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AIBU?

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Original poster

Adverts at 930pm overly too overly sexual...........

206 replies

Namechangeforthis2021 · 01/06/2021 21:39

Watching the Great British Pottery Throw Down on REALLY with my (teenage) kids and an advert for Love Honey came on and literally far too overt -finished with a woman in suspenders and some kind of straps across her bum cheeks hitting herself with a whip from behind-WTAF? But all the clips were seemingly about the women needing to dress up to impress the man (but that's another issue!!)
I know it is past 9pm and they are teenagers but it is half term etc.....

Followed by an advert for erectile problems!

I'm no prude but please come on! My kids were pretty revolted particularly my daughter and said 'Yuk, women aren't sexual play things for men' which was the implication of the advert.

I know porn is widely available but we click or don't click but an advert when we are relaxing watching a Pottery Programme -give me a break.

OP posts:
wherewildflowersgrow · 01/06/2021 22:58

YANBU.

JesusIsAnyNameFree · 01/06/2021 23:00

Watershed or not, that love honey advert sounds really inappropriate for TV. Ever.

Erectile dysfunction, that's a medical issue and I think that's fine on TV. A child would just tune that out as they would an advert for Otex.

CroneAVirus · 01/06/2021 23:00

The point is 9.00pm isn't quite late enough. Ive seen Harry Potter films finish at 9pm on ITV in the past. Other family friendly programmes have also been on til 9pm.
Just a little later that's all

Exactly.

Don’t know why people are getting so defensive about LH’s inclusivity.

It’s missing the point completely.

CroneAVirus · 01/06/2021 23:06

Erectile dysfunction, that's a medical issue and I think that's fine on TV. A child would just tune that out as they would an advert for Otex

I don’t know that I agree with that actually.

That ED advert came on TV in the middle of the day the other day when I was watching TV with my 8 year old.

I was just praying she wouldn’t ask me what it was about because how on earth would I explain it without going into more detail than I really want to with her at that age.

Vaginal dryness I could more easily explain as being a medical issue. But erectile dysfunction treatment is solely to help men’s penises get hard so they can have sex.

I’m sure ED is very distressing for the sufferers but I don’t think they need the sympathy of primary school age kids.

loves2plan · 01/06/2021 23:07

I think YABU. Teenagers know about sex and brands like LH are often about female empowerment to embrace their sexuality and that is not a bad thing to learn - it’s certainly something I wish I’d learnt sooner when I became sexually active.

Nancydrawn · 01/06/2021 23:10

@CroneAVirus

*The point is 9.00pm isn't quite late enough. Ive seen Harry Potter films finish at 9pm on ITV in the past. Other family friendly programmes have also been on til 9pm. Just a little later that's all*

Exactly.

Don’t know why people are getting so defensive about LH’s inclusivity.

It’s missing the point completely.

Because more than bod the OP's first post was about how the ad was all about women pleasing men, etc.

As for the watershed, I think 9 pm is too late for most kids to be watching tv, and it's firmly an adult tv hour. I suppose it could be 10 pm on weekends and 9 on weekdays, but I don't find the ad at all inappropriate for the post-watershed.

JewelGarden · 01/06/2021 23:16

@CroneAVirus

‘Prude’ and ‘vanilla’ have become bywords for ‘boundaries’. And for that reason they have also become pejorative.

My 13 year old goes to be at 10.30 in the holidays. I don’t want her watching ‘sex positive’ people with their arses out. Totally inappropriate.

Yeah I agree with this. I'm not into the sex shop thing at all, as I've got older it just seems a bit sleazy. What's wrong with two people just being together without all the costumes and equipment.

Blossomtoes · 01/06/2021 23:17

my daughter and said 'Yuk, women aren't sexual play things for men'

If your daughter’s old enough to say that, she’s old enough to see the ad. You’re being ridiculous, OP.

loves2plan · 01/06/2021 23:33

@Blossomtoes 100% agree. OP, Perhaps now is the time to use this kind of thing for educating DD rather than closing up around it

AfternoonToffee · 01/06/2021 23:34

It's a dreadful advert, I've only seen it on Sky Sports News minutes after 9pm, so the pre/post watershed programming isn't an issue as it is the same stuff on a never ending cycle of repeat.

SinisterBumFacedCat · 01/06/2021 23:36

It’s post watershed so YABU.

cinammonbuns · 01/06/2021 23:51

The LH marketing team is in full force on this thread.

IceLace100 · 02/06/2021 00:06

I'm impressed your daughter has picked up on and called out misogyny in the advert. You're clearly doing a good job there!

Craftgirlx · 02/06/2021 00:08

From reading your comments throughout this thread OP, it seems that your DDs are having quite mature conversations anyway - about women being sexualised etc, and therefore these adverts are hardly inappropriate. I find your attitude towards it to be quite odd given other conversations you’ve obviously had with them. You were aware that after 9pm these things are on the tv, you should use this to have more conversations about sex with them rather than acting prudish and possibly encouraging them to feel uncomfortable about the subject with you for fear of your reaction. I think girls need to have more open discussions with their parents about sex, especially nowadays.

