching too hard. Lois sexual because she has curves. Kim Possible is literally drawn like a pre-pubescent boy yet - also too sexual. "Thick" is not appealing to me so my thought when seeing it was 'good for them including various body types"
Not sure I see the chum thing. The 'h' is lowercase but the 'um' could be either way. Cartoons have been doing this for a while. A lot of old looney tunes are like this, funny stuff for the kids, jokes for the adults.
On the other hand, Rocko’s Modern Life had a restaurant named the Choky Chicken, and yes, it was deliberate. They got away with it for a while until the network finally caught on and they had to change it to the Chewy Chicken.
Load More Replies...
So aghast about being attracted to cartoon characters...of course most folks were! People and characters can be attractive regardless of their status as real or not. I'd rather folks crush on a made-up character than err toward creeping on an actual person, you know? Otherwise 'family' shows have always had something in it for the parents to giggle about that kids won't pick up on. Gotta stretch before you reach this hard...might pull something.
So anyway let's hear your embarrassing childhood cartoon crush I'll go first: Kovu from Lion King 2, definitely.
Load More Replies...
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a lot of animation that was widely distributed was created by men aimed at males. Of course it will be sexualized sometimes, but that doesn't mean it's always sexist or isn't funny or without merit. The key is education and understanding sexuality. And yes, sex is hilarious when you think about it.
Ummmm. My favorite cartoon movie when I was a kid was Heavy Metal....so uh. Yeah.
The sex quips in cartoons are meant for adults I guess, so it’s more tolerable when you have to suffer through these cartoons. The creep part is how sexy the girl cartoon characters get drawn and how young boys are attracted to them. And how the beauty standards are affected by them.
Ok but if you notice in the Pixar movies that the mom has a dump truck a*s. Search it up.
this is absolutely IDIOTIC. first, "Bikini Bottom" is named after Bikini Atoll (an atom bombing site), which was the namesake for the bikini. It's called Bikini Bottom because it's at the BOTTOM of the ocean. Also, the stuff about cartoon characters "having curves"? Vanessa is a teenager, it's reasonable to expect her to be developing, Elastigirl, well, she's a Pixar mom, and Lois is an ADULT WOMAN!
Bikini Bottom is a real place that was used for bomb testing. That's why there are talking creatures. Omg This is so far of a reach, I'll be they can feel their own backside.
Wow, guess what there is sexual-ism in everything, especially when you go looking for it. My question is she looking for it? Sounds like she needs therapy to discover why she feels the need to find sexual-ism in everything, sounds very repressed to me
Yeah so no one ever realized it until they analyzed it as an adult searching for something? F**k off
Wouldn't want to have grown up with British kids tv then lol! Full of hidden innuendos
The problem adults have is that sometimes, they find joy in sexualising everything. If you look for sexual references anywhere, you WILL find it! FGS. Sexualising these things is what exactly is bad for young kids, not the shows themselves.
I'm surprised that anyone is concerned about this while they are pushing for non-traditional sex education in K-3.
Karate is sex? Where did that come from? Chum is a legitimate word. One definition is chopped bait used to attract fish to be caught. It's not a suggestion of another C word. This kid used way too much imagination for her project. Innuendo has been around for thousands of years and it's supposed to go over the heads of children.
She is in for a rude awakening when she starts analyzing all the adult jokes in kids' cartoons. The creators added them to 1. Make it less boring for the adults watching with the kids. Makes it easier for the kids to watch if parents aren't bored AF. Remember, this is before smartphones. And 2. Amusement for the creators. They put inside jokes in everything
Forget sponge bob. A kids movie released in 2018, 'Animal Crackers', shows one of the female character kissing one of the male character forcefully and without consent. I was watching it with my niece today and felt so uncomfortable with those scenes (yes the female character does it more than once). My niece is 10 so I am not sure what she made of it. I don't know why the writers thought that this scene would be funny.
Paramount plus actually removed the pantry raid episode of SpongeBob for this dumb reason. I've been rewatching it for nostalgic purposes. There was a scene where the whole town gathers together in a line to spank each other. Lol the innuendos are for the adults who both create the show and who are forced to watch with kids.
it doesn't spell out SEX, it spells SFX as a nod to the special effects team who did a fantastic job on the film. the sex thing was debunked decades ago.
Load More Replies...
I always thought it was so adults didn't die of boredom watching the same series 100 times. I was watching a kids show the other day (for nostalgia reasons) and realised how funny it was and that I really didn't get half the jokes when I was little. Not sure how much harm its really doing, if any.
Ah, yes Louis from Family Guy is for *kids* now. What a b******t article, does this woman not have enough hobbies?
If you could actually read instead of being a d*ck. It was for school moron.
Load More Replies... "People are sexualizing kid's cartoons!" Goes out of her way to sexualize a kid's cartoon
Exactly. For any of the things she said were sexual, she had to MAKE them sexual.
