Calls to keep lads’ mags off the top shelf have come in response to yesterday's Ten Minute Rule bill, which argued for legally binding
measures to keep sexually explicit magazines out of sight of children.
The
Periodical Publishers Assocation has responded to the motion laid down
by Labour MP Claire Curtis-Thomas by writing to MPs to remind them
about recent Home Office-sanctioned guidelines on displaying lads’ mags.
The
PPA argued that a voluntary code is "far more effective and flexible
than any statutory regulation" and reiterated that the newly
strengthened guidelines on lads mags recommends that retailers do not
display them at children's eye level and not adjacent to children's
titles and comics.
Front magazine editor Johnny Sharp, who
demonstrated against the bill on Tuesday outside Parliament, rejected
the claims of campaign groups like Object who say lads’ mags objectify
women.
He said: "No-one is suggesting lads’ mags should be placed
next to children’s magazines, but neither should they be placed
alongside real adult titles. The vast majority are currently racked one
or two shelves below the top, a perfectly reasonable height to be out
of children’s reach, but not hidden from view as if they are something
shameful."
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