to be angry that Ann Summers has a real woman in underwear in their shop window?

[1eve]

Walking down Market Street in Manchester on Friday I saw a couple of guys taking pictures with their phones at a shop window. When I turned to see what they were photographing I found that there was a woman posing in sexy underwear in a window display. The shop was Ann Summers, although it had changed its name to ManSummers as a publicity thing to get guys to come into the shop and buy valentine gifts for their girlfriends. Now women buying vibrators and dressing up if they want is not a problem for me, although Ann Summers has always leant towards getting women to please men in my view, but sexual desire is never pc anyway so its a tricky subject. But this felt like it crossed a line.
If I'd been walking through town (it was the middle of the day) with my 2 boys, age 4 and 6, that is not what I want them to see. That a woman's role is to be placed on show like a piece of meat while men leer at her? (a group of guys were standing in front of the window laughing and staring, making comments). Is it just me or is this bloody degrading?

So a male opinion that it is fun to look at scantily clad women in shop windows is more important than the opinions of all of the men and women who think that it is not a good thing?

You are aware that not all men want women in their underwear posing on the high street, I assume?

s the porn industry is so huge I would say that more want to look at it than don't.

drnortherner I should have put my last post to you as a question.

"drnortherner for me it was being treated as a sex object by random strange men from the age of about 13 onwards that I found objectionable, I am sure that many other women feel the same way. Encouraging men to ogle women in shop windows when they are out doing their shopping is hardly going to breed a culture of respect where men don't harrass women when they are out ad about is it."

What is your view?

Is the argument that whatever lecherous men want they must get? Even if it makes quite a lot of people uncomfortable in environments where they should be able to go freely, introduces children to adult ideas of sexuality from a male porn-centric viewpoint, and encourages a culture of street harrassment?

Why do we need to respond to the desires of lecherous men before all other sections of society? Why is it so important to have porny images of women everywhere, when so many people don't like them? What harm is done if Anne Summers don't have a live model in their window on valentine's day?

But degrading is surely subjective? Is it not upto to each individual women what she deems to be degrading?

Personally I find TV adverts where women have orgasms over shampoo in bad taste, but I would not get my knickers in a knot about a woman wearing underwear in a shop that sells underwear.

Is it the woman in her knickers that's degrading?
Is it the knickers that are degrading?
Is it the fact that it's on the hight street?

Sardine : "So a male opinion that it is fun to look at scantily clad women in shop windows is more important than the opinions of all of the men and women who think that it is not a good thing?"

Why are you assuming that only men think this ? Or is it the shop window bit that you object to ?
I like seeing women advertising underwear. Especially beautifull women. I can't think of anyhting nicer than Kelly Brook advertising lingere.

Is everyone failing to notice this is a dumbed down sex-shop?

I find the female form very beautiful I love a good life-class..

but I really don't think it needs to be displayed for the titillation of men or women in a shopping centre because you can, how about for a minute you don't?..how about you don't display people like meat for a hot minute...

I certainly don't need to see the male form in the flesh parading past Top Shop for me a appreciate it...tacky & sad..

Oblomov I have no objection to women in underwear.

What I have an objection to is hyper-sexualised images of females on the high street.

The shop name had been changed to "man summers" and outside were a group of men leering and taking photos (as you can imagine). Do you really suggest that this display was aimed at women?

Women wear underwear, it is therefore reasonable to assume you might one day see women wearing underwear.

I think Ann Summers is a great shop actually. What about women who want to buy sex toys or erotic fiction? There is nothing wrong with that. I would not feel comfortable walking into a boarded up, back street sex shop and scretly slipping out with a brown paper bag but feel very happy walking into Anne Summers.

My point exactly DrNortherner..

years ago if you wanted to buy anything, you had to do it at a party in front of everyone else, or go to a seedy shop in some back street like SoHo.

Ann Summers made it comfortable for women to be able to buy sex toys without being made to feel like perverts.

My 67yr old MIL and two of her mates went in for a look round the one on our high street.

Now to me, this is progress that women are able to feel comfortable going into the shop.

If the women are happy doing it, then what is the problem. If you feel uncomfortable seeing a woman in her underwear, its you with the issues.

I find it more offensive seeing women in their pyjamas in Tesco actually.

Models all over the world are always modelling next to nothing in the cold, often in the snow. They are well looked after and paid handsomely for it.

As i said a dumbed down sex shop..I have brought from them and I agree that it's a cool shop ..but what they did was advertising at it's worst..tacky,exploitative and unimaginative

A clued up sex shop imo.