Lads' mags are regularly the subject of lively debate so it's no surprise that they're top of the pile again this week as UK retail outlet The Co-operative has demanded the the publishers pop the mags in "modesty bags" or face having them removed from the shelves all together.
The chain has given publishers until September 9th to find a way to make the front covers of titles like Front, Loaded, Nuts and Zoo more, err, appropriate for the shelves and if they fail to do so, the magazines will be pulled from the company's 4,000 stores.
"As a community-based retailer we have listened to the concerns of our customers and members, many of whom say they object to their children being able to see overt sexual images in our stores" said Steve Murrells, retail chief executive for the Co-operative Group. "Whilst we have tried to mitigate the likelihood of young children seeing the images with a number of measures in-store, the most effective way of doing this is for these magazines to be put in individual, sealed modesty bags."
"As an interim measure, we have introduced our own opaque screens on shelf to reinforce our existing policy limiting the display of such material." he added. "The publishers of these magazines now have until September 9 to start providing their own modesty bags, after which any lads' magazine which does not have the relevant bag will not be supplied in our stores."
The move comes just days after David Cameron announced plans for a crack down on porn in the UK, and is being welcomed by parents' groups and politicians. "Many parents aren’t comfortable with the way that sexualised imagery has become like wallpaper - everywhere from the bus stop to the corner shop" said Jo Swinson, the UK's Minister for Women and Equalities.
"Exposing children to lewd pictures that portray women as sex objects is not appropriate. That’s why The Co-operative’s decision to implement the Bailey review recommendation for publications with overtly sexual images on the cover to be displayed and sold in modesty bags is very welcome. Adults should be left to make their own decisions about what legal sexual images they look at, but the place for these is not next to the sweets at children’s eye-level. I hope other retailers will follow the Co-operative's lead."
What do you make of the Co-operative's ultimatum? Let us know below.