What Do You Do When a Child's Flirting Goes from Cute to Full-on Sexual Harassment?
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When I first clicked play on this video of Steven Fernandez, a 12-year-old skateboard prodigy who gives advice on “how to get girls,” I thought it would be dumb and maybe a little bit funny. After the first minute or two in, it seemed like my first impression was right. The kid was a jerk, but in a way that a lot of tween boys are jerks — he tells dudes to stop sniffing tampons because “it’s creepy” (like this is a thing that lots of guys do) and thinks it’s hilarious to ask older teenage girls — strangers — whether or not they fart. But then things take a weird and upsetting turn. This boy, who’s barely old enough to know what a boner is, is suddenly surrounded by adult women in thong underwear who, well aware of the boy’s age, are willing participants in his video. Unsurprisingly, it’s at this point where Fernandez’s swagger becomes sexually aggressive.