http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061121/NEWS01/611210318/1002
I am amused, bemused, and generally weirded out by any human being who is offended by plastic mannequins wearing underwear. We have war. We have famine. We have natural disasters. We have death. This woman takes it upon herself to protest Victoria’s Secret because she finds it offensive. That woman for one needs to stop on in and buy herself a little something racy. Her prudish century old behavior is ridiculous. I think she NEEDS to look. This is the world I live in–one where uber-religious folk who are evil behind the scenes judge the most ridiculous things in front. Here’s the story in its entirety:
Victoria’s Secret mannequins dressed in G-strings, bras, nylons and high heeled-shoes pushed the indecency envelope too far for some Livingston County residents, and they’re fighting back with a letter writing campaign.Hamburg Township resident Robin Blaszak, who is part of a grass-roots group writing letters to protest the store’s window display, said she was offended by the scantily-clad mannequins when she recently went shopping at the mall.
Blaszak said this is a “family-friendly community.”
“We don’t want those things exposed to our children,” she said.Blaszak and other members of the letter-writing group would like the lingerie store, located in the new Green Oak Village Place mall, to tone down the display, which can be seen by pedestrians walking by. Blaszak, who is married and has a grown daughter, also took exception to a large photograph showing a “very well-endowed” woman dressed in bra and underwear.
When she first came across the window display, Blaszak became so upset that she went inside the store and talked with an assistant manager who, she said, expressed the view that the store glorifies women.
“I don’t feel this is glorification for women. It’s making women into sex objects,” Glaszak said.
Blaszak said the group is concerned with the window displays, and if those items were moved inside the store, she wouldn’t have an issue with the store. Blaszak said she wants to be able to walk through the mall “without fear of being assaulted by sexual imagery.”
Several of the group members belong to Green Oak Township’s Holy Spirit Catholic Church, whose parish council wrote a letter expressing its concerns with the window display.
“Our concern is that we want the window displays to basically reflect our community’s values,” Blaszak said.
Blaszak said she will be delivering letters to Green Oak Township, REDICO (the company that manages the mall at Lee Road and U.S. 23) and the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce, and will be mailing letters to Victoria’s Secret’s corporate offices in Columbus, Ohio.
Blaszak said she saw six mannequins dressed in panties and bras, but it appears that display has changed. Currently, there are only two mannequins and a larger-than-life photograph of a model dressed in underwear.
Store managers declined to talk to the Daily Press & Argus and referred questions to Limited Brands spokesman Anthony Hebron, who was not available for comment Monday.
Limited Brands owns Victoria’s Secret as well as Express, Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow, The Limited, The White Barn Candle Co. and Henri Bendel.
Joe Tyree, who handles REDICO’s retail operations, said this is the first time he’s dealt with residents upset about a store’s window display. He’s been in the retail business for 25 years and runs malls all across the United States.
Tyree said REDICO has talked with Victoria’s Secret’s home office and told officials there about the concerns raised.
Hamburg Township resident Patrick Flynn said he and other residents have a right not to have those images “in your face.”
Flynn, who is married and has seven children, said he wouldn’t feel comfortable walking by the display with his children. He said he talks with his children about healthy attitudes and sexuality, but it’s more challenging if they see the displays at Victoria’s Secret.
“Women who are displayed in this way, I just don’t believe it’s a healthy thing to put before the public,” he said.
If the display was changed and moved inside the store, Flynn said he wouldn’t have a problem with the store.
“This is not an unreasonable request,” said Flynn, who is the business manager for Holy Spirit Catholic Church and unsuccessfully ran against U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, in the Aug. 8 Republican primary election.
Flynn said the group doesn’t want the store to leave the township but wants the company to be “sensitive to the community.” He’s hoping the residents and store can reach a “peaceful and good solution.”
Flynn said he would feel more comfortable if the display featured more exclusive items such as pajamas and robes.
