“Sorry if it offends you": Our response to Base Warehouse defence of penis dummies

*Update* 

Today we launched a campaign to force The Base Warehouse to remove a penis dummy from its stores.

Many supporters have taken action and called out this product which links babies and oral sex and contributes to a paedophilic aesthetic.

In part of its dismissive response, The Base Warehouse says “Sorry it is offends you” with a hand and heart emoticon.

This is not an issue of personal offence or taste. Our opposition is based on harm to children.

Researcher Rebecca Whisnant distinguishes between offence and harm. Offence is “something that happens in one’s head”, whereas harm is “an objective condition, not a way of feeling; to be harmed is to have one’s interests set back, to be made worse off, to have one’s circumstances made worse than they were....”

We have documented this creeping increase in associating children with sex for 15 years (for example https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-dark-world-of-paedophilia-exposed-20140413-zqu8v.html).

Attempts to paint those who object to products like this as easily offended, prudish or hung up is a deliberate tactic to silence those who might threaten company profits. It is also a way of avoiding engaging in meaningful discussions about how companies like this contribute to the sexualisation of babies and children.

We will not let The Base Warehouse reduce our advocacy for children as personal offence. We will continue to remind them of their social responsibility and not turn child sex offending into a gag.