...and by way of follow-up from the previous story, the British Conservatives want to encourage young men to face up to their responsibilities. Michael Gove, the shadow Education Secretary, criticised lads' mags like Zoo and Nuts for promoting irresponsible sexual behaviour, particularly for portraying women as "permanently, lasciviously, uncomplicatedly available." He goes on:
"We should ask those who make profits out of revelling in, or encouraging, selfish irresponsibility among young men what they think they're doing. They celebrate thrill-seeking and instant gratification without ever allowing any thought of responsibility towards others, or commitment, to intrude."Mr Gove's comments have, predictably, been dismissed by the industry, but it is time and gone time that the people behind these publications were called to account.
As Kathleen Parker pointed out in her article, when men are deprived of any sense of identity or purpose within society, women as well as men suffer the consequences. No one is pretending that banning magazines of this nature will cause a revolution in behaviour between the sexes, but if we are to create a society in which men and women respect and value one another, the battle must begin with the media.
