Rep Jim Moran hopes to get Viagra Cialis and other ED commercials off regular TV

[southcitymom]

This has been an interesting thread to read - my kids aren't interested in shows that may have ads like this yet. But, boy, they really do absorb ads that I don't even notice and they believe every damned thing! They've seen that topsy-turvy tomato planter ad so much they were confused when we dug a hole in the ground for the tomato plants.

I guess TIVO could be helpful with something like this - when we used to have that, it was a joy to fast forward through all the commercials!

 

[Nova]

Yep, I'm against government regulation but we've got to have some type of regulation and it ain't happening, so I say do it. It's not censorship if they are regulated to a certain time slot. I am personally against drug companies advertising. They spend a lot of money on those ads and perhaps that is why their damn drugs are so expensive?! Do we really need to know which pad or tampon company thinks theirs is best? Not. We have the internet now if we'd like to look up a consumer report on pads (OK, gross) or look up new RXs for what ails ya.

I have wondered for a long time about these E.D. ads. Is it not embarrassing for guys? And I hear "natural male enhancement" ads all the time in the middle of the day on talk radio. Stop it! I don't have kids but if they were in the car with me I would not want to explain to them that all men have issues with penis size unless they look like stars. Geesh. Are little boys going to start having penis disorder issues like girls do with their weight because their penises are small and they worry it will never be big enough? We can't perpetuate this! (can't wait for Nova to chime in on this one

Do away with it all I say. Yeah, I'm a conservative and I'd like for kids to not have to wonder about Daddy's (or Mommy's) erectile dysfunction if they don't act like the horny couple on the commercial or if their parent has that "oh so fresh feeling".

If not, then I am going to start a campaign for enema commercials. They're good for you. I'll make a whole line of fresh and minty ones, homeopathic good for you ones, just in case you're with that special person ones, and so on. Anyone?

Well, since you ask, ziggy...

Yes, boys have issues about penis size. That's why we have wars. Maybe buying supplements from a TV ad would be better.

Enemas are NOT good for you, except perhaps as a very occasional practice. As I understand it, they interfere with the body's natural balance of bacteria.

I am as embarrassed as the next person by public discussions of private parts. But isn't that something we should be trying to overcome?

How 'bout instead of asking the government to step in to protect us from embarrassment, we all work to be less hung up about human biology?

Particularly female biology, which our culture tends to treat as shameful and unmentionable.

I can understand not wanting to explain ED in depth to a 6-year-old. But surely a parent isn't explaining cancer, emphysema or psychopathology to a child that age either, at least not in depth. Age-appropriate answers can be crafted for any subject for any age child, I do believe.

 

[Only4Justice]

Particularly female biology, which our culture tends to treat as shameful and unmentionable.

Hi Nova! I love your posts, and read them intently. They make me think :blowkiss:

Hope you don't mind that I snipped this part of your reply, but this really, really irks me. I have two sons, and why is it OK for them to see people killing people with guns, but they can't see a woman's bosom??????? Surely, there is something wrong here that our society needs to address!!

 

[southcitymom]

Hi Nova! I love your posts, and read them intently. They make me think :blowkiss:

Hope you don't mind that I snipped this part of your reply, but this really, really irks me. I have two sons, and why is it OK for them to see people killing people with guns, but they can't see a woman's bosom??????? Surely, there is something wrong here that our society needs to address!!

Showing a woman's breast being kissed earns a movie an X rating - show it being cut off and you earn an R rating. As a rule, sex freaks us out WAY more than violence.

I agree with everything Nova said in his excellent post!

 

[Only4Justice]

Hi SCM!

The thing is too....other countries are not like this with their 'sexuality', only the good ole' US of A. I'd much rather my sons see two people making love than seeing someone get their head blown off!!!

No wonder our country has so many problems!!! :crazy:

 

[southcitymom]

Hi SCM!

The thing is too....other countries are not like this with their 'sexuality', only the good ole' US of A. I'd much rather my sons see two people making love than seeing someone get their head blown off!!!

No wonder our country has so many problems!!! :crazy:

My sister says the same things, O4J. She says it's our puritanical roots that we are having a hard time growing past!

One of my good friends in college would go nuts whenever she saw a Summer's Eve commercial with that "not so fresh" tagline. She said "the vagina is a self-cleaning oven!" and I can't believe they are still selling that load of bunk. Always cracked me up.

 

[LaLaw2000]

I am certainly no prude, but I would love it if this type of commercials were taken off TV!

