UNITED KINGDOM — It’s getting harder and hard to find age-appropriate toys for young children. Parents seeking playthings for their little girls have gotten used to seeing their daughters pushed toward an earlier adolescence, but very few of them expected what they found recently on the Tesco Direct website.Next to the usual assortment of toys and games was — past tense — a listing for an item that some complaining parents deemed capable of “destroying children’s innocence.” Given that the item in question claims it will “Unleash the sex kitten inside” while “flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars,” they may well be onto something.
The shiny toy that Tesco Direct deemed a good choice for growing girls is a $50 kit that consists of a collapsible eight-and-a-half-foot chrome pole, a “sexy dance garter,” and a DVD packed with hot and horny dance moves.
It was a mother of two who found the kit, which has been deemed as “extremely dangerous” by British family supporters. Karen Gallimore had been looking for Christmas gifts for her two daughters, aged 10 and 11, when she came across the obviously adult item. “I’m no prude,” the 33-year-old Gallimore assures, “but any children can go on there and see it. It’s just not on.”
“Not on” is the least of the criticisms lobbed against the toy and its popular shopping chain. Dr. Adrian Rogers of Family Focus says it will “destroy children’s lives” and “is an open invitation to turn the youngest children on to sexual behavior.” Rogers further painted a picture of a world in which the toy is “sold to four, five, and six-year-olds” and described the kit as being “a most dangerous toy that will contribute toward destroying children’s innocence.”
Rogers’ condemnation continued, by his stating that “Children are being encouraged to dance round a pole which is interpreted in the adult world as a phallic symbol,” and urging Parliament to stop the sale of the item. “This should only be available to the most depraved people who want to corrupt their children.”
While Parliament hasn’t stepped in as yet, Tesco Direct has agreed to remove the product from its toy section, while keeping it in its fitness accessory area. A representative for Tesco Direct insists that the kit is not sexually oriented, although it clearly states that it is for “adult use,” and stated that “Pole dancing is an increasing exercise craze. This item is for people who want to improve their fitness and have fun at the same time.” No explanation was offered about why it wound up in the toys and games area of the website.
The stripper pole is not the only more-than-slightly adult product being marketed to children, however. The Tesco Direct website also includes the Peekaboo Poker game which, although picturing a reclining and underwear clad woman, also includes “Boy and Girl playing cards.” Previously offensive items sold in the UK have included a pink and black push-up bra garment aimed at girls aged nine and older, a t-shirt for girls aged six and above that read “so many boys, so little time,” a padded bra reading “Little Miss Naughty,” and t-shirts with a Playboy bunny style logo and the words “I love boys… They are stupid.”
