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Great Falls, VA, May 12, 2020 -- Enough Is Enough®® (EIE), a national organization fighting to make the internet safer for children and families since 1994, launched a new petition calling on Conde Nast to shut down its digital publication TeenVogue.com altogether for its long-term, reckless negligence evidenced in its sexually-exploitative articles encouraging its teen and tween audiences to engage in risky and often illegal sexual activity. The petition has already gathered nearly 20,000 signors.
Teen Vogue editors have repeatedly ignored public pleas to stop posting and remove explicit, sexualized content to its presumed "teen" demographic consisting of 13– 19 year olds, including nearly 46,000 concerned citizens who signed EIE’s 2017 petition “Say No to Teen Vogue” launched in response to its Anal Sex Guide.
Teen Vogue recently publicized its "sexting" articles on Snapchat's Discover Feature featuring photos including: "Sexting should make you feel good," and "How to Sext: The Best Tips and Tricks." In its "Dating and the Coronavirus" article which accompanied the photos, author Nona Willis Aronowitz stated, "There are all kinds of creative, fun ways to sext, if you're at that level."
“Teen Vogue is taking full advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting the dangerous activity of sexting to its underage readers who are using the internet more for school and play while hunkered down at home,” said Donna Rice Hughes, president and CEO of Enough Is Enough®. “When youth under the age of 18 years old send or post explicit or nude pictures or videos of themselves to others via cell phones, computers or social media, they may be liable under both state and federal laws child pornography laws. It is outrageous that a teen publication would prey on the vulnerabilities, sexual curiosities and peer pressures experienced by today's teens and tweens by encouraging young readers to engage in potentially criminal behavior and putting them at greater risk of exploitation by sex traffickers and predators.”
Depending on the circumstances, sexting may also be a federal crime under The PROTECT Act of 2003 which makes it illegal to produce, distribute, receive, or possess with intent to distribute any obscene visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. State teen sexting laws prohibit the sending and receiving of sexually explicit images. Sexting laws vary by state, and some states have adopted laws that prescribe penalties aimed specifically at teenagers or adolescents who send such photos.
In January, the Internet Watch Foundation reported that self-generated imagery now accounts for almost a third of web pages featuring sexual images of children that they take down, and more than a third of those images feature 11 to 13-year-old children, of which the majority is girls.
By encouraging its underage teen audience to engage in the risky behavior of sexting by taking and sharing nude images of themselves, TeenVogue.com, which boasts of 