 

[angelmom]

Hi SCM!

The thing is too....other countries are not like this with their 'sexuality', only the good ole' US of A. I'd much rather my sons see two people making love than seeing someone get their head blown off!!!

No wonder our country has so many problems!!! :crazy:

This is often cited without taking into account the obvious: when someone is harmed in a movie it is usually gory and horrific and a terrible thing. It doesn't tend to make you want to go out and do it.

Sex in the movies and on TV is almost exclusively the opposite, making it seem like hopping into bed with someone you met in a bar 15 minutes ago is a perfectly normal and delightful event. When was the last time you saw someone waiting to have sex in a movie?

Although the consequences of the violence and sex are rarely shown, at least with the violence you get fake blood and the death of the character in a nod to the repercussions of one's actions.


And, I have to add, sex and violence in movies is not mutually exclusive. Allowing them to see one does not remove the other; forbidding one does not force them to watch the other. Parents CAN (and should, IMHO) filter both.

 

[southcitymom]

This is often cited without taking into account the obvious: when someone is harmed in a movie it is usually gory and horrific and a terrible thing. It doesn't tend to make you want to go out and do it.

Sex in the movies and on TV is almost exclusively the opposite, making it seem like hopping into bed with someone you met in a bar 15 minutes ago is a perfectly normal and delightful event. When was the last time you saw someone waiting to have sex in a movie?

Although the consequences of the violence and sex are rarely shown, at least with the violence you get fake blood and the death of the character in a nod to the repercussions of one's actions.


And, I have to add, sex and violence in movies is not mutually exclusive. Allowing them to see one does not remove the other; forbidding one does not force them to watch the other. Parents CAN (and should, IMHO) filter both.

Great points! But I had to say TWILIGHT - it will take three movies of waiting before consummation in the fourth, and that won't be until they are married! Still, I understand that this is the exception and not the rule.

 

[grace60]

Has anyone noticed they don't seem to be running them in the last 24 hours at least? I flipped through all the news channels a lot in the last 24 hours watching the Drew P news and cannot remember seeing one last night and today.

 

[ziggy]

Well, since you ask, ziggy...

Yes, boys have issues about penis size. That's why we have wars. Maybe buying supplements from a TV ad would be better.

Enemas are NOT good for you, except perhaps as a very occasional practice. As I understand it, they interfere with the body's natural balance of bacteria.

I am as embarrassed as the next person by public discussions of private parts. But isn't that something we should be trying to overcome?

How 'bout instead of asking the government to step in to protect us from embarrassment, we all work to be less hung up about human biology?

Particularly female biology, which our culture tends to treat as shameful and unmentionable.

I can understand not wanting to explain ED in depth to a 6-year-old. But surely a parent isn't explaining cancer, emphysema or psychopathology to a child that age either, at least not in depth. Age-appropriate answers can be crafted for any subject for any age child, I do believe.

I understand that we should work on our hang ups, but people have become much more relaxed about discussing female and other bodily function related issues such but have you noticed that instead of making us more civilized as a society, it's really turned people into gross pigs? I have. There is no longer "a time and a place".

I don't think not discussing it or wanting it in your face all the time means we're hung up, it means we understand a time and a place. I don't pick my nose at the dinner table. If I did I might accuse people who would be offended of being hung up about the bodily functions of my nose!! We have to draw the line in our society about what is acceptable, not because we're hung up, but because there is an art to living and most people would prefer some decorum.

My personal opinion of your statement that women's biology has been treated as shameful or unmentionable is because it's kind of gross. I have no problem discussing any bodily function. I've delivered one of my nieces and although miraculous and awesome, equally yucky. Furthermore, I will tell you, there is no reason to glorify my period. No, really. I'm glad we can now mention it all without shame, so now let's let it go. That doesn't mean we're embarrassed or shameful, it's just not necessary is it?

Enemas are good for you if you replenish the bacteria and get lots of good bugs in your diet. - You are correct though, not good as a regular practice but can be very helpful if you're coming down with something, have headaches etc. To please you, I will offer a Super ProBiotic Enema (refidgerate until use). See, I'm not hung up because I do talk to people about The "E" Word, but I wouldn't want to see a commercial.

I even think potty humor is funny, but I can choose my time and place for that stuff.

