Motherload

Apparently the heading tells you everything you need to be frightened of, and talking about, with your daughters. This was a two-page listicle in The Times, in the Body + Soul section, written by parenting expert Tanith Carey, who has just written and is promoting a book called Girls Uninterrupted . Actually, Ms Carey is not an expert in parenting, and, to her credit, does not call herself one on her own site . She is a journalist, with a degree in English and French, who has carved out a career in health, wellbeing, and the parenting markets. That does not constitute expertise, it constitutes being a journalist for a living. Writing a book does not make you an expert in a subject (I know, because I've done it, and know how much I don't know about my area of expertise). My mother sent me this article, because she regularly sends me clippings of the dire things that are going to happen to me and my children if I don't (a) save more, (b) worry more, (c) enjoy life eve...

This morning on the BBC — modesty bags for lads' mags!  Brilliant. The Co op is asking the people who publish Loaded , Nuts and the other boys' peep show titles to put bags over their product, to protect the innocence of children coming into the shops. Feminista  wants to go further, campaigning for an outright ban on these magazines. Their argument is that the Co op is still aiming to make money out of lads' mag culture — the fig leaf of a plastic bag is just a way to get around the profit hit it would otherwise take. What's the real problem, of which lads' mags are the pathetic symptom? Girls are sent the message, "sex is dirty and you are dirty if you do it — aren't you?", while boys are sent the message, "sex is dirty and girls are dirty if they do it — here, have a little look". Queen Victoria would have been proud. Seems to me that putting a doggy bag over a soft porn mag is a bit like men telling women they have to wear burkhas ...