Alert: Protect Kids from Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Today!

In past years the National Coalition has been bombarded with phone calls from concerned parents asking what they can do to shield their children from the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue located on newsstands around the country.

And this year is no different!

With the recent release of its 2008 swimsuit edition, Sports Illustrated has flooded the shelves of local gas stations, convenient stores and grocers, bringing harmful material into virtually every neighborhood in the United States. While the issue is only released once per year, Sports Illustrated’s long-term strategy is to maximize profit by “mainstreaming” their material in stores of every community.

What’s a parent to do?

• Take your message of concern directly to store owners and management.
• Ask local stores to remove the magazine from its shelves or, at the very least, place the swimsuit edition at the back of the store above a child’s eye level.
• Visit various stores in your neighborhood and make note of which businesses carry the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Be sure to personally thank managers at stores that do not sell the magazine.
• Spread the word to friends and family and ask them to communicate their concern to local businesses.
• Respectfully stress to store management the negative effects to children when encountering such harmful material.
• Talk to your kids openly and honestly about the sexualized culture and help them navigate the maze of today’s sex-saturated media.

Please use your voice today by asking local store owners to refrain from selling the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. When we stand together, our voices are heard!