Shoppingwithmother · 02/06/2021 00:10

I agree with you, OP.

I’ve actually made a complaint about it before though and been told that the advert passed inspection by the relevant authority. Apparently it’s 9pm or nothing as well - there’s no difference between 9 and 11pm.
I was watching a program on the Channel 5 player with my kids when the advert came on. I think the advert came on at about 9.10pm (actual time). The programme we were watching though was a totally innocuous program which was broadcast in the 8pm slot. So just a warning that if you watch any program, on a catch-up service and it happens to go on longer than 9pm, you can get these adverts appearing within programs which are pre-watershed shows. Apparently there’s nothing wrong with that as far as the rules are concerned.
I think it’s pretty appalling though.

Namechangedandoverwhelmed · 02/06/2021 00:59

I agree with you OP, 100%.
When I am watching TV with my parents I do not want sexual content. It is uncomfortable, and I agree that more overtly sexual content should be shown after 11.

Maybe I am a prude- so what if I am? “It’s a free country”! Sex makes some people uncomfortable, it’s recognised and that’s why it’s a content warning on films along with bad language and violence/horror. This sort of content shouldn’t be in prime time slots. Mild language, inuiendo and non-graphic violence, fine. Overtly sexual and graphic violence and language do not belong there.

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 02/06/2021 07:31

There are a million other age-appropriate ways to talk to teens about safe, emotionally healthy sexual experiences that don’t involve having to watch a gay couple fake orgasms on an advert for sex toys.

Sounds like you have a particular problem with your children knowing about gay people.

I am all for children being considered more than they used to be but adults share the world too. Should people have to stay up until midnight to watch content that's not suitable for children? Most adults I know are in bed before 11. It has been decided that 9pm is a suitable time to show adult content. If you don't want your teenagers to see it then don't let them watch TV after 9pm. Adults like to watch TV too. We have enough cbeebies and Peppa pig in the day time 9pm is adults' time to watch tele.

As for the PP saying that they don't understand why people can't just 'be together without all the costumes and equipment', well, it's about choice isn't it? Being able to choose your preferences and enjoy them. It's not for you, that's fine. Other people enjoy it and if it's to indulge in some consensual sex then what on earth is the problem?
Is the Love Honey advert any worse than the sodding Carry On films? They are on in the afternoons for all the family to watch.

It feels like the OP is just a bit embarrassed that she and her children watched it at the same time. Maybe you should be more open with your teenagers about sex? Unfortunately you can't hide them from it so teaching appropriate boundaries and having the difficult conversations would benefit them, instead of being horrified that they watched a gay couple faking orgasms to advertise sex toys.

Witchcraftandhokum · 02/06/2021 07:59

The government has given you a tool (the watershed) to help parent your children. You can either use it or not, don't expect them to actually parent for you. The world does not revolve around kids.

Weirdwonders · 02/06/2021 08:01

Can’t believe the number of people defending a company who’s only aim is to sell you sex toys via the means of an honestly quite queasy advert. You do all sound a bit weird, falling over yourselves to prove you’re not prudes or god forbid, ‘conservative’. The suggestion above to use a love honey advert ‘to start an open conversation with your teenagers about sex’? I don’t think it’s the OP who has an issue with their boundaries, sorry.

Biancadelrioisback · 02/06/2021 08:04

@Witchcraftandhokum

The government has given you a tool (the watershed) to help parent your children. You can either use it or not, don't expect them to actually parent for you. The world does not revolve around kids.
This!
CrazyNeighbour · 02/06/2021 08:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

newnortherner111 · 02/06/2021 08:14

The watershed should be later. Children nowadays are more likely to have a tv in their bedrooms, the original 9pm watershed comes from the days of black and white three channel days.

sammylady37 · 02/06/2021 08:18

@Witchcraftandhokum

The government has given you a tool (the watershed) to help parent your children. You can either use it or not, don't expect them to actually parent for you. The world does not revolve around kids.
This should be post of the day. Eminently sensible advice.
Flowers500 · 02/06/2021 08:26

The world doesn’t revolve around children, we already have most of the day blocked out for them so the watershed is only fair. This has literally nothing to do with prob, although you seem to think all sexual stuff is evil... they are a successful and diverse company, I don’t understand why a woman buying a vibrator is offensive to you.

They will have selected pottery shows because (let’s face it) the overlap between people watching pottery throw downs and needing vibrators will basically just be a circle.

Beseigedbykillersquirrels · 02/06/2021 08:32

@newnortherner111

The watershed should be later. Children nowadays are more likely to have a tv in their bedrooms, the original 9pm watershed comes from the days of black and white three channel days.
No. Not everyone can stay up til midnight to watch programs not suitable for children and neither should they have to. If you allow your child to have a TV in their bedrooms without controls then you accept that they are going to be watching unsuitable stuff. That's on you as a parent. Absolutely no way should adults not be able to watch adult content, for example Line of Duty and the like at a reasonable time, just because some parents can't be arsed to parent.