Local Mum Anna Matthews, who blogs for us as No Supermarket Mum, explains why she is sick of local shops displaying pornography at child height.
March 2013
Over the past few weeks I have been pointing out various images in the newspapers on show to my kids. I have tried to explain to my boys that these women are someone’s mother, daughter. Someone’s sister. Like their sisters.
If you want to show your la-las to the world (and you look good) then good luck to you. I feel sad that you feel the need to do it but I am not personally offended. Just don’t flash your tits to my kids.
I, as a mother, take absolute control over the censorship of my children’s lives. I have parental control locks on my digital box and my laptop/modem. I have slight control over my kids' mobile phones. But not much. I make up for this by explaining what is right and wrong and hoping it sinks in to their little heads. I’m not stupid. I know that my boys (especially) will be targeted by porn. I can only hope that what we have taught them will make them ignore it. I appreciate this is a losing battle.
But what I DON’T accept is porn aimed at my babies. I mean that, my babies. In their buggy. At their eye level. Mainly at supermarket checkouts. I think of the Co-op as a higher-ethics supermarket, but I am VERY disappointed with them. Daily Sport, The Sun, The Star are the obvious targets. Followed by Loaded, Nuts etc. Again, obvious. They have girls galore, with their boobs out, butt cracks shoved in your face, bent over, always submissive etc etc. Those are the obvious ones.
The not-so-obvious are the ‘womens mags’. My girls can read. They can read the STOOPID headlines on these magazines. ‘I love him and he hits me and I just keep going back to him’ is one that REALLY pisses me off and occurs regularly. Another, favourite, theme is ‘My boyfriend dumped me and then I lost four stone and he took me back.' Uggh. I hope my kids, and your kids, can rise above all of this.
A women, bare breasted in a daily paper. With a dead-behind-the-eyes smile. The non-sexuality of it. It’s like ‘here’s a pair of tits,’ no name or persona to the lady they’re attached to. Again, go about your business, I’m not fussed. Just don’t show it to my children.
If you are similarly aggrieved, then complain. There is a place for this filth and it isn’t at the eye level of my baby in its buggy. This crap is going on in a supermarket near you.
It’s up to you.
Read more from our blogger Anna Matthews