December 5, 2018

Hands Off Our Kids! TeenVogue.com refuses to pull graphic "How-to" Guide
 

Great Falls, VA – Enough Is Enough®’s (EIE) launch of the “Say No To Teen Vogue” campaign in 2017 called out Teen Vogue for its graphic “how to” guide on anal sex directed at teen and tween readers. 

"Parents need to know that TeenVogue.com is no longer a safe and trusted resource for their teen and tween sons and daughters. We are not going to sit by idly while TeenVogue.com continues to encourage its young readers to engage in the ‘the highest risk sexual behavior for HIV transmission’ according the Center for Disease Control. Hands off our kids!" stated Donna Rice Hughes, EIE’s President and CEO.

In 2017, EIE’s online petition demanded Teen Vogue retract the article, “Anal Sex: What You Need to Know/How to Do it the Right Way.” The petition generated close to 30,000 signatures and were sent directly to the e-mail in-boxes of Teen Vogue’s editors and board of directors at Conde Nast, the publication’s owner. 

Since the impactful campaign began, Teen Vogue ceased its print magazine and editor-in-chief, Elaine Welteroth, and chief content editor, Philip Picardi, who were responsible for the article being placed, are no longer on staff. Prior to his departure, Picardi responded to EIE’s campaign in a tweet showcasing a photo of himself kissing another man while giving the finger. His tweet was captioned: “In conclusion, here’s my only reply I’ll be giving to any of the messages.” Further, the New York Times recently reported a $120 million-dollar financial loss for its publisher.

However, despite the viral protest, the graphic article was NEVER removed. TeenVogue.com chose instead to ignore public outrage and defiantly updated the article in 2018. 

EIE is re-engaging concerned citizens and partnering organizations by asking individuals to sign its updated Say No To Teen Vogue petition. Signatures will go to TeenVogue.com’s new editors and again to Conde Nast. The updated petition calls for the boycott of TeenVogue.com until the “Safe Anal Sex Guide” is retracted along with other articles encouraging minors to actively engage or experiment in risky sexual activity. Approximately 7,000 signatures have already been obtained since the re-launch of the petition, making the total 37,000 signatures to date.

Dr. Jill Manning, a therapist, researcher, and board member of EIE, said, “EIE is ideally positioned to lead the TeenVogue.com campaign in light of the irrefutable correlation between internet pornography and the rise in anal sex amongst adolescents. Ignoring the calls to action of tens of thousands of concerned citizens is one thing but being ignorant to how we got here only panders to the pornography industry’s exploitive and commercial aim.” 

While the impact of the editors' departure cannot be overstated, EIE's work is not done until this article, which represents a blatant disregard for the innocence and well-being of our children, is removed and TeenVogue.com is held accountable for exploiting the dignity and innocence of our youth.