No More Lego Store

In my last post I talked a little about how men think differently than women about sex. Now let's talk about how current trends are not helping men.

A few months back, I took my children to the mall. I had one short errand to run in one of the larger stores, so I thought it would be fun to let the children ride on the escalators  once or twice (we're easily amused). Then the kids asked if we could go to the Lego store for a short while, "just to look", and I thought, "Sure, why not? It's once in a blue moon!"

What I had forgotten was that the Lego store was near the center of the mall. We briskly walked past all the clothing and cosmetic stores, but with every step, I grew increasingly aware of the photos of the models in the store windows. Some were barely dressed. Right by the elevator was a larger-than-life woman with a "come-hither" look on her face and her shirt half-way unbuttoned. My face grew hot. When I caught my almost-twelve-year-old son looking at the picture, my face grew hotter. I just wanted to get out of there.

I told my husband later that day, "Well, no more Lego store!" He understood when I told him about our trip, because, after all, he's a man. For years he has lamented that Victoria's Secret, passed by hundreds of men walking through the mall everyday, is not as discreet as it once was ("What's the 'secret'?"). And the mall is not the only place that utilizes sex as advertising. Magazines on display at the grocery store checkout sometimes leave little to the imagination. TV commercials (especially during sports games) are even worse. It's no surprise that pornography usage and addiction is on the rise.

I can't protect my children from everything, but I will do what I can to limit the danger and guard their innocence for as long as I can. We don't have any kind of television service, or Netflix. None of my children have their own cell phones or Facebook accounts. My girls and I don't wear short shorts or skirts, leggings as pants, or exercise clothes in public (modesty in clothes show respect for men and women alike). I also don't allow my girls to wear fashions copied after sexier, adult styles. When I go shopping, I quickly scan magazines at the check-out counter and try to stand strategically (and distract, distract, distract!). And maybe it's time to shop only at stores that do not have magazines at their checkout. And yes, no more mall, and no more Lego store. It might sound like I am depriving my children of a childhood, but really, I am giving them one.