To think Paperchase have lost their minds over cock and anal cards

[Waffles80]

Paperchase have a series of Valentine's cards with such witty captions as "I love your big cock" and "nothing says I love you like anal".

As a high street chain hugely popular with young people, I'd kind of expect them to understand some boundaries about graphic and sexually explicit language.

They're brazening it out on Twitter, claiming their minuscule disclaimer about the cards being rude is absolutely adequate.

Grim.

Kind of homophobic isnt this reaction?

Sorry haven't read full thread but has this story hit the Fail yet ? Might do some good for once.

Kind of homophobic isnt this reaction?

Whose reaction?

I like the way the sun has blurred the words on the cards, then printed them in full in the text.

There's an independent gift shop in a village near me, that sells some tasteful 'rude' cards, but the rude bits on the display are covered with card wrappings, so they're not on display for everyone to see! I think that's a good idea, so young people/anyone who doesn't want to, doesn't have to read them.

Auntyhiro - no

Rather a lot of people ranting about how disgusting and vile anal sex is, how can that not be seen as a slap in the face to those who have anal sex? Are they vile and repulsive people?

No and anal sex isn't exclusively reserved for the gay population either. I'm unsure why you're twisting this to try to make it about something it isn't.

That's quite a leap you've taken

Lol at Auntyhiro.

You really are misunderstanding this, aren't you?

I am happy to be corrected but I don't think either vile or disgusting was used to described anal sex. The negativity about the anal card was the unde riding sense that a woman (specifically young woman) should have anal to prove how much she loves her boyfriend even if she's not comfortable about having anal sex. This is an actual situation that occurs with young women (girls).

You may enjoy anal yourself daily auntyhiro by choice, and hopefully not by obligation or pressure. The important word there is choice.

Haha at the Sun.
And the material the Star have published in, amongst and under their suitably outraged article

No, no criticism here if anyone who willingly enjoys anal sex with a consensual partner.

Teenagers running into Paperchase to buy diaries? Have Paperchase significantly dropped their prices or are we talking about wealthy teens here? I used to work near one years ago as a teenager and couldn't afford their goods and I was an adult. Missing the point I know, but from their prices I'm surprised they get business from kids at all.

If they're not claiming to be for youngsters I can't see a problem, apart from the cards being hideous and pretty dull. Anyone who can read and understand the words is likely to have read / seen / discussed worse.

"Lol at Auntyhiro"
Quite

It's about coercion, consent and risk, in a society where attitudes and behaviours around sex and relationships are changing radically. None of which are limited to either gay or straight people or anybody in between.

Why do you overlook such important societal changes and pressures in favour of an incorrect assertion that people are posting 'err it's yucky because...gay' isn't that a bit, weird? And limited?

Love how The Sun have blurred out all the rude words in the photos and then quoted the slogans in the article.

I'd dump a guy who gave me a card like that!

"Nothing says I love you like anal"

This one bothers me, because men actually do use this an argument when pressuring women and girls into sex they don't want, and many fall for it. It's rapey.

I love paperchase but not those cards I don't think they're offensive if that's what they're trying to be.
They don't fit with the rest of the shop.
I like cards that make me laugh or I don't bother.

wetcardboard I agree it's rapey.

It's frightening how the porn industry has created a world where it's become normal for teenage boys to badger unwilling teenage girls for anal sex. The girls find it painful but they do it anyway. It's so depressing and grim.

www.livescience.com/47352-teen-anal-sex-unexpected-findings.html

And the girls get injuries they are too ashamed to get fixed.

I think Mums need to tell teenage dds they should not agree to anal. I was thinking this last night when I first saw this thread but I was too embarrassed to broach the subject with mine.

I love Paperchase. As a teen, back in the days when pretty much the only store in London was a tiny cupboard on the upper concourse of Liverpool Street Station, I used to rush to be early for my train so that I could go in and stroke all of the pretty things. I remember getting a beautiful carrier bag from there back in those days that I kept for years; it had a bubble in it that was full of star sequins, like a snowglobe.

This wasn't their finest moment, however, but props to them for responding to feedback.

I have been massively impressed with Card Factory recently actually. Not only are their cards less than a quarter of the price of most shops, they're actually getting a bit more tasteful, and at Christmas they had good range of "to my daughter and daughter-in-law", "to my brother and his boyfriend" type cards. I was really impressed.

Gosh cakingbad it really is grim, isn't it? That link makes it pretty clear those cards are part of an unpleasant coercive culture among teens. Not even nice for the boys who feel under pressure, and awful for the girls

Surely the response to be ing "badgered" for anal by a teenage oik is to whip out a large dildo and say wide eyed "of course my darling, always wanted to try this, bend over"

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/explicit-valentines-day-cards-pulled-from-shelves-of-paperchase-a3451116.html

Mumsnet gets a mention in this article

Kerala I totally agree. I actually think that approach should be taught in sex education classes. Girls need to be taught openly how to handle this stuff.