Rock out with your cock out

[Feedtheworld1982]

I need some perspective on this. I was in HMV today, and amongst the merchandise, most of which is firmly aimed at children were a selection of mugs saying “fresh out of fucks” and “rock out with your cock out”. These were very much at children’s eye level and I gently pointed this out to a member of staff who just said “ok?”.

I messaged HMV and asked them to consider the positioning of the products in store and they responded saying they believe it’s displayed in a responsible fashion.

I feel like I’m completely out of touch. If I had DS (under 10) with me I would have been very cross to have him reading that among the Minecraft merch. AIBU to think they could have been put out somewhere else in store?

I want that one too...

Otherwise agree that it's not a shop for children, and if asked I'd say it's a line from a film.

Yikes. I would guess the store manager doesn't have young kids and realise they try to read everything when they start learning - my Reception age child asks me what everything says at the moment, and tries to sound it out. Past 7/8 I wouldn't care so much, they'll hear it in the playground, but small children shouldn't be exposed to it until they have to be.

I suppose HMV isn't a kids' shop, but realistically kids will go in there and it should be above their eye level.

That's kind of not the point...

Yeah, that one is particularly grim 🤮

No, but that's probably more of a reason to be cautious about placement. If they were with a parent, they would be instantly drawn to the section where there were things that would appeal to them.

This is why I like Typo - a reasonable amount of sweary products amongst the non sweary stuff, but every expletive has a Typo sticker over the offensive bit.

I'd suggest voting with your feet and shopping at other stockists for stuff.

I don't think HMV is a shop aimed at small children. It's not like they were on the shelves at Smyths.

Not the point of the thread but I thought hmv has gone out of business.

I'm an adult and I don't want to see it!

I don't think it's a coincidence that the posters who think HMV doesn't target kids are the same posters who didn't realise it was still in business. HMV now isn't the same as twenty years ago.

We're in HMV all the time. It's no longer just a record store. In our local branch, the vinyl is in the basement. The ground floor on to the street has large windows and big displays of kids' merchandise eg plushies, games, cute stationery, posters and toys (not music ones - more related to the big franchises eg Star Wars, Pikachu, Marvel, Disney, etc).

Just wait till OP gets to the vinyl section 😂😂😂

🙄

Agree! I’d even Twitter it and tag them.

Animal crossing, Beauty and the beast and Mario?

Maybe you can pick up your cool girl badge from the same section
Trying to normalise sexual language in front of DCs isn't the fun jape you seem to think.

HMV might not be a shop aimed at small children but they do sell products that cross different age groups e.g. Disney Squishmallows. If they want to take money from all sectors, they would do well not to alienate some customers. For all of the previous posters who brought up Hawkins Bazaar selling penis pasta, our local stores did at least have an adult section so it wasn't in amongst Yo-Yos and board games.
So, it wouldn't be difficult for HMV to put it on a higher shelf. As a company that has really struggled financially I'm surprised that they haven't been more receptive to customer feedback.

The mario stuff is deeply retro, from the 80s games, so more likely to appeal to adults. Animal crossing is one of those franchises that despite its looks is mostly played by adults.

I can't see anything from Beauty and the Beast but I'll take your word for it, and I'll also give you the Minecraft stuff, which I didn't notice before.

Mario has just had a massive film rated PG. No-one is arguing that there are lots of adults who like games that are age-rated for DCs. That doesn't change the fact that those games and product ranges are targeted at DCs.

Do you have children? Mario Kart, Mario Odyssey and Mario Maker are all very up to date Switch games that are played by children. My DS is 7 and bang on their target market. There is Mario merch for kids everywhere (as well as the above-mentioned film). See my DS’ pyjamas here for example:

The Hawkins Bazaar near us did sell 'rude/adult ' stuff but it was normally in its own section which I could guide our kids past. As they got a bit older they'd giggle as we probably would have.

😂
As an adult, buying adult records in a shop aimed at adults, I think I'll crack on ta.
Don't like it? Don't go in. That simple.

Yeah, DD has a switch, we're playing through Super Mario Wonder at the mo.

I didn't say that those things wouldn't appeal to kids, but that the display wasn't aimed at them. A matter of semantics maybe, but to take the mario item specifically, the pixelated style is very much designed to hit nostalgia buttons for adults who played the old SNES games, rather than kids whos first contact with Mario might be the newer Switch stuff.

@AdobeWanKenobi as others have said it isn’t an adults shop, it caters across all ages, it is much more than just a records shop, so need to be mindful of that

If you are someone who is happy for their children to be exposed to swearwords, or don't really mind it, then you are free to expose your children to that kind of language. However, in the public sphere, swear words should be opted into. It should be a choice that those who are apathetic towards vulgarity can chose to remove whatever barriers they need to in order to access whatever crude lingo they wish.

I hate swearing and don't want my 8 year old reading about cocks and think there should he a barrier protecting him from that. And yes, I said 'protecting'. Childhood is short enough without exposing children to language and concepts which they are too young to understand. It's like the watershed. It's so if parents dont want their kids seeing certain things, they can choose to the keep the TV off or send the kids to bed. It's why violent criminals on Eastenders say 'flamin'.

I always feel weird when grown adults say they think it's fine for kids to hear or read swear words, and the act like anyone who has an issue with it needs therapy. Swear words are for adults, not kids. Let's keep the two as separate as possible just so the lines are clear.

YABVU.

HMV is not a child's toy store. It's a shop for adults who are into music, films and gaming. Those products that you've photographed next to the mugs aren't specific to children. They are actually very popular with adult gamers of all ages.

In one study, it was revealed that the majority of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' players are in their 20s and 30s, not 5-10 year olds.
In another study, it was found that the average Minecraft player is 24 years old.

18+ DVD's in HMV aren't in a special restricted section. Their t-shirts and posters with anime girls and graphical clips from films/games/tv aren't in a special restricted section. Why? Because it's not The Entertainer.

You decided to take your child into that environment, YABVU to complain.

The mario stuff is deeply retro, from the 80s games, so more likely to appeal to adults.

My kids love the Mario films and games and would be massively into this merch, so no.