This week we wrote to the CEO of Tesco in relation to a mother contacting us with her concerns that their local store was selling sex toys in the toiletries section.
We agree that it is inappropriate for a store that is supposed to be family friendly and indicates the growing normalisation of harmful porn culture in society.
Tesco is the first UK supermarket to stock Lovehoney products, following a nationwide partnership with the sexual wellness company.
The new arrangement will see six Lovehoney products launching across more than 250 Tesco Extra stores, following an exclusive brand partnership with Tesco.
This is the first time that Lovehoney has been able to list its sex toys in a major mainstream supermarket. Lovehoney’s mission is to “normalise the use of sex as it aims to bring its sexual wellness message to a wider audience”.
We strongly believe that since sex toys are aimed at adults, it is not appropriate to have these items displayed for children to see in supermarkets.
Dear Mr Lewis,
We are writing to you as we have been contacted by a number of parents who are very concerned about the decision made by Tesco earlier this year to enter into partnership with the company Lovehoney which specialises in the sale of sex toys, bondage gear and other sexual items. As a result of this partnership, Tesco is now selling Lovehoney products such as vibrators in its mainstream stores. This represents the first time that such products have been sold in a major supermarket.
We find this greatly concerning because as a store where families come with their children there is a danger of children and young people seeing and having access to these products. A mother who got in touch with us told us that she was in the toiletries aisle with her young daughter when she suddenly came across a shelf full of vibrators.
It is also of immense concern that a supposedly family friendly store is partnering with a company some of whose products are those frequently used in violent sex practices and kink and that could be used as tools of abuse. These include handcuffs and restraints, blindfolds and gags etc. Such items, when explicitly manufactured for sexual purposes, should not be being sold in a family supermarket.
In her recent book The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, Louise Perry highlights the increased trend for violent sex practices such as choking of which women are the primary victims. She records how on Instagram there are tens of thousands of sexualised choking images and hashtags relating to this. What kind of message is sent out to young people when the local supermarket is selling items that appear to encourage such violent practices?
We would call on Tesco to remove Lovehoney sexual items from its stores and restore public confidence that it remains a family-friendly supermarket.
We hope you will engage with us on this issue and look forward to hearing from you.