When it comes to the deep and meaningfuls of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s offspring, we’ve always held Jaden Smith as the great philosopher, with aphorisms like ‘No One Believed Galileo Either’.
However, it’s younger sister Willow who’s been doling out some interesting bon mots for us to chew on, in the form of a complaint about the way the media treats women.
Yep. That’s a 13 year old schooling us all on the way a patriarchal media system oppresses women by compacting them into virgin/whore dichotomies of social expression and discourse. Or, in short, calling out the bullshit that means that girl’s sexuality is put upon them by other people and the moment they act out on their own desires, it’s seen as a problem.
It’s little wonder where Willow learned this right-on theorising. Earlier this year, when she was in a photo with a topless 20-year-old, actor Moises Arias, who posted the snap to his Instagram, people assumed it had a sexualised element. Following a media furore and unverified rumours that the Child Protection Services would intervene and investigate Willow’s relationship with Moises, her mum, Jada, made a lengthy comment about the media’s willingness to sexualise her daughter.
‘There was nothing sexual about that picture or that situation,’ she told TMZ in an impromptu chat at the airport. ‘You guys are projecting your trash onto it. You're acting like covert paedophiles and that's not cool.’
If this sentiment is rubbing off on Willow, we can’t wait to see how she progresses as she grows up. It's worth repeating that she's 13 right now.
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.