Porn star martini Pizza Express

[Flour8977]

Why are Pizza Express advertising 'Porn Star Martinis' on every table at their restaurants? AIBU to find this disgusting for a family restaurant? I don't really wish to explain to my 6 year old what it is.

@Blossomtoes don’t be so patronising

As a mother of teen boys and girls of course I (and all of my peers) are having conversations about porn. This is absolutely not about burying heads in sand it’s about fighting the prevailing narrative that porn is “normal” and “cool”.

Last month three girls in my eldest DDs school were suspended as they were found to have only fans accounts. The teen gossip is that this is normal and fine and it’s a total overreaction to have social services and the police involved. These girls are 15.

The school involved is a well known fee paying school. The girls involved from secure homes with plenty of money. They’re were not doing this for anything other than japes. Because it’s been normalised.

Trying applying a little bit of critical analysis to the situation. Why do so many girls want to look like pornstars? Why do so many men and boys demand nudes? What is driving that?

Advertising it in prime position on every table in a family restaurant is just ridiculous.

Of course children are going to read and ask about it. Mine always read those cardboard promotion things. Thats why there are there, to tempt people into buying whats on them. In family restaurants its usually an overpriced icecream sundae - because kids will see it and want one!

Put it in the menu with the other alcoholic drinks! or stick a promotion on with the picture of one and something like 'try one of our amazing cocktails'. Not hard is it?

If its on a table in an establishment frequented by adults - fine.
A family restaurant - not fine at all.

And as an aside, don't most family type restaurants offer a seperate cocktail menu anyway - so its really only read by the adults at the table?

Porn Star Martini has no more to do with porn than hot dogs have to do with eating dogs or toad in the hole has to do with eating toads.

@girlmom21

Unless your child has heard the term 'porn star' separately to seeing the advertisement they wouldn't question it.

Do you want it taken off the menu too?

Are they allowed to serve spotted dick?

Spotted Dick is a traditional pudding that has been around for 150 years. It is slightly sniggerworthy but is really not in the same league as pornstar martini.

@Flour8977

Why are Pizza Express advertising 'Porn Star Martinis' on every table at their restaurants? AIBU to find this disgusting for a family restaurant? I don't really wish to explain to my 6 year old what it is.

Is this as your son peruse is the wine menu?

Peruses *

@iCod

Peruses *

Nice try Cod but others have already said several times upthread that it's on a flyer put out on the table.

[quote girlmom21]@Su9999 let's hope your kids don't inherit your sense of humour [/quote]
Or your dumbass problem solving skills.

“Spotted Dick is a traditional pudding that has been around for 150 years. It is slightly sniggerworthy but is really not in the same league as pornstar martini.”

No of course it isn’t, can’t believe an adult would suggest otherwise.

I doubt it, given the alleged age for kids watching porn is 11. Yes, that smart phone we've bought them begrudgingly is the tool for streaming unlimited free porn. I honestly can't see how damaging a cocktail name is when most of our kids have been subjected or were already watching porn by then.

If children are accessing porn on their phones, that’s a parenting issue as it is really easy to prevent that happening.

@StarlightLady

Porn Star Martini has no more to do with porn than hot dogs have to do with eating dogs or toad in the hole has to do with eating toads.

Not quite the same.

£7.20 as well for a little sickly sweet drink. Pizza Express, you can keep your Porn Star/Passion Fruit Martinis.

Does anyone have actual evidence of this being a problem to children/ adolescents

Because I know actual children who have grown up around advertisement of this frequently and there has been zero harm. One even now works in the venue and is at Uni.

It's a name that's all.very little chance kids make anything of it unless the adults do then they start with the questions.
Just ignore and carry on.

Honestly am struggling to see the issue, just explain it’s a drink. Your children will be exposed to much more problematic words/images/videos if they are on til tok, Instagram or just allowed on the internet without any safeguards as seems to be the case in Mumsnet world and there will be no one sensibly explaining away what they’ve seen.

Is that the answer to everything, then? It could be worse, so let's not even bother trying? Ignore violence that leaves the victim battered and bruised, just because some people get murdered? Say that burglary of your empty house is pretty much fine because some post office workers will be robbed and threatened at gun-point?

I really don't understand the argument that the existence of other bad things makes another deliberately-instigated bad thing somehow OK.

@KarmaStar

It's a name that's all.very little chance kids make anything of it unless the adults do then they start with the questions. Just ignore and carry on.

Saying"it's a name that's all" isn't the point. Please read the thread.

Are my kids honestly unusually observant and inquisitive? I thought they were pretty standard but going by this thread they have extraordinary abilities when it comes to noticing stuff and asking questions.

@BoredZelda

Other than keeping children away from the internet altogether, can you advise how you can stop children from accessing porn? It's most definitely not easy or we'd all be doing it!

It'd be easier to never visit Pizza Express!

Other than keeping children away from the internet altogether, can you advise how you can stop children from accessing porn? It's most definitely not easy or we'd all be doing it!

Worrying that you need to ask. Have you looked at any parental controls on your children’s devices, your wifi network or their mobile network?

It is not possible to access porn on any of the devices my daughter has and it is really easy to stop.

Sure, there is the “other kids” argument, but that was true back in the day of grubby magazines. And the point I was initially responding to was that the devices we are giving to our own children. And that access is within our control of anyone bothers to look.

Does anyone have actual evidence of this being a problem to children/ adolescents

By this argument should we never have put magazines on the top shelf? Should we have adverts for porn movies on billboards and TV, do away with the watershed on TV?

@Lunar27 I can tell you. I have family link on all our devices. Basically every goes through that, you can put safe search on everything and prevent them accesses age inappropriate apps/sites. It will tell you what they have watched and how long for. It’s really very easy to regulate, if you can be bothered.

@Trixiefirecracker Same. No porn, or anything unsuitable can be accessed by my children via their phones or any devices in my house.

@Luna27 Are you aware that there is such thing as parental controls?

I think anyone who thinks because they’ve put parental controls on that their DC aren’t able to access porn, or won’t come across it, is massively deluded. Any chat app or game with chat feature will bypass those; ditto Tumblr, Tiktok, Discord servers, many other social media platforms and indeed just sharing content with other kids in WhatsApp. Not to mention that vast majority of teenagers I know tell me that it’s stupidly easy for them to bypass parental controls.

You can be on any social media or chat and get sent porn, or friended by porn bots and sent bot links in your inbox. There’s also a fair amount of written porn/erotica/BDSM content/inappropriate content around the place, eg shared by other kids or on fanfiction sites.

It’s bad enough already out there - I don’t know why mainstream family pizza restaurants have to be in on the normalisation of it all. There’s no earthly reason why they can’t just call it a passionfruit martini, is there?

Pornstar martinis are rank, just don’t order one.

See, sorted it for you

@tigerbird I’m not saying they won’t come across it eventually but my children don’t have social media so that cuts a lot of that crap out besides, I have every kind of SM going and have absolutely never been sent porn but I do keep everything very private so definitely think it’s possible to keep them fairly shielded.

[quote dewl]@Trixiefirecracker Same. No porn, or anything unsuitable can be accessed by my children via their phones or any devices in my house.

@Luna27 Are you aware that there is such thing as parental controls?[/quote]
Oh my sweet summer child.