Short shelf life

Lori Anderson (Perspective, 23 October), commendably highlights the disturbing influence and appalling effects of pornographic “lads’ mags” on the treatment of young women, as found in the government review on the Sexualisation of Young People.

But she then disappointingly goes on to disparage the laudable efforts made by women’s rights groups UK Feminista and Object to persuade Tesco and other retailers to stop selling them, suggesting “this is the wrong strategy in the war on sexism” and that these magazines are only “paper targets”.

She also compares the protest against the lads’ mags to protests made by the anti-hunting/fishing lobby saying: “Tesco currently stocks magazines dedicated to both of these – should they also be banned from the supermarket’s shelves?”

This is, in my view, as nonsensical and outrageous as suggesting a ban on pornography would somehow also necessitate a ban on gynaecological surgery.

As long as these magazines are on sale in Tesco, the appalling attitude towards women that permeates them will be normalised and seep into the minds of their consumers.

There is clearly something deeply wrong with that.

Veronica Wikman

Edinburgh