I feel like it's a mix of 3 factors : the will to see old directors (Scorsese, Coppola, Spielberg) of an older world who don't do eyecandy pandering fanservic-y commercial shit released regularly due to brainpoisoning caused by Marvel and Star Wars disappear because "they sound like meanies :(" sprinkled with "I see all old cis white straight men as colonizers and need any pretext to make everyone see them like it such as saying bullshit takes about their movies", the poison of social media that has everyone get angry over anything over the excuses of "BEING OPPRESSED" despite being the one who doxxes, harrasses, bullies and threatens and "I DO JUSTICE AND GOOD" despite mistaking fiction and reality, and an instinctive need to bash something popular once the hype dies down to feel not like the other girls (I too bashed Avatar a short time... when I was an immature teen. These people are grown ass adults who call for boycotting because they have teenage mentality)
A lot of tribes across the world are half naked or completely naked, so seeing it as "sexualization" solely for Neytiri is completely bullshitty and proves my point internet whiners are modern Puritans who are scared of women nipples no matter what they say and only see nudity as sexual with their strictly American point of views no matter how it's different and not a big deal in a lot of peoples (plus as OP says kids and men are naked too so why is she the only target ? So called women defenders who see sexualization when there is none). Also lore-wise the Omatikaya (Neytiri's people) are known as the least clad Na'vi to be in closer contact with nature
And that bullshit controversy I saw blogs talking about about how Cameron has a "POC FETISHISM" for incoporating elements of real tribal peoples across the world into his worldbuilding and use the "IT MEANS HE SEES POC AS ALIENS" bullshit and unfairly accusing him of "ALL SEEING THEM AS ONE" because some see the Omaticaya as various African tribes mixed in with Native American (which I think is a coincidence since they had experts of American indigenous people for them, or a proof all humans are connected with common points in a way)... A-all fantasy stories are based on different real-life peoples and traditions to vary and inspire as a base and weave more lore and new things !?!?! ATLA is inspired of Asia (China and Korea mixed into the Earth Kingdom, Japan as the EEEEVUUUUL Fire Nation, Tibetans as the PEACEFUUUUL the Air Nomads and Inuit as the Water tribes), Elder Scrolls of the whole world (the Redguards are a mix of North Africans and Arabs, Dwarves were like Babylonians, Dark Elves have a lot of similarities to Japanese in Morrowind, Akavir is implied to be the equivalent of Asia with pandas and all, Argonians live in Bayou with quite Native indigenous aspects, etc), Star Wars uses elements of varied cultures for various planets and alien people... yet you don't shit on them and for 3 reasons : 1) because you all decidednto gang up on James Cameron and his movies to prove your point, 2) this controversy only exists now for the sequel and not for the forst movie which proves the hypocrisy of it and 3) if all these beloved franchises had come out in 2022 y'all would hate them just the same and you like them just because they existed when you were a kid and not internet-poisoned yet and you're nostalgic. If Avatar and all these franchises only looked like European cultures you would be just as angry and demand other cultures awareness and say it's racist they don't include others
I know an indigenous woman (the one person who convinced me to give the franchise a new try and managed to hype me up for the sequel so it's a lot !) who loves Avatar as one of her favorite movies and on the contrary loves all the Native elements incorporated even if they don't necessarily come from her own specific people, loves the lore and is aware fantasy and scifi gets inspired a lot from real world moments and is tired of this bullshit and bastards speaking for her
Alsoooo the fuck. Not only Jake is 22 so it's just a 4 years difference, by this logic no Disney romance should happen since most main characters are teens or barely stopped to be teens and usually have an older love interest. Jake and Neytiri have the same ages as one of your beloved ships, Rapunzel and Eugene. Proves the double standard is there and you all are trying to grab at straws
Also the white savior argument proves you guys don't even know what a white savior trope is. If it were Jake would be made leadzr from the start, earn everything, save everyone and Neytiri by himself like a "poow brainless sewy savage in distress" like in old Westerns when there is a romance between a cowboy and a Native woman, and he woulf also bring her and her people to "civilization" and they all would make peace with the bad guys who in the end are "right" because being "white and civilized is the best." Here he STRAIGHT UP stops to be white or human at all, embraces HER civilization and joins it and does everything to be part of it (yes he starts off as selfish only pretending to but guess what he genuinely gets to change his ways because this is what a character devlopment and redemption arc is you assholes who keep crying about your "blorbos" and "meow meow" because you are just braindead when it comes to analyses) and rejects his own people when he sees they are wrong, irrespectful and was not happy with society the way he knew it, he is NOT the leader at first Tsu'tey is and he is just the translator and strategist who knows the enemy's weapons and weaknesses and becomes leader ONLY because Tsu'tey tells him to be before dying because he learned to respect and trust him and saw how brave he was in battle and how he did love his people (had Tsu'tey lived or just not chosen him he would never have been leader so it's not "earned") and Neytiri is stronger than and IS the one who saves his ass more than once and teaches him things a brutal way (as he says "with Neytiri it's learn fast or die"). By y'all logic Milo from Atlantis the Lost Empire is a white savior too. Oh right, some of you do think that. Uugh
Like OP yes I too think the movie (or movies, especially I liked the sequel a little less)) is (are) flawed and not one of my favorites for that, but none og those are parts of the flaws and I can't believe I am lead to defend it more than other franchises I prefer because you all are unfair, biased and immature about it for the kick of it because a Twitter/Tumblr trend told your hive mind to because the sequel getting released and be more talked about YOUR fav media had you get a tantrum