Comments on: I’m no prude, but Debbie… pastels?

By: Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:11:25 +0000

… and most revenue from the parents of little girls who like pink sparkly things.

Do they actually sell Playboy Magazine, Alsfter? or are they willing to morally censor that? I must look next time I’m there.

Singing Librarian, you are right about the erosion of childhood – do they get their won back by then prolonging adolescence into their 20s, do you think?

Charlotte, that made me sick reading about it, let alone hearing it said. I cannot imagine the cognitive processes required to say that to a little girl.

Hello Introspectif, and welcome. Yes, I too cannot imagine how one can gracefully raise children today, though I do see people such as Charlotte and Bloglily succeeding. And thank you very much for the link.

Bloglily, you have put your stamen on a very interesting point – the reluctance of Big Business to take a moral stand. They fall over themselves to appear ethical, which is subtly different. They are certainly reluctant to actually take a moral stand. Interesting.

Thanks all for reading and commenting.

By: Alfster

Alfster — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:27:20 +0000

WHS say “We’re not here to act as a moral censor.” and yet back when Princess Di snuffed it they removed the Private Eye edition that had the cover satirising the media coverage.

The morons who could not see this and cold only see ‘the peeples princess’ death being laughed at threw their Daily Mails out the pram and wrote ‘disgusted of Dagenham’ letters hither and thither.

WHS on the tide of indignation decided in their wisdom to act as a moral censor and removed that edition of The Eye from the shelves.

Obviously, they get more revenue from Daily Mail readers than they do Private Eye readers.

By: bloglily

bloglily — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 05:09:28 +0000

What a great take on this, Ms. Behn.

One wonders why a parent would buy pink playboy bunny stationery for a child. We have the jobs and bank accounts and the ability to say that pink playboy bunny stationery is gross. (Or maybe something a little more effective, parental and/or elegant.)

But WH Smith should grow a spine and not put that stuff out there. It’s a little like McDonald’s isn’t it — sure, some people will buy their child two Big Macs, but still, maybe McDonald’s should be making healthier alternatives look more enticing.

Oh, what a load of stuff there is to deal with!

By: I’m no prude, but Debbie… pastels? « Mahal kita

I’m no prude, but Debbie… pastels? « Mahal kita — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:55:59 +0000

[...] I’m no prude, but Debbie… pastels? (Aphra Behn – danger of eclectic shock) Anyway. I am no prude. Obviously. No-one ever is. However, three things recently worried me. [...]

By: introspectif

introspectif — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 01:55:04 +0000

Brilliant article! This really knocked my senses.

I blame this largely on the authorities, who have failed to curb such developments, possibly to appease big businesses e.g. as you mentioned, Playboy. The big media corporations are also culpable, to the extent that I now consider TV to be generally unsafe for children.

Though I haven’t any children myself, I can already feel how difficult it might be to raise children in the future, with the amount of kink so publicly prevalent today.

By: charlotteotter

charlotteotter — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 20:23:25 +0000

I quite agree: it’s offensive and disturbing. I remember once hearing someone I know tell her six-year-old she looked “sexy” and feeling ill. I try hard to dress my children like children and to expose them to children’s books and films only. My goal is to preserve their innocence in the face of a world that’s doing the opposite. Obviously they aren’t having a Victorian upbringing, but there’s a time and place for acknowledging sexuality and at 6,4 and 1 they aren’t nearly there yet.

By: Singing Librarian

Singing Librarian — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:16:19 +0000

You’re right, it is disturbing. I probably am a prude, though, so that may not mean very much.

It’s part of the increasing disappearance of childhood. Kids are made to grow up far too quickly, pushed into adulthood far too quickly. An increased emphasis on sexuality is one of the ways this manifests itself (including the clothes that some parents put their little angels into), but there’s also the insanely early emphasis on exams in the school system among other things. I believe in giving kids credit for their mental ability and insight (which is often surprisingly clear), but childhood is a precious thing which should not be eroded.