Load More Replies... This person must have some really long arms to be able to reach such far fetched conclusions. Are there semi hidden dirty jokes hidden in a lot of cartoons? Sure. What of it? By the time kids spot them they are adult enough to appreciate them for just being jokes. The chum bucket one was especially far fetched imho.
The last comment group is on point. MANY cartoons for kids also has content for adults that just fly over childrens' heads. As for kid show characters being attractive ... well jeeze, humans being attracted to other humans is truly absurd, right? Even anthropomorphism, purposely making non-humans look more human so we can relate to them (and part of relating can include attraction). I do think they were stretching with Mr. Krabs though, he's a flipping crab!
Why is it all about female characters? There are tons of muscular, flirty, attractive guys in cartoons. Tarzan, Flynn Ryder, even the fox from the Robin Hood cartoon.
Power Puff Girls -- Miss Bellum lives at 69 Yodelinda Valley. For anyone not quick on the uptake, "Yodel in the valley" is slang for... how to say this on BP... going south on a lady.
That show even had a one shot villain named, I kid you not, D**k Hardly. That episode had characters constantly shouting "D**k!" thoughout it and it was hilarious.
Load More Replies... Leave Sponegbob alone, dang. If you don’t like it, then don’t watch it. And teach your children to think for themselves. Society is full of nasty ideals and ideas, you have got to teach your children to be able to deny those things while maintaining a healthy and happy existence.
This is......so stupid. Most of the things she brought up didn't even make sense. ¨Mr. KrAbS nAMe iS an StD rEfRenCe--¨ bestie he is literally a CRAB. like. Also, we all know there are adult jokes in kids cartoons. They are there for the parents, not to corrupt kids or some bullsh!t like that. No need to get all pearl-clutchy.
Worse, his daughter is a sperm whale! Oh the horror! (Not really horrific, just fin and silly.)
Load More Replies... There's a centuries old tradition in UK of 'pantomime' This is a very formulaic show, usually based on a fairy tale, performed in theatres at Christmas time. It features cross dressing characters, bawdy jokes and sexual references. The thing is that all of this is done in such a way as to go over the heads of innocent children and therefore to be 'deniable' ie 'It's your own dirty mind' Children see and enjoy the basic story and get involved in the crowd participation parts. Adults enjoy this but laugh at all of the hidden jokes too. Everyone has a good time and never, no matter how prim, has any group complained about pantomime..
Nope. I once read article written by some students who analyzed classic fairytales and nursery rhymes and found something sexual in every single sentence. According to these students it was scientific proof that children are "sexually corrupted" from early age I am no expert, but it sounds like bs to me.
Classic fairytale, especially Grimms tales, we're not originally written for children.
Load More Replies... 1. Chum is fish chunks spread in the water to attract sharks, tuna, etc. 2. People who like children, appreciate them, and work with them deserve better than to he labeled “groomers” for your clout. (I’m labeling this brand of Karen “Marjorie” after our Q-Anon congresswoman)
Yes, her comment about chum is a far as I got. And her tirade speaks volumes about her need to sexualise everything, not the cartoons.
Load More Replies... I think she's finding stuff that's not all there, but adult humor/innuendo in cartoons is as old as cartoons. Go back and watch some uncensored classic Looney Tunes from back in the day, as an adult. It will feel different from when you were a kid watching.
Yes a lot of cartoons contain some sneaky adult references, but the way they are done means the only dirty you find is what you already have in your brain. A lot of these though are reaching. This is some borderline Mary Whitehouse rubbish. Go looking for filth and you will find it.
If you look hard enough you find something. Like Mr. Kenny said, the town refers to the Bikini atoll for example. And what happens if somebody decided to make female characters ugly to fight the "male gaze" can learn from Warner and Space Jam 2 - they got mocked to no end thanks to their decision and the reason they told the viewers
I think this woman's delusion is an example of what lack of sexual release can do to a person. Honey, go flick the bean and chill!...
I have had it with these social justice warriors. Why the f**k woud you go on and ramble about a kids show sexual inuendo's when those Kids that watch these shows don't even get these jokes until they are more wiser and older. Goddamn let us have or fun. What the f**k is wrong with People these days are you so bored to an extent that evers damn thing has to be a problem ffs. And screw you bored panda for your censorship
This is what happens when people with high IQs and low EQs are left to themselves for too long! LOL!
Cartoons have long had innuendos in them so adults can tolerate watching them a million times. This girl has her panties on too tight and needs to calm the F down. Quit ruining stuff for the rest of us. This is why we can't have nice things *eyeroll
Pft god help this taliban lady if she sees this episode of "i am weasel" - https://www.megacartoons.net/queen-of-denile/
Sooo now it's a problem that women characters have the bodies of..women? Seriously it's so stupid
Only very sexual repressed people see sex everywhere between the lines. Spongebob especially has had jokes for adults for sure, but everything here mentioned is complete b******t and not worth an article. "Anyone can write on Bored Panda." Obviously, but perhaps shouldn't.
