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Hallmark promotes teen sex
Filed under: Teens, In The News
"Roses are red / Violets are blue / you've hit puberty / I'd like to shag you" Okay, no, not really. As far as I know Hallmark does not and would not produce a card with a rhyme like that. They have, however, put out a greeting card that, according to one mother, at least, apparently promotes teen sex.The card, which features a picture of two wine glasses and asks "Care for some liquid clothes remover?", is, in my opinion, a bit tasteless and crude -- certainly not something I would ever give to someone. I'm not sure I see it specifically promotes teen sex. I can't imagine someone giving this card to someone -- teen or otherwise -- they weren't already intimate with without getting slapped for their trouble.
Still, Cyndi Desrosiers, a project coordinator with Allies in Substance Abuse Prevention, has talked to local stores and to Hallmark. A Hallmark spokesman said the card was not intended for teens, but "any number of situations," such as an anniversary or for an well-established couple, perhaps looking to reignite some passion.
Desrosiers, on the other hand, feels differently. She is going to stick to her guns. "I know this is minor in the big scheme of things, but it's one way for us to have an impact on the mixed messages that are out there and the irresponsible targeting to youth," she said. "I feel it's our responsibility as adults."
"I have an 18-year-old daughter," noted Desrosiers, "and I would just die if someone gave this to her." Personally, if it were my daughter that were given this card, I might be more inclined to think it would be the giver that would be doing the
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 12)
4-15-2008 @ 9:56PM
Mike said...So.. if not for greeting cards featuring PG-rated verse and photos of a wine glasses, teenagers would never even think of sex?
I think someone's been spending too much time in the stationary store and not enough time in the library.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:56PM
TheMom425 said...She's right, this is minor in the big scheme of things. I think there are more important issues in this world than tacky greeting cards that kids won't buy anyway. Find another cause.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:56PM
Deb L said...This lady needs to lighten up! If she's worried about her 18 year old daughter being impacted by a card, she hasn't done something right in the first 18 years of her daughter's life. I feel for her daughter! I'm a 50 year old mother of two twenty-something daughters who at 18 years of age were mature enough to handle much more than this.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:57PM
Barbara said...I think some people just aren't happy unless they have something over which to be offended. Seems like every day you hear more stories like this, where a person seems to seek out something that would offend.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:58PM
John Casy said...I had a good laugh at this one.
Does Cyndi Desrosiers really think her 18 year old daughter is still keeping her panties on when shes alone with her boyfriend / girldfriend which ever one she enjoys??
There is nothing wrong with that card.
I bet Cyndi kept her panties on till her weding night. Ah HA.
I feel bad for Cyndi daughter having a mother wiith such sexual hang ups. Mom must be so exciting in bed.!
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4-15-2008 @ 10:01PM
ray said...This is stupid. The teens are too busy spending their money on booze to buy a stupid card. Get real.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:00PM
kevinpa said...I'll take two dozen of those cards please!! This should be the ONLY thing parents have to worry about. Ha ha ha
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4-15-2008 @ 10:05PM
Rick said...Dave is right in noting that there are many more of these subtle, and not so subtle, media messages pushing our teens towards sex. Note Jared's comments and his expectation that teens will have sex. In light of that, this is relatively minor, indeed.
That being noted, this is just another 'nudge' that helps push your teens, and more importantly your preteens, into believing that they are somehow abnormal if they are not having sex. I'm disappointed in Hallmark for giving up the 'High Ground', especially in such a tacky way - note, I didn't say 'cheap' way at $2.99!
I work with high school and middle school students. You would be surprised to hear what they say in the Hallways if you just stand there and listen. I have dealt with way too many who are dealing with the consequences of sex before they are ready for it emotionally. Maybe it IS time we started saying something about even such minor issues as this, particularly when done by large companies who claim - or at least imply - that they have family values at heart.
Wouldn't this card be great for a commercial on the Hallmark Channel or for a Hallmark Holliday Special!!
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4-15-2008 @ 10:08PM
eva said...Are ya kidding me?? She'd "just die" if someone gave her daughter that card??? Anything else she "just die if someone gave" to her daughter? Like a brain.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:11PM
Kelly678 said...Sorry Cindi but, we have the right or free speech and you have the right to NOT buy the card.
Also if a teen is going to have sex a card is not going to promote it, they are going to do it whether the card is there or not, maybe their parents should talk to them about sex.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:15PM
Michele said...So let me get this straight...teens are all caught up with sending explicit text/picture messages to each other and this lady is worried about a card that says, "Care for some liquid clothes remover?"
The teens of the 21st century don't need a liquid clothes remover. They are doing just fine on their own...
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4-15-2008 @ 10:13PM
po said...I'm a 17 year old, and I think this card doesn't necessarily promote teen sex, but it is inappropriate. I can't believe hallmark would put out a card like that.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:20PM
wendy said...I THINK THIS WOMAN NEEDS TO GET A LIFE....IF SHE'S WORRIED HER DGTR IS DOING THE WRONG THING..A HALLMARK CARD AINT GONNA CHANGE MUCH....GEEZE...THIS IS ENTIRELY TOO STUPID!!
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4-15-2008 @ 10:17PM
Hector said...The problem with Adults today is that they were once a teenager and forget the need to talk, teach, trust, and only show how freek out they are instead of tring to understand and listen to better our young people.
If parents feel this way about their teenager then that means that they have not communicated with ther children but rather condem sexual behavor. Education and discustions at home are important as a young person and when they move to mature adults.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:42PM
dave said...Another tramp becomes the vrgin mary probably was a white house aid
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4-15-2008 @ 10:23PM
Beth said...This is obviously a card geared toward an adult audience...I could certainly see my husband getting it for me on our anniversary or something. It wouldn't even cross my mind that teenagers would purchase it for each other. Cyndi needs to relax.
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4-17-2008 @ 12:25AM
Kadi said...It's just a joke.
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4-16-2008 @ 12:57AM
wandererxvii said...This is the stupidest thing i've ever heard. Hey lady, just to let you know that your daughter is probably not still an innocent little virgin that you think her to be and i bet her boyfriend has probably given her this card which she thought was funny (Desrosiers' daughter probably has a sense of humor). If you don't like it, then DON"T BUY IT! Simple as that. It's called your first ammendment rights (i.e.: freedom of speech, religion, the press, & the right to petition). So get over it, it's not gonna change simply because you are the only one offended by it.
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4-15-2008 @ 10:27PM
ken said...She probably thinks her daughter is a virgin and does not drink any alcohol................ Surprise Lady ! dodo occurrs..........................
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4-15-2008 @ 10:30PM
liz said...Really? Is this woman serious? Because if her daughter has a phone than I can practically guarantee that she has gotten texts or pictures that promote sex more than that card. And if anyone doesn't want their kid getting this card, than they obviously just shouldn't buy it for them. She can't stop what other people buy for her daughter and if she is this worked up about it, than she doesn't trust her daughter enough to feel that she would know better than to get involved with someone who would give this card to her if they weren't in a committed relationship (and most people probably wouldn't give it to anyone who was not a significant other, because that is just plain skeezy). So this is her problem. I think that the card is kinda cute and would definitely give it to my boyfriend just to make him laugh.
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