Sports Illustrated needs to be opposed in our households and marketplace

By: American Decency Staff

If February 14 is a day marked by love and devotion, February 15 will be marked by lust and carnality. Millions of men will shower their sweetie with roses and candy on Monday and then on Tuesday will wait by their mailboxes for the scheduled release of the 2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. A magazine that made waves when it first featured a bikini-clad model on its cover in the early 1960s, now fills this yearly so-called Swimsuit edition with dozens of photos of topless and completely nude women.  Each year as we raise the concern of this pornographic rag in the guise of a “sportsâ€Â magazine, we always have a few detractors whose toes we’ve obviously stepped on calling us “prudesâ€Â or “puritans.â€ÂÂ Â  Darkness is always threatened by light. And Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is darkness and no matter how accepted it’s become, it needs to be opposed.  One of the great concerns about the SI Swimsuit issue is its easy availability by anyone of any age – which has long made it a stepping stone to increased use of pornography by boys and young men.  We have heard numerous accounts from concerned and angry moms who have discovered that their young sons have been able to purchase it or who have received it in the mail. And with a well-established name such as Sports Illustrated, this magazine, perhaps more so than the still somewhat stigmatized ilk such as Playboy, has been a major contributor to the cultural degradation of women – using the name Sports Illustrated to put a stamp of approval on this portrayal of women for no other reason than the pleasure and self-pleasuring of men. Not only should the SI Swimsuit issue be opposed – it can be opposed.  As an organization we have targeted advertisers who empower the magazine; and based upon results from the last couple of years we have begun to see numbers of major corporations shy away from associating their name with this magazine.  Hopefully that trend will continue. We also have had numerous communications with corporations such as Wal-Mart and others making an impact in corporate decisions not to sell the swimsuit issue in their stores. However you can make an impact as well.  In our community, through yearly communications and perseverance, we have seen local retailers in our area discontinue the sale of the Swimsuit issue.  For example, a local Rite-Aid pharmacy that had carried the magazine for years, and with which we communicated often on this issue, did not sell the magazine the last couple of years. In fact, two years ago, the magazine couldn’t be found at any major retailer in our local community – until last year when a Walgreen’s pharmacy opened up and decided to sell the SI swimsuit magazine.  You can be sure we expressed our great concern and are again proactively contacting the local store before the magazine release date encouraging them not to sell this pornographic magazine. But it doesn’t take an organization to influence a local store or even a corporation.  It can take just one concerned shopper who, with shaking knees but a firm resolve in standing for Truth, approaches a store manager and expresses concern about the sale of pornography in a family marketplace.  You can be that person making a difference.  Go to your local pharmacy, supermarket, or anywhere magazines are sold and urge the store owner/manager not to sell the SI Swimsuit magazine when it is released on February 15.  And then follow up next week and offer appreciation to those that did not stock the magazine and again express your deep concern to any that did. When we step out in weakness but in faith, God often does his best work in us and through us.  Take a stand for righteousness today. Your support is important to our ability to make a difference. Donate online at: https://secure4.afo.net/ada/donate.php American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. American Decency Association Bill Johnson, President P.O. Box 202 Fremont, MI 49412 ph: 231-924-4050 www.americandecency.org http://www.twitter.com/billwjohnson

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