British superstore Tesco is selling stripper poles in the children's toy aisle. The perfect gift for your padded-bra wearing, bikini-modeling 8-year-old!
The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go!
My initial reaction is that this product doesn't look much different from the packaging of certain Barbies, Bratz, or other toys marketed toward girls. Which actually says a lot more about the state of girls' toys than it does about this particular product. But it's supposedly an excercise product for adult women, and now Tesco has agreed to only sell it in the fitness section of its stores. Seems a more acceptable fit in that aisle.
That's not to say I'm not disturbed my the mere idea of a stripper pole marketed at girls. I just wouldn't go quite as far as the crazy fundies, who decry the pole's phallic nature and say it will "destroy children's innocence."
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Something tells me this is some sort of entrapment scheme for unfit parents; I mean, it's not even endorsed by Ann-Margret.
Source? This is not what the article says.
My understanding is that it was categorised under "Toys and Games" on the website, and will now be categorised under "Fitness". It's a category error in their online store.
I just wouldn't go quite as far as the crazy fundies, who decry the pole's phallic nature and say it will "destroy children's innocence."
I don't think the phallic thing is an issue (not everything long and skinny is phallic)
But hell yes, I think marketing a freakin' stripper's pole to girls (or boys) will help destroy their innocence. What they have left of it, anyway. Do you really not feel that way?
Sorry, I'm just not buying the "it's an adult toy/piece of exercise equipment that was mistakenly displayed on the wrong section of the website" excuse.
This product was clearly intended as a toy for little girls.
The packaging is obviously juvenile. If they were actually marketing a "home stripper pole" to adult women it would have a more realistic photograph/illustration, preferably of a fit, sexy woman so as to suggest, if you use this, you'll look like her. Look at the packaging of exercise videos or thighmasters, etc. They don't look like this thing.
Even more telling than the package design is the inclusion of a "dress-up" garter and play money.
I've heard of pole-dancing exercise classes, but I've never heard of any where the participants were expected to actually dress up as strippers, and I seriously doubt they ever break out the Monopoly money for pretend "tips."
This is exactly what it looks like--a stripper pole being marketed to children. I think the "phallic" nature of the pole itself is less of an issue than the fact that, if the people making these products have their way, no one will ever again be able to say, 'No little girl ever said, 'I want to be a stripper/prostitute/porn star when I grow up."
For once, the fundies are right. This is morally reprehensible.
As the self-proclaimed leader of the neo-misogynist movement, I wholeheartedly endorse this.
Give me a break... the pole is 8'6" (hardly kiddie sized) so unless the garter belt fits anyone 3'6"-4'8" 55-85lbs, I would say it's safe to assume it wasn't meant for kids. The picture on the front looks like a grown woman to me.
I own quite a few toys (from sex toys to adult themed board games) and none of them are suitable for kids. It isn't that hard to imagine that a webmaster might have stuck it in the wrong section.
I doubt there are many (if any) kids ordering £49.97 toys on line. Not a lot of pre-teens have credit cards.
If grown women are shelling out £49.97 to buy this, why do they need play money for their pretend "tips"? Why not just open up their bulging, credit-card-filled wallets and stuff some real 5-pound notes into their spiffy red garter?
I'm a little skeptical of anything that comes out of the Daily Mail - Britain's most right-wing tabloid.
Vervain: a lot of adult toys tend to come in somewhat childish-looking packaging and come with similarly silly stuff (such as the play money). I'm guessing this is meant to be a fantasy/roleplay thing. The adult shops I've seen around here (Australia) certainly aren't a beacon of sophistication...they look so cheesy and plastic as to be ridiculous!
Read Page Rockwell on Salon's Broadsheet for a little bit more of a sophisticated take on it.
I would also advise caution about taking the Daily Mail as a source of reliable information and informed opinions. Their outrage about 'destroying children's innocence' also extends to being against sex education, contraception and abortion advice for young people. And they don't have a huge respect for the facts.
let's not disagree with people just because their fundamentalists; finding something to agree on is hardly a bad thing. this is a terrible thing to be marketed to children, no holds barred.
But my point is that it's probably not actually being marketed to children. The 'Mail' is notorious for not letting the facts get in the way of its outrage.
Yeah, I'm replying to an archive, but I want to have this statement on record:
This is not a product that is marketed to little girls. I have sold these, and the packaging is clearly labeled "NOT FOR CHILDREN".