Porn in Public

The debate over whether pornography can ever be acceptable looks set to continue and you and I may have very different views but there’s currently a push that is gaining widespread agreement from various members of the community.

Walk into just about any service station, newsagent or a variety of other shops and you’re likely to come face to face with highly sexualised images on the covers of soft porn publications or what have become known as lads’ magazines. There’s a growing backlash against such magazines being placed in public view and many are calling for tougher restrictions to move certain publications out of the view of children and young teenagers.

Do we really want our sons and daughters to think that the provocative poses displayed on the cover of these magazines should be accepted as normal and appropriate for public places? This is not about banning the sale of such publications, it’s about removing them from public view.

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM is Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and Vice President elect of the Baptist World Alliance. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we discussed the display of pornographic material in shops and while Ross was speaking from a spiritual perspective he pointed out that it’s not just the ‘religious right’ having a whinge. Many people from a variety of walks of life are saying, “enough’s enough”.

Often in such cases we can be led to believe that there’s no turning back and that it’s just something we have to put up with but that’s not the case at all. Ross spoke about a variety of things we can do that will have a real effect including visiting Say No 4 Kids to become better informed on the issue and to sign their online petition.

Melinda Tankard Reist is a Canberra author, speaker, commentator and advocate with a special interest in issues affecting women and girls. She has recently written an article titled
Get porn out of the corner store say child health experts and advocates which highlights the issue and links to other coverage of the debate, including opinions from a group of child experts.

Are you someone who is tired of seeing unsuitable images everytime you go shopping? Are you concerned about the message it’s giving to impressionable young minds? Are you prepared to put in a little effort to see change occur?

Click the play button of the audio player at the bottom of this post to hear what Ross had to say and then decide what you can do to bring change.

[audio:http://mpegmedia.sonshinefm.ws/feeds/SPI210410_1103.mp3]

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About the author

Rodney Olsen

Rodney is a husband, father, cyclist, blogger and podcaster from Perth Western Australia.

He previously worked in radio for about 25 years but these days he spends his time at Compassion Australia, working towards releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name.

The views he expresses here are his own.

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3 Comments

  • Yes Rodney, I”m with you on that one.
    I was so happy when IGA opened at the Kiara shopping centre, in my road, but then to my dismay the other day, almost right next to the bread I saw magazines (thanks heaven in plastic) but not the type I wanted to see at my corner deli! Needless to say I was very dissapointed in IGA, first time ever I’ve noticed such, mind you because I’m not a big magazine buyer and might’ve over looked it in the past at others.

    I enjoy, as you know, health and fitness and read a few fitness girl’s blogs, but lately I’m also sick of the shallowness of them displaying their bodies in tiny costumes and calls it art??? I’m not learning much from their blogs anyhow so I was/am contemplating not visiting anylonger mainly for the reason that I don’t like how they display their bodies and call it competition to see who’s the mostly toned.

    So, here’s my vote!! Protect our kids!
    .-= Flea´s last blog ..Jobs jobs jobs X2 =-.

  • Hmmm, luckily, here it´s not displayed that much. Yes, if you have kids, you have an(other) eye on it – and I surely I wouldn´t want that, either!

    Kids are not supposed to see things like that, esp not in the grocery store!

    Where do people have their minds?
    (Money, money, money)
    .-= Iris´s last blog ..Brought The Lot =-.

  • Thanks for bringing the petition to our attention, Rodney. I’ve signed it and advertised it on my Facebook page. Petitions do work, and so do letters and phone calls to our elected representatives; it generally only takes a little bit of “noise” for them to take the matter seriously.

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