Recommendations made by the Home Office in relation to the sale and display so-called "lad's mags" do not go far enough. The Sexualisation of Young People Review recommends that the existing voluntary guidelines be replaced by a mandatory code, which would place regulations on the display of such magazines and restrict their sale to persons aged 15 and over.
The current issue of FHM magazine (no. 243) contains an article entitled "All Screwed Up" which almost seems to applaud extreme sexual practices including mutilation, incest and bestiality. A supporter of The Front Page Campaign, on questioning why this magazine was found on the bottom shelf of a major chain store, was told it was not sexually explicit.
Charity Chair Amy King said "In our view, the recommendation to impose an age-rating of 15 does not go nearly far enough where this level of depravity is concerned." She pointed out that the portrayal of illegal activity such as bestiality or anything that may encourage an interest in sexually abusive activity would not be allowed in an R18 film. By contrast there is no meaningful regulation of sexually graphic content in magazines, other than a voluntary code which cannot be enforced.
Recent research on children's media consumption showed that FHM is a top favourite magazine for 13 to 14-year-old boys. The research comes from ChildWise's annual Monitor report.
Mrs King said "The Home Office recommendations are a good start but they do not go nearly far enough. It is vital that any mandatory code is framed in terms of specific themes or material, rather than a genre, e.g. "lad's mags", as this could quickly become obsolete."