I'm not embarrassed to talk to kids about private parts or anything else, I just think it's a shame that they have to be exposed to it so darned early these days. Even when my Mom told me about sex and stuff I shuddered because young minds are not mature enough to understand it all and it seems odd, even when you're told it's all about love and blah blah blah, you're still like, EWWWWW.

Since you brought it up.. you go first with this one " Age-appropriate answers can be crafted for any subject for any age child, I do believe." Take it away Nova and give us your six year old's answer for E.D. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Nova. :clap:

 

[southcitymom]

If my 6-year-old asked me what ED was I'd say something like"Oh, it's something that sometimes happens to men when they get older that makes them not kiss on their wife as much!" That would satisfy my 6-year-old and I doubt there would be any followup questions.

Are there truly 6 year olds out there that would pin you down for more info....? If so, I'd think you could then bore the socks off them with over their head medical talk. If I had a 6-year-old who knew what sex or an erection was, then I might be a little more specific.

 

[Nova]

Hi Nova! I love your posts, and read them intently. They make me think :blowkiss:

Hope you don't mind that I snipped this part of your reply, but this really, really irks me. I have two sons, and why is it OK for them to see people killing people with guns, but they can't see a woman's bosom??????? Surely, there is something wrong here that our society needs to address!!

You are very kind, O4J, and I am all for excerpting posts to make it clear which part one is responding to.

And I certainly agree with you about our sexphobic but violence-loving culture. Of course, some experts would say the latter is caused by the former.

 

[Nova]

If my 6-year-old asked me what ED was I'd say something like"Oh, it's something that sometimes happens to men when they get older that makes them not kiss on their wife as much!" That would satisfy my 6-year-old and I doubt there would be any followup questions.

Are there truly 6 year olds out there that would pin you down for more info....? If so, I'd think you could then bore the socks off them with over their head medical talk. If I had a 6-year-old who knew what sex or an erection was, then I might be a little more specific.

Whew! Thanks, SCM! Ziggy really put me on the spot there (not that that was her intention). My youngest is a couple of years past THIRTY-6, so I'm a little out of practice. But she was 6 when her father moved in with me: all sorts of things had to be explained to her and her brother, and were explained without ever mentioning genitalia or intercourse or anything else they couldn't readily understand.

Way to climb back on that pedestal, my friend!

 

[ziggy]

Very good indeed...Except for when (and of course you know your child better but this scenario is running through my head so I'm going with it) you kid responds,"uh uh, that's not what Tommy said at school. He said it's when a man can't get his wenis up..." I would have to have more in my arsenal than just an older man not kissing his wife enough!

Ah Nova - I know it's been a while and I did put you on the spot, but seriously you are so articulate and well read that I was looking forward to reading your response and I'm sure with the amount of "splaining" you've had to do, you might be able to help some folks out.

SC Mom did a fantastic job. I just bet 50 bucks that some kids will take it to the next level and the idea is that they should not have to be exposed. Just sayin. (don't you think there's always that kid at school who breaks the case wide open?) LOL.

 

[Nova]

I'm not opposed to decorum, ziggy; even the advertisers themselves recognize some need, since their commercials rely heavily on euphemisms.

But I don't really trust the government to dictate it.

As you say, you don't expect people to pick their noses at your dinner table, but do you want to ban all cold, flu and allergy ads?

And surely menstruation is no "grosser" than diarrhea or gingivitus. And it couldn't possibly be "grosser" than those horrible commercials for toenail fungus. In fact, we should see menstruation as less troubling, since it is in fact a healthy function and, in and of itself, implies no pathology.

I do understand what you mean about one's period not being a cause for "celebration" and, yes, "wymyn's" groups do go overboard at times in that area. But that's a defensive reaction to a lifetime of being told that women's bodies are essentially shameful. Surely there's some territory in between Victorianism and feminist performance art.

On a personal note, menstruation was explained to me at a very early age because my mother tended to leave used Kotex in the open, bathroom trash bin. Of course, I thought she was bleeding to death! I don't think the info hurt me, even as a child; it just left me fairly comfortable with the subject.

Okay, now I've really over-shared! Let me just add that I didn't mean to argue that TV commercials are a good resource to help us improve our body images. Obviously and as others have pointed out, they are designed to make us feel lacking. But I do think our discomfort with ED ads and the like may suggest we still have work to do in accepting our own natures.

 

[Nova]

Very good indeed...Except for when (and of course you know your child better but this scenario is running through my head so I'm going with it) you kid responds,"uh uh, that's not what Tommy said at school. He said it's when a man can't get his wenis up..." I would have to have more in my arsenal than just an older man not kissing his wife enough!

