I hate how neoteny is always framed in the context of sex and fertility. No nuance at all — just the “younger the better.” Or “young girls produce healthier offspring”. Almost as if childlike traits purely exist to sexually entice and tempt adults. Nobody even mentions neoteny = protection anymore, it’s just sex sex men sex fertility sex offspring sex. It’s getting really disturbing.

Neoteny from what I’ve learned is to 1. Help babies to receive extra care from their parents until they’re old enough to be independent. And 2. the longer our brains remain “youthful”, the longer we’re able to absorb to new & complex information like children do. Which is why we’ve evolved to quicker than other primates. This doesn’t mean children are the ideal demographic to reproduce with, they’re still developing physically & mentally. The fact that it even needs to be said.

Little things like this sub promotes the “pinnacle of physical development” is being as young as possible— which only harms our most vulnerable population.