Soleil Moon Frye recalls the bodily shame and sexualization of adolescents

Soleil Moon Frye was just 16 when she underwent breast reduction, a move she goes into detail in her new Hulu documentary “Kid ’90” when describing the public’s gaze on her developing body.

The documentary comes at a time when media and fans are finally reassessing the way they look, judge and talk about young women, following the release of “Framing Britney Spears” and new press talk that she and Paris Hilton have endured their 20 years. It’s a tidal change that Frye is excited to see happen.

“I think it’s the responsibility within our homes and in the media to really try to point in the right direction what has been wrong for so long,” she told TooFab.

“I think the more we share our stories, the more journalists talk about them, the more documentaries there are, the more we can encourage each other not to feel alone and that it’s part of the natural process,” she said. for follow-up. . “Just because a child who is developed differently wears a tank top, that another more developed child wears it, does not mean that we have the right to sexualize them or make them feel like they are. are ashamed in a way. “

In the documentary, Frye remembers being nicknamed “Punky Boobster” when she began to develop as a teenager. “Everywhere I go people say to me, ‘You’ve grown so much, which is another way of saying your breasts are so big,’ she explained, adding that she was almost an E cup. “The roles I was offered at 13, 14 are tits and ass and I’m 13. I went from that amazing childhood to almost being forced into adulthood.”

In an audio recording she also heard it said, “I just want people to see me for the person I’m in. And the last few weeks have been weird. You know, seeing old people and having guys pinch me on. ass. It’s a difference from when I was little. “

She finally had a breast reduction … with one of the female doctors actually asking for an autograph in front of the camera before going under the knife.

As someone who was scrutinized and sexualized at a young age, we asked what she knows now that she would like to know then.

“I would just hug the little girl in me and say to her, ‘It’s going to be fine and you’re loved and every step you take is going to lead you to the woman you’re going to become,'” she said. “And I would also like to thank the teenager who left me this plan to come home, because I learned a lot about myself from this teenager.

“I think it’s such an important time for us to have these deeper conversations. I love Punky Brewster, I’ll be Punky forever and I’m proud of it and it’s really the world we live in that seemed to be trying to put me in a box, ”she continued.“ Puberty can be such a delicate experience, and yet the more we hold each other accountable the better we can feel about ourselves because one size fits all. not for everyone. And each one develops differently and in a unique way. And goes through these stages in his own way. “

“We live in a world of filters and a world where social media is handy,” Frye concluded, “and it’s so important to have these dialogues both at home and in the media on this. that we feel for each other about it. “

“Kid ’90” is now on Hulu.