Ah Nova - I know it's been a while and I did put you on the spot, but seriously you are so articulate and well read that I was looking forward to reading your response and I'm sure with the amount of "splaining" you've had to do, you might be able to help some folks out.

SC Mom did a fantastic job. I just bet 50 bucks that some kids will take it to the next level and the idea is that they should not have to be exposed. Just sayin. (don't you think there's always that kid at school who breaks the case wide open?) LOL.

We were always big believers in answering any question asked, as well as trying not to burden kids with info for which they haven't asked. (There are limits to the latter, of course; I'm not saying you should send your kid to college not knowing what a condom is, just because he hasn't asked.)

So in answer to your question, once your kid says "Tommy ... said it's when a man can't get his wenis up...," then I think its time to explain sexual intercourse -- to the degree you think your kid can understand it.

After all, he's hearing it from Tommy and I'm sure you'd rather he hear it from you. And isn't it lucky he heard something on TV that jogged his memory? Otherwise, he might be getting ALL his info from Tommy.

 

[southcitymom]

Very good indeed...Except for when (and of course you know your child better but this scenario is running through my head so I'm going with it) you kid responds,"uh uh, that's not what Tommy said at school. He said it's when a man can't get his wenis up..." I would have to have more in my arsenal than just an older man not kissing his wife enough!

Ah Nova - I know it's been a while and I did put you on the spot, but seriously you are so articulate and well read that I was looking forward to reading your response and I'm sure with the amount of "splaining" you've had to do, you might be able to help some folks out.

SC Mom did a fantastic job. I just bet 50 bucks that some kids will take it to the next level and the idea is that they should not have to be exposed. Just sayin. (don't you think there's always that kid at school who breaks the case wide open?) LOL.

If my 6-year-old took it further by saying this, I would say "Your friend is absolutely right - you know how sometimes your penis feels like it has a stick in it (that's what my 6-year-old calls an erection) - that's what your friend is talking about - that's something that happens with boy's and men's penises all their life, and that's some of what this commercial is talking about."

If my 6-year-old keeps going, I can too. If it turns into a discussion of birds and bees, that's cool - I'm ready for that because I never know when it's coming down the pike.

The ED thing wouldn't bug me if it led to a birds and bees talk - that seems to me a very innocuous way to breech that subject. Our house is boy central and everyone knows what an erection is regardless of what it's called.

Here's what does bug me, and it is something I have been dealing with these past months. On a major street near my home, abortion protesters routinely hold up giant pictures of dismembered fetuses. Now, I have a strong stomach for gruesome things, so these pictures don't upset me. (though they make my husband and many of my neighbors FURIOUS) So far, I have been able to distract my children from these pics by developing alternative routes and/or by pointing out an opposite window and saying "Look - is that Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker over there?".

Still, ever since these pictures came into our lives, I have begun the internal dialogue about what I would say if my children (6 and 8) noticed these and freaked out or asked about them. I am pretty prepared for this potential eventuality, BUT I would prefer that our first discussion about birds, bees, pregnancy, sex, whatever (my kids know nothing about these subjects and have never expressed an interest) not begin with abortion and bloody, mangled fetuses.

 

[LovingTheChaos]

SSM & Nova, thank you for your insightful answers!!

My daughter is 6, and I am starting to get some of the 'big' questions. One of them came after she heard about Bristol Palin & teen pregnancy on the radio. Caught me totally off guard (mommy, what is teen pregnancy?) And, yes, I answered the question, and yes, she went with the follow up quesitons. I've been reading & trying to come up with age appropriate answers for her, because she is obviously getting very curious about these things.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you both for your insite.

As for the subject of the thread, I just don't think government has any business getting involved in this. I also would like to see radio & TV stations self regulate a bit more, but until then I will regulate them myself by not watching. I have 3 young kids & we try to avoid the shows that have these commercials for the most part. Usually the difficult questions come from random blurbs on the news, events, or finding tampons in your mom's bathroom.

 

[passionflower]

It seems we are a nation of shock and sex.
The message is so wrong.
Men wth ED know already what to do.
Remember Scott P and viagra?
Young guys wanting more and more......
Not a good idea.
I remember as a teen being so embarrassed by the bra commercials
when a guy was around.
Now I look at some commercials and think it's gone to far.
But sex sells! just make it when kids are in bed.