Infantilization Quotes

“Trigger warnings are the most ridiculous, patronizing and infantilizing creations ever to come out of feminism....But feminists adore trigger warnings because it reinforces the idea that women are ruled by their emotions, are incapable of recovering from trauma and are just generally hysterical nitwits unprepared to confront adulthood and reality.”
― Janet Bloomfield

“When feminists create “safe spaces” for adult women...I seriously question why any woman would identify as a feminist. Feminists literally treat adult women like three year olds. How does this empower you to make smart choices about your life? How does this embolden you to go after what you want?....If feminists followed the dictionary, they wouldn’t fear #WomenAgainstFeminism and work so desperately to exclude them from the conversation about gender and equality. They would engage in debate and offer evidence....But they don’t. They file false reports, claim abuse and harassment where none took place and ultimately, expose the heart of fascist, intolerant, hateful darkness at the core of feminism.”
― Janet Bloomfield

“With children like this having children of their own, it was no wonder the world was full of children.”
― Yōko Tawada, The Emissary

“Today's feminism infantilizes women. If feminism is not about freedom, then what the heck is it for? It just becomes a grievance lobby of victimhood games.”
― Janet Albrechtsen

“If government is to respect people's autonomy, or to treat them with dignity, it should not deprive them of freedom. It should treat them as adults, rather than children or infants.”
― Cass R. Sunstein

“It might also count as an insult to dignity, and a form of infantilization, if the government constantly reminds people of things that they already know.”
― Cass R. Sunstein

“As every good marxist already knows, the ideological shift toward a terminally optimistic humanism was vital to the rise of bourgeoisie, and the decline of aristocracy.”
― Terre Thaemlitz, Nuisance - Writings on identity jamming & digital audio production

“When I say we, I'm referring to society: copywriters, companies, and overall general opinion; I am in no way taking personal responsibility. We/they market to women like they are giant toddlers. This endless, pejorative, female-targeted infantilization of the English language when it's directed toward women: "Mama Bear needs her beauty rest!" "Rockstar gal gets her glam on!" "Work it, she-entrepreneur!" "Be a diva-licious ass-kicker in stilettos! The biggest, badass, boss-babe in herstory! The fiercest, she-matologist working in the blood lab!"

This pervasive rhetoric is basically watered down, digestible empowerment designed to get a woman's money. It's the advertising equivalent of a "Live Laugh Love" sign.”
― Iliza Shlesinger, All Things Aside: Absolutely Correct Opinions

“Niekedy mám dojem, že sme globálna „kindergarten“. Sme v stave akejsi infantilizácie ľudskej rasy. To obrovské vymývanie mozgov, ktoré sledujeme, je iné, ako bolo vymývanie mozgov v komunizme či nacizme. Dnešné vymývanie mozgov sa zakrýva ideou šťastia jedinca, humanity. Hovorí o tom, že život je príjemná hra, všetko je krásne a všetko je ako v škôlke hravé. Ale pritom nám chce globálny svet všetko predať, to, čo reálne nepotrebujeme, ponúknuť nám zábavu, ktorá nás robí detskými. Ale deti sú najlepší zákazníci, lebo nepremýšľajú, nechajú sa rýchlo zviesť a ľahko sa udržia vo svojej naivite.

Kdekoľvek v Amerike, v Európe, na Blízkom východe sa nechávame zabávať. Ľudia prestávajú čítať noviny, knihy, nepozerajú televízne správy, nevedia, čo sa deje. Hrajú hry na svojich smartfónoch, vlastné vzťahy riešia ako spoločenskú hru. Je to globálna tendencia byť infantilným. A to sa reflektuje aj v politike: ľudia volia zabávačov, ľudia volia klaunov, volia tak, akoby voľby boli zábavný program. Ľudia v Británii hlasovali za brexit preto, že čakali, aký z toho bude škandál, ak sa to podarí. Keby nehlasovali za brexit, bola by to nuda a oni sa chceli zabávať. Vôbec netušili o ekonomických vzťahoch s EÚ, čo to spraví s medzinárodným obchodom, ako to zasiahne do života miliónov ľudí. Len čakali, že to bude isto vtipné, keď budú hlasovať za brexit.”
― Amos Oz

“I looked into their new mom gift baskets. The basket included... a scarf. A fucking scarf.

My first thought was that this company bulk ordered them for something else, and couldn't get rid of them, so they pivoted and tried to make it a "mommy scarf;" selling you on the idea that there are scarves specifically for women who have children. Which are very different, from normal scarves, for childless women.

"Great for dressing up a look or just keeping mama warm while she's out conquering the world." The fact that they wrote a blurb about why a human would need a scarf at all, to me, further proves how dumb we think women are.

As if there's some tired mom out there, typing into Google "what is scarf and how?" "neck cold. how do i hot it?”
― Iliza Shlesinger, All Things Aside: Absolutely Correct Opinions

“Infantilism, the main characteristic of today's "developed societies", animalizes man by humanizing animals, enslaves man by "liberating" nature and stupefies man by intellectualizing machines. In a word, infantilism demeans man by exalting everything that is inhuman.”
― Jakub Bożydar Wiśniewski

“Infantilising yourself can often seem like a plea for diminished responsibility. Most of us will have encountered someone who, when criticised for behaving badly, appeals to their own vulnerability as a way of letting themselves off the hook. No matter what they do or the harm they cause, it’s never fair to criticise them, because there’s always some reason – often framed through therapy jargon or the language of social justice – why it isn’t their fault. Childishness grants them a perpetual innocence; they are constitutionally incapable of being in the wrong.

But we will never make the world better if we act like this. Thinking of yourself as a smol bean baby is a way of tapping out and expecting other people to fight on your behalf. It also makes you a more pliant consumer. Social media is awash with the idea that ‘it’s valid not to be productive’, as though productivity were the only manifestation of capitalism and streaming Disney+ all day is a form of resistance. It’s much rarer to encounter the idea that we have a responsibility about what we consume, or that satisfying our own desires whenever we want is not always a good thing: “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” has morphed into “there is no unethical consumption under capitalism”.”
― James Greig

“Although it’s mostly just annoying, self-infantilisation’s pervasive existence in the culture could also be the harbinger of something more sinister. Last year, the comic book author Alan Moore suggested that the popularity of superhero films represents an “infantilisation that can very often be a precursor to fascism”. This might sound hyperbolic, but it’s true that a certain kind of kitsch infantilism was always a feature of Nazi art, which was hostile to moral ambiguity and formal complexity. Hitler himself was a Disney adult. If the desire to relinquish responsibility for your own life can be considered an infantile trait, it’s easy to see why this would make you more susceptible to authoritarianism. Today’s white nationalists – with their cartoon Pepes and their ‘frens’ – are as smooth-brain and babyish as any online community, while right-wing reactionaries have recently taken to eulogising 90s video games, Blockbuster and Toys R Us – a glorious past that has been robbed from us by wokeness.”
― James Greig