1. You are complaining about sexualization in media but you are a tik tok creator who appears to be using a filter to make yourself more sexually appealing. 2. Yes, many kid's cartoons / movies in the USA have adult themed stuff to appeal to the parents who are the ones actually buying the movie tickets / controlling the TV. Not just sexual, many other jokes and such that go over the head of my grandkids. I laugh, but I also appreciate stuff like Ghibli movies that don't do that. 3. You are reaching too hard. Lois sexual because she has curves. Kim Possible is literally drawn like a pre-pubescent boy yet - also too sexual. "Thick" is not appealing to me so my thought when seeing it was 'good for them including various body types"
Not sure I see the chum thing. The 'h' is lowercase but the 'um' could be either way. Cartoons have been doing this for a while. A lot of old looney tunes are like this, funny stuff for the kids, jokes for the adults.
On the other hand, Rocko’s Modern Life had a restaurant named the Choky Chicken, and yes, it was deliberate. They got away with it for a while until the network finally caught on and they had to change it to the Chewy Chicken.
Load More Replies... So aghast about being attracted to cartoon characters...of course most folks were! People and characters can be attractive regardless of their status as real or not. I'd rather folks crush on a made-up character than err toward creeping on an actual person, you know? Otherwise 'family' shows have always had something in it for the parents to giggle about that kids won't pick up on. Gotta stretch before you reach this hard...might pull something.
So anyway let's hear your embarrassing childhood cartoon crush I'll go first: Kovu from Lion King 2, definitely.
Load More Replies... Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a lot of animation that was widely distributed was created by men aimed at males. Of course it will be sexualized sometimes, but that doesn't mean it's always sexist or isn't funny or without merit. The key is education and understanding sexuality. And yes, sex is hilarious when you think about it.
Ummmm. My favorite cartoon movie when I was a kid was Heavy Metal....so uh. Yeah.
The sex quips in cartoons are meant for adults I guess, so it’s more tolerable when you have to suffer through these cartoons. The creep part is how sexy the girl cartoon characters get drawn and how young boys are attracted to them. And how the beauty standards are affected by them.
Ok but if you notice in the Pixar movies that the mom has a dump truck a*s. Search it up.
this is absolutely IDIOTIC. first, "Bikini Bottom" is named after Bikini Atoll (an atom bombing site), which was the namesake for the bikini. It's called Bikini Bottom because it's at the BOTTOM of the ocean. Also, the stuff about cartoon characters "having curves"? Vanessa is a teenager, it's reasonable to expect her to be developing, Elastigirl, well, she's a Pixar mom, and Lois is an ADULT WOMAN!
Bikini Bottom is a real place that was used for bomb testing. That's why there are talking creatures. Omg This is so far of a reach, I'll be they can feel their own backside.
Wow, guess what there is sexual-ism in everything, especially when you go looking for it. My question is she looking for it? Sounds like she needs therapy to discover why she feels the need to find sexual-ism in everything, sounds very repressed to me
Yeah so no one ever realized it until they analyzed it as an adult searching for something? F**k off
Wouldn't want to have grown up with British kids tv then lol! Full of hidden innuendos
The problem adults have is that sometimes, they find joy in sexualising everything. If you look for sexual references anywhere, you WILL find it! FGS. Sexualising these things is what exactly is bad for young kids, not the shows themselves.
I'm surprised that anyone is concerned about this while they are pushing for non-traditional sex education in K-3.
Karate is sex? Where did that come from? Chum is a legitimate word. One definition is chopped bait used to attract fish to be caught. It's not a suggestion of another C word. This kid used way too much imagination for her project. Innuendo has been around for thousands of years and it's supposed to go over the heads of children.
She is in for a rude awakening when she starts analyzing all the adult jokes in kids' cartoons. The creators added them to 1. Make it less boring for the adults watching with the kids. Makes it easier for the kids to watch if parents aren't bored AF. Remember, this is before smartphones. And 2. Amusement for the creators. They put inside jokes in everything
Forget sponge bob. A kids movie released in 2018, 'Animal Crackers', shows one of the female character kissing one of the male character forcefully and without consent. I was watching it with my niece today and felt so uncomfortable with those scenes (yes the female character does it more than once). My niece is 10 so I am not sure what she made of it. I don't know why the writers thought that this scene would be funny.
Paramount plus actually removed the pantry raid episode of SpongeBob for this dumb reason. I've been rewatching it for nostalgic purposes. There was a scene where the whole town gathers together in a line to spank each other. Lol the innuendos are for the adults who both create the show and who are forced to watch with kids.
it doesn't spell out SEX, it spells SFX as a nod to the special effects team who did a fantastic job on the film. the sex thing was debunked decades ago.
Load More Replies... 
-43
117