When I was a kid, the top shelf of the newsagent was what I imagined Las Vegas was like.
Naughtiness.
Adult stuff.
Things no one should mention.
What am I talking about?
‘Men’s’ magazines.
I’m not talking Playboy … but the very English, very low-rent versions that were all – weirdly – either named after Ford cars or luxury London streets.
Fiesta.
Escort.
Mayfair.
Park Lane.
In the early days, the covers were on display for everyone to see.
EVERYONE!!!
Young boys would walk into newsagents and stare at them while trying desperately to not look like they were.
For most people, that was as close as you would get to them because buying one – or even looking through one – was out of the question.
What if someone saw you?
What if someone you knew saw you?
Of course someone must have been buying them because they were produced for decades.
I know for a fact that ‘one-eyed’ – the newsagent opposite the Nottingham main police station – was a magnet for the pervs and the teens, because it was small enough and out of the way enough to get away with it, but I always wondered how many of these would be bought at major players like WH Smiths.
Over time, the covers got covered up.
Not just to protect the innocent, but to try and stop the objectification of women.
Of course, given The Sun still had ‘page 3’ and claimed to be a ‘family newspaper’ this meant it had absolutely zero impact … and even today you can see those attitudes are still alive and well in all walks of life thanks to so many companies – including those specific to women evolve and grow – having a vested interest in making women feel, or be seen, as offering only looks to the World.
Anyway, the reason I say all this is that I recently walked into a WH Smiths to buy Otis a magazine and was pleasantly surprised – and a bit shocked – to see the top shelf was just that, a top shelf.
No doubt part of this is because porn – or erotica, or whatever title you want to give it – is so readily accessible that you don’t need ‘specialist magazines’ anymore as opposed to society having a healthier, more balanced attitude towards women [or sex] but it was weird to see nothing but genuinely ‘family friendly’ titles on there.
What was funny was one of those titles was something I was interested in buying for Jill, but the context from my past meant it was almost impossible for me to grab it.
That’s right, a ‘word puzzle’ magazine was loaded with baggage from what the top shelf once meant to me and I wonder if that is something that reflects my individual weirdness or something bigger … where being placed on the top shelf of WH Smiths may be best for visibility but worst for purchase.
And before you think I’m a total nutter, remember the brilliant – but slightly mad – Clotaire Rapaille believes your first exposure to brands and experiences frames and defines the way you look at them forever.