Trigger warning: this article contains mentions of sexual abuse and rape.
Imagining a female predator is inconceivable for an alarming number of people. Women are assumed to be passive, motherly and sexually submissive. These assumptions are actively covering silent crimes.
If a male middle school teacher places his hand on a female student’s shoulder, uncontrollable whispers circle the school that Mr. John is a perverted creep. Yet, if Mrs. Jane puts her hand on the shoulder of a male student, she is simply being motherly and nurturing.
Female child sex offenders’ hidden crimes are shielded by a culture of denial, according to a journal by the National Library of Medicine. Protected by gendered expectations, they are seen as caregivers and trusted protectors by default. When adolescent boys voice discomfort over an uncomfortable interaction with a grown woman, it is waved off as a fantasy. Males are presumed to be the sole initiators and primary promoters of sexual activity.
Female child abusers are a protected class of criminals who rely on feminine manipulation to prey on adolescent boys. If adult women were not idealized as asexual mother figures and instead viewed with a similar cautionary light as adult men, the NLM journal states that the rate of free female child sex offenders could be reduced. This starts with acknowledging the media depictions that celebrate predation.
In television programs, the idealized male love interest is often young and clean-shaven, reinforcing a boyish beauty fetish. Caricatures of the high school quarterback are the quintessential love interest. And while many of the consumers are minors themselves, there are exceptions.
When the teenage celebrity Jaden Smith was 16 years old, he was photographed lifting up his shirt. After the photographs circulated the internet, adult women began wearing shirts with the slogan, “Kim can have Justin, Jaden’s mine.”
But the sexualization of teenage boys extends beyond the predatory cesspool of Hollywood. Female child predators leech onto teenage boys in their inner social circle. Often, they are the babysitter, caregiver or close relative, making it easier to isolate their prey and exploit pre-established relationships.
Girls are conditioned to be virginal. But for a teenage boy, virginity is a societal death wish. They are socialized and expected to rarely turn down sex. So when a 25-year-old female babysitter proposes to take a 16-year-old boy’s virginity, submission is assumed by the predator.
Many are forced to leave these predatory experiences with a positive outlook. Victimization is often associated with femininity and indicative of fragility. Instead of being properly recognized as statutory rape victims, these young boys are often viewed as true men.
Without any admission of harm, male victims of child predation often develop deep, nearly undetectable psychological issues. A frequent symptom is unsourced, boiling rage. Traumatized by their grooming experience, their adult relationships are tainted with restrictive emotions and irrational outbursts.
The dilemma becomes further convoluted when advocates repeatedly have negative experiences confronting male rage. Unfortunately for men, anger is an accessible and encouraged emotional expression that masks grief, trauma and fear. The source of rage is muddled by the denial of child abuse and causes them to point fingers at themselves for their emotional reactions. While these traumatized men carry the burden of self-hatred, their female predators walk free of guilt and charge.
When gym teacher Tania Pontbriand invited her 15-year-old student over, his mother complied, thinking this friendship would cushion the pain of his parents’ fresh divorce. Their sexual relationship persisted for two years. Enabled by unassuming adults, Pontbriand successfully groomed an underaged boy.
The average age of a female child sex offender is 26 to 36 years old, and they target boys at a higher rate than girls. It takes a man approximately 21 years to disclose sexual abuse. By the time a man reconciles his childhood exploitation, their abusers are out of reach, leaving a class of criminals utterly unscathed.
Women in their 20s are infantilized as mere extensions of their childhood selves, just as naive as ever. But female child sex offenders are grown, adult women who are knowingly exploiting sexually curious teenagers for their perverted pleasure.
Educators, parents and children need to be conscious of any signs of an unnatural dynamic between adult women and teenage boys. Grown women need to be held accountable for any and all sexual advances towards minors. It’s due time to confront the uncomfortable truth that women can be predators too.
Isabella Ehring is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at iehring@uci.edu.
Edited by Trista Lara and Jaheem Conley.