“Cuties” was released in France on Aug. 19 and internationally on Sept. 9 on Netflix. What followed was a firestorm of political tweets, articles and posts arguing whether the film crossed the line of child sexualization, or if it shone a brutally honest light on the truth of cultural sexism and...

If there is one saying that has summarized my life, it is: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Compared to a lot of people, I grew up comfortably. I was raised in a loving, Christian family, had the privilege of calling Hawaii my home and went to a college preparatory school. Appearances, however,...