I think I am generally pretty open minded…I am under no illusions what teenagers can get up to, and I completely empathise with peer pressure. I have an ‘everything in moderation’ mostly attitude, with a few exceptions, as long as it is legal.
What about magazines that you wouldn’t exactly want lying around on your coffee table but aren’t top of the shelf pornographic ones though? Aren’t the likes of FHM, Nuts, Loaded, Maxim just a badly disguised way of ‘allowing’ porn into the house? These magazines don’t have to be hidden under the bed like a dirty secret because among the pictures of scantily clad female celebrities or females in extremely provocative poses are genuine articles and football news. I am being presumptuous here that pornographic magazines don’t have anything else in them.
I wonder what we are teaching our youth, it is as though they are growing up already exposed to the sleaze and horror of real adult life, what will ever shock them? Where will they ever learn the boundaries because the boundaries seem to have blurred or become non existent.
I know this is an age old problem and has always happened but what concerns me is that teens seem to think it is okay to read these magazines with no hint of embarrassment. Or, am I just a prudish fuddy duddy who is out of touch with reality?
not only are they looking at mags, its so much more open on tv now, and of course there is the good old interenet. it is being thrust at them from all directions even from young…eastenders, corrie, emmerdale, all programmes that are on before the watershed and all show gays, lesbians, suggestions to sex…etc.
I know, society in general is being desensitized. We don’t have soaps on anyway but I definitely wouldn’t want mine watching them…there is time for all of that and I don’t think they need to be exposed to it.
No i don’t think you’re being prudish or fuddy duddy. I wouldn’t want them lying around my coffee table either. Personally I dislike those sorts of magazines – from what I’ve seen of them (which, okay isn’t much so I may be talking rubbish) they still objectify women, the talk is all bravado and it’s still pretty sleazy. They can dress them up all they want with football articles, but I think the tone is all wrong – scoring women’s boobs out of 10, would you shag this etc etc. Horrible. When one of the problem pages suggested giving your girlfriend a slash across the face, (it got quite a lot of press coverage although I think he was reprimanded and maybe even sacked) that just summed it up for me.
I haven’t even looked in them in detail but what you’ve said is awful…really what are our children, because they are exposed to these, being taught? I find it very depressing. 🙁
I too have wrote something similar. I have issues with the early sexulisation of children and do feel it is partly down to sex being acceptable. As a teen we had Jackie, now they have more and it talks about how to give a good blow job. I am sorry, but this is not acceptable and the lads mags you discussed are just soft porn and should not be sold to under 16’s. I want my children to understand that sex is cool, but only within a loving relationship
I’ll come and have a look. It is worrying that it seems to be so acceptable.
Like yourself I try to be open minded to a point and talk to my teenager openly about alcohol, drugs and safe sex ect…I want him to make informed choices and am pleased that we can discuss these things.
I would never find it acceptable though to have those sort of magazines lying around my home and I hope he would never think it would be OK to bring them into our house. And No I don’t think you are prudish or fuddy duddy and neither am I, I think we have morals and standards and are children should respect those.
Thank you for your comment Carole, I’m glad I am not the only one. It is all a bit worrying for the future.
I think these magazines are aimed at the over 20’s market. That said I am often shocked at the content when Mr Bouche has bought them in the past. I think they are aimed at the male ‘cosmo’ market. I have often been bashful when reading some of the articles in cosmo, glamour and company magazine and I think I am very liberal! I guess there is no male equivalent of Just 17 and more magazine has always had a ‘position of the fortnight’! I suppose women and girls can read and imagine and boy / men appreciate visual more than women sad at it is! I think women / girls are just more imaginative and make their own images. Shame there isn’t a magazine for boys 14 + which doesn’t show semi naked women!
You’re right there is a missing Market there. “goes away with an idea..” 😉
YOu know, if parents didn’t buy it, it wouldn’t be in the stores.
And one cannot compare “back then” to present day using the excuse, oh it’s normal or “we all did that”. The huge difference between “back then” and now is that the bar of what is “normal” has been sunk so low that there really isn’t a normal, just accepted. What is really “normal” are morals. And society really has lost touch with morals.
Just my 2 cents:)
That’s it, it’s the “it’s normal” attitude is what annoys me and worries me. It seems that anything goes nowdays and where will that lead to? I totally agree that society has lost touch with morals. Thanks for your comment Patty. x