Nipples and Such
Excerpt from this morning’s email from my sister:
“By the way, I saw a nipple in Walmart.”
Now this could mean anything, but it just so happens, I have some context for this odd insert. Last week while on the phone, I casually mentioned that I’d heard from a source of unconfirmed reliability that Walmart doesn’t stock romance novels that feature a male nipple on their covers. I can only assume my sister, ever the efficient curiosity-seeker, took it upon herself to test this supposition.
Evidently, the claim is bogus. A bit of quick-thinking and sure-footing sleuthing cracked The Case of Walmart vs. The Exposed Man Nipple.
Brava, sister!
And from my mother, a very interesting link on Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day…
03/06/2008 at 4:59 am
American- Land of free- home of the brave- where nipples are free to roam
03/06/2008 at 3:19 pm
I was wondering if that was actually true! Glad we now know. It just didn’t quite make sense. Could be that it used to be that way in the past but I think we’ve progressed too much for the nipple rule to be in place.
03/06/2008 at 11:59 pm
Ha! A nipple in Wal-Mart. Something I think I don’t want to see.
In similar news, I was trying my hardest not to laugh yesterday when I was at AutoZone, buying a part for my truck. I also had to buy some plastic tubing to bleed my clutch fluid, so I had to ask the guy if he knew what size the nipple was on my hydraulic fluid system, and he didn’t get my Q the first time, so I had to ask it again, and… Heh.
03/07/2008 at 5:02 pm
for a second, i thought you were talking about a flasher in walmart…which sadly enough wouldn’t have surprised me! happy weekend!
03/09/2008 at 3:39 am
I love the sound of your sister, definitely my kind of girl!!!
03/09/2008 at 11:30 pm
No male nipples at Wally World, huh? Where’s the fun in that?
03/10/2008 at 4:53 pm
My mommy mind, of course, immediately thinks latex bottle nipples when you mention Wal-Mart. *sigh*
I’d heard that they do have an influence on “acceptable” cover art and don’t like too much skin – but I’d never heard the male nipple thing! Interesting..
03/10/2008 at 5:12 pm
Next time I’m in Walmart, you know exactly what I’ll be doing… And how about Target? What their position?
03/11/2008 at 1:25 am
I haven’t heard of the no-nipple rule, exactly, but I’ve heard that they are very strict about what kinds of books they’ll stock, and many artists have redesigned covers because Wal-Mart refused to stock a book with its current cover. I have to admit, I’m not sure I like the idea of one chain deciding what can and can’t be on (and in!) books.
03/11/2008 at 8:20 pm
Glad to hear Walmart is open to carrying this small piece of the American dream
03/11/2008 at 8:22 pm
I guess I missed that rule. I’m glad they didn’t decide to enforce it. There are way too many books that wouldn’t be sold there if they did.
03/12/2008 at 12:54 am
I’m a little disturbed about Walmart’s need to infringe on content and covers too. I have no knowledge of Target doing anything similar. And I hope they don’t–Target is like a magic place for me, where everything is perfect…