As I was purchasing 'Carrots Love Tomatoes' my son got an eye-full at the checkout stand at Barnes & Noble. Sports Illustrated's Swim Suit Edition is on the shelf at eye level for someone about 3 feet tall. This cover did not go unoticed.
It would be laughable, as we have many laughs in my family about SI. When that issue would come along with the regular monthly subscription, it promptly wound up in the garbage. Back in the day, 1976-ish. When we married, my husband & I, he had a subscription, not unlike most men. When that time of the year rolled around, and he had noticed he hadn't had an SI in a while, he asked & I responded, setting the stage for many a discussion in our marriage.
A famous model at the time, came under discussion, & I mentioned she'd been in the issue. He said, where is that by the way, I said, in the dumpster. He laughed, very hard, knowing he'd never see that kind of competition cross our threshold again, if I had anything to say about it.
Again, in some ways it is laughable, looking back, at how even innocent the photos were when I married, 1997. And as Nana used to say, 'next thing you know they'll have no top on at all'... and as we all know this milestone has long been passed. Provocatively enough, covergirl x this year is removing her almost missing in action top, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. At eye level for a 3 foot tall person.
Did I say something? Yes, as I have in the past while in B&N. As I looked for 'Animal, Vegetable Miracle' last year, my son got an eyeful of the opposite side of the aisle - s*xuality. And he'd found the choicest items. His innocence lost. In the Barnes & Noble.
This time, I told the cashier I didn't have time to wait for the manager, Henry would have cost me a fortune in merchandise damage by the time he/she arrived at the desk, but I turned the copy around so not to see the front in the display, and told sales clerk I meant business. I seldom came in for this reason. When B&N becomes an adult bookstore (meaning the x version of that term, perhaps better labeled adolescent) then we've really slid completely into the gutter.
Do I go to this store often? Used to, but not so much now. I can hardly find a book I don't have issue with, and the commercialism has just about done me in. But I really wanted that book, and I didn't want to wait on the mail. But as usual, it burned me out for a while, convincing me, that I must myself, protect my eyes, and teach my own children by example about where I shop and what I let slide in the stores I do patronize.
It's a cultural landslide, desensitizing us and allowing us to believe every woman should have the perfect body, and it's ok to take your clothes off in public.
BTW, I asked Jack a while back when seeing some rather scantilly clad ladies in the newspaper advertisements, did he think Mommy would pose in the paper like that... his eyes about fell out of his head. I told him it was extremely wonderful how God had made our bodies, but they weren't for everyone to see so unclothed. I'm so glad he's interested, but wishing our world wasn't pushing him to lose the innocence that 6 year old boys have.
5 comments:
Had to turn that same SI issue around at Walmart before I would let my children in the aisle. And it is sad that you can't get to the children's section in B and N without seeing some kind of perverted material in your path. It is very rare that we take any of the children to a bookstore anymore. Thankful we have great Christian resources to order from by phone or online!!
We are in a cultural war and you make very valid points about the material and images that are pushed on us every day in all areas of life. I applaud you for taking a stand to protect the innocence of your child. It is certainly not easy!
And, I too threw away the SI swimsuit edition the first year we were married in '79 and another issue never ever appeared again in our home.
It is a hard time to be bringing up children, I'd say. There is no longer any reasonable standard of decency--even to keep this sort of thing behind black plastic at the back of the rack!
There is no doubt that early exposure (any exposure) does nothing but harm kids. Children are innocent before puberty but not asexual. To expose them to sexuality too soon is damaging. I'm so frustrated about this sort of thing, right along with you!
Ugh, this is something we've had to battle, too! I wrote to Borders about it and did notice the magazines were in a different place the next time I went, but since I never received an actual reply about my complaint, I really don't know what prompted the change. But, this is why we don't shop in bookstores together as a family...the trash is too abundant. I tell my children to guard their eyes because when they do they're guarding their hearts. I can't make all of this sin go away, but I can teach them the Word and the importance of self-control in this area. So much of it starts with one gaze. :( And, I much prefer the swimsuit picture you have posted. :)
I don't have boys, but most of my friends do - and I have a daughter who wants to be glamorous like all the hollywood "elite" - the magazines in the grocery store isle are NO HELP. Several of us in our community are participating in a silent protest by turning the covers around (as you mentioned) on all the offensive magazines as we go through the check out stand. If enough of us do it - AND tell the manager - perhaps they will get the message!
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