I heard about this on Radio 1 newsbeat yesterday - it really
irritated
me as they didn't interview the teacher or engage with the issue at
hand. I sent them the following email - shall I send it/a similar
letter to metro under the name of sheffield fems?

Hi Newsbeat,

I was very interested to hear the subject of the Playboy bunny logo
being used on children's products brought up on the show. However, I
was disappointed that you did not engage with the most obvious issue
here - the fact that a pornographic brand is being marketed at
children. Although WH Smith claim their products are aimed at over
18s, it is clear from a glance at the playboy stationery that is in
fact aimed at children - it is pink, glittery and impractical - few
adults would choose this kind of stationery. A similar range is also
sold in John Lewis, shelved under the heading 'children's
stationary', and includes mini glittery pink rubbers in the shape of
the rabbit. These products are clearly aimed at children.

The girl who had her pencil case taken away from her did not know
what Playboy was, but this is besides the point. By making the brand
cool and desirable, the creators of these products are by association
making pornography and the sexual objectification of women cool and
desirable, and once the young girls buying these products find out
what Playboy actually is, perhaps by seeing the Playboy mansion show
on MTV which glamourises Hugh Hefner's lifestyle, they are likely to
believe that playboy and porn are cool and that the women featured in
them are appropriate role models.

These women are valued only for their bodies and their ability to
sexually pease men - are these really the role models we want for our
children? On a wider scale, the sex industry is neither cool nor a
desirable place for women to work - the majority of 'actresses' in
porn films have suffered rape and abuse and it is estimated that
between 65 and 90 % of sex workers suffered sexual abuse as a child.

Playboy itself has printed cartoons which portray rape as a joke and
something women enjoy, as well as various positive portrayals of
child abuse and incest which could cause copy-cat crimes. The
magazine has also run a number of articles denying the harmful
effects, and even the very existence of child abuse. One of these
articles quoted Dr. Ralph Underwager, a former Lutheran pastor and
founder of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation who was later forced
to resign from the foundation's board when he said in a Dutch
pedophile magazine that pedophilia is, "a responsible choice" and
urged pedophiles to "make the claim that pedophilia is an acceptable
expression of God's will for love and unity." (For the full article
related to this, please see
http://www.genderberg.com/phpNuke/modules.php?
name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=20)

The playboy bunny, then, represents a magazine which sexualises
children, and attempts to legitimise this sexualisation.

I'm sure the parents of the girl who had her pencil case confiscated
were unaware of this fact, and, had they known this, would agree that
the bunny symbol has no place on any products aimed at children.

As a responsible broadcaster, I urge BBC radio 1 to look further into
this story and inform its listeners what really lies behind that cute
little bunny.

Yours,

Laura Woodhouse