Introducing The Family Friendly Aisle Campaign

The Family Friendly Aisle Campaign is a new effort born in Lincoln, Nebraska, where two moms have asked that magazine covers featuring sexual or immodest images be concealed from consumers’ eyes, especially to protect the innocence of children. Its mission is protect families by holding retailers responsible for sexually explicit magazines located in their check-outs.

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Written by Guest Writer, Jennifer Davis

In the years before marriage and parenthood, I stood at the grocery store checkout shaking my head as I noticed the inappropriate magazine covers right next to the candy and gum. Lined and stacked in a row, issues of Cosmo, Shape, or People featured covergirls scantily clad available for every man, woman, and child to see. With a sigh of dismay, I sometimes flipped over the magazines, but never thought anything could be done to change this arrangement. This was simply another indicator of the sexualized culture we live in.

Fast forward several years. I am now a wife to my husband Matt, and mother to our seven children; five girls and two boys. My husband and I have chosen a proactive approach with teaching our children about sex and morality. As parents we know we’re up against a society that pushes sex at anyone and everyone; we know it’s important to teach them young, before the culture reaches them. Living in the world, but not of the world, it’s our job to arm our children with knowledge and love. We want them to understand the sacred gift of sexuality and that what our society promotes is wrong. We discuss their tremendous dignity as children of God and how that ties into dressing modestly and respecting ourselves and others; and we also address the problem of pornography and the twisted message our culture sends about sex.

These conversations have opened my children’s eyes to the beauty of God’s plan for sex but they also understand the message our world sends is distorted. My 10-year-old daughter started to point out magazine covers to me at the checkout and how they made her uncomfortable. I shared this with a friend of ours, Fr. Sean Kilcawley, who directed us to Good Pictures, Bad Pictures: Porn Proofing Today’s Young Kids by Kristen A. Jenson M.A.. This excellent book has been a resourceful tool in educating our family. As a mother, I appreciate how it teaches children what to do when they see an inappropriate image; a useful strategy when they tag along for grocery runs. The magazines are right at their eye levels.

After investing ourselves in arming and preparing our kids, I thought, why limit myself to only taking a proactive approach at home? Why not do my part to make a positive impact on the culture? Usually silent at the checkout, I reached my breaking point when I saw another inappropriate Cosmo cover. I flipped it around to remove the image from my children’s view only to discover the back cover was equally racy. I worked up the courage to speak to the manager-on-duty and suggested they use plastic magazine covers to protect the eyes of hundreds of kids who file through the lanes with their parents. My request fell on deaf ears, however, and I found the same magazine uncovered during subsequent visits to the store.

It was time to take further action.

I contacted the store director after complaining to a manager again. This time it worked. The grocery store responded by using plastic covers on the magazines, showing only their titles. I had a small victory that gave me encouragement and momentum. Connecting with Patricia Bucknor, another local mom also fighting this battle, we exchanged ideas and merged our efforts, thus the Family Friendly Aisle Campaign was born. Now, many stores are complying and are protecting kids from the message these magazines promote. Speaking up does work!

We spend hundreds at grocery stores and our families deserve better! We are called to “be salt” in Matthew 5:13 and to “not fear” in Isaiah 41:10. You can do this too! We have learned it is as simple as speaking up and being persistent. Take a few practical steps to make your checkout aisles family friendly:

1) Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide your steps and give you the words.
2) Contact your grocery store’s store director via email or phone (see below for our generic email) and encourage your friends to do the same. There is strength in numbers. Share with them your concerns about the message these magazines are sending. If they are unresponsive, do not be afraid to move up the chain of command.
3) Follow-up. After a store responds to our concerns, we make sure to thank them and ask our friends to also send emails of appreciation. Patricia and I want them to know we mean business and are grateful for their action.

Please feel free to contact us at familyfriendlyaisle[at]gmail[dot]com, we are happy to help and encourage you! One store at a time, we can make a positive impact on the culture and respect families again. God bless you!

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Generic form email for concerned shoppers:

Dear [Store Manager’s Name],

Like many other parents, I am a regular shopper at your store. Recently, I noticed magazines with sexual covers at your checkouts. The magazines display women with revealing clothing or swimsuits at my children’s eye level as we wait to be checked out. I am asking for the removal of these magazines or at least that their covers be fully concealed, revealing only their titles.

Please help us to protect the eyes of our children. There are many parents who would love to see action taken on this matter. Your efforts may seem so simple, but will show you care about customer and family concerns.

Thank you for your attention and time.

Sincerely,