Debbie Schlussel: "Motherpucker": Target's Shameless Frederick's of Hollywood Moment
We all know Target as the hip purveyor of cheap haute couture and trendy fashions for less. We also know it as a convenient center, where you can buy fashionable home decor at low prices, along with soda, detergent, and other household needs. (And in my case, I know Target as the retailing giant with a preferred religion--a place that won't let Salvation Army ring its bells at holiday time, kowtows to Muslim cashiers who won't ring up pork, continues to manufacture Mossimo andclothing in the anti-Semitic United Arab Emirates, and the terrorist-state Syria.)
But now Target is venturing into depths that would make even Frederick's of Hollywood blush. You don't have to be a prude to raise your eyebrows at part of Target's new skincare and cosmetics line, "Hope & Glory." It's a line produced in London, England, for which Target is now the exclusive U.S. seller. Marketed to and targeted at your daughter, it's lip gloss product is called "Sexy MOTHERPUCKER." Is it just me? Or is that play on a four-letter-worded phrase just plain wrong at a store that markets itself as a place for family shopping?
We all know about the coarsening of our society and the porn culture that now hits us everywhere. That's no secret, and it's actually an old story. But even amidst that jaded backdrop, I don't think you want your daughter saying, "I want to buy Sexy MOTHERPUCKER lip gloss," let alone let her wear it (at $10-$25 a pop). Oh, and by the way, the packaging screams, "size matters!" Want your young daughter talking about "motherpuckers" and "size matters"? Didn't think so.
Everyone wants their kids to have some semblance of a childhood, as much as pop culture tries to take it away. Shame on Target for joining the crowd of those trying to hustle it away. Speaking of hustling, this stuff belongs in the Hustler Cafe on Hollywood's Sunset Strip, not at your local neighborhood Target.
There's hip . . . and there's sleazy. Too bad the execs at Target don't know the diff.
Nothing sexy about "Sexy MOTHERPUCKER."
Posted by Debbie on September 24, 2007 11:40 AM to Debbie Schlussel