Not the Playmates you should find at school.

I don't think there is a witty or creative way to ease into this one, so I'm just going to dive right in.

What the hell, Sears!?
Upon flipping through the Christmas Wishbook when it arrived on my doorstep last week (because I'm like, 12) I found this page:

 

All right, so it doesn't seem like a big deal at first. Having the Playboy Bunny logo plastered on merch is no shocker (hehe) but a few pages later, I had to flip back because...something seemed off. That's when I realized that this page was in the childrens 'wish' section amongst the Barbies and the Transformers. Also note the presumably "under 18" 'ness of the young girl toting the handbag around. Elementary school? I'm surprised she doesn't have big red duck lips with a sucker hanging out of them paired up with a seductive glare. I mean really, might as well! What kind of image or message is this?

I am by no means a prude (anyone who knows me knows that well enough!) but I love kids. I care about the well-being of kids, and pardon my French but...this is just fucking mortifying to me.

Not to date myself, but I remember writing an article for my College paper ten years ago (okay, I just dated myself) about young girls seemingly loosing their innocence way too young (and that was back then). More young girls, not even out of elementary school yet, seemed to be dressing far too promiscuous for their ages. I mean, "promiscuity" and "elementary school" just shouldn't even be in the same friggin' sentence. But there they were in public, at the mall or the park, clad in jogging pants with the word "Juicy" written across their bums. "Juicy". Referring to your Capri Sun? Didn't think so.

A part of me was really hoping that this would change and that not only parents, but marketing reps and companies would find their common sense...but that was a pipe dream. Herp derp.

Where did who go wrong and when? I mean Christ, when I was 12 years old, "sexy" was only in the movies. When I was 12 years old, I was eating Cheez Whiz sandwiches and watching Family Matters.

And I'm sorry, but you can only blame pop stars to a certain extent. Is it really an excuse? I grew up in the Madonna era - you didn't see me walking around holding ice cream cones to my non-boobs! (Well, knowing me I probably did, but in a facetious way).

I digress.

Yes, sex sells, but can somebody please tell companies (like Sears) that there is still an "age appropriate" thing to consider when it comes to that?

Some actually argue: It's just a bunny. It's just a logo.

Yes, so is the Swastika.

A logo represents something, and when someone wears that logo, it is in support for that thing - whether it be sports, politics, brands, etc. I mean, as a Habs fan, I would never wear a Bruins logo and claim, "Who cares? It's just a logo!" Haha. YEAH, NO.

There is a representation thing there. The Playboy Bunny is a universally known logo for Playboy. The vector-like profile, the bow-tie - everyone knows it for exactly what it is. It does not symbolize a love for bunnies. It symbolizes sex and objectifying women. As a parent, I would hope that you wouldn't want your child representing this. You have to wonder why companies like Sears would think differently?

If the world is seriously spinning into this ignorant of a direction, I'm going to seem like an old-school Nazi Mom one day, with my kids clad in Superhero t-shirts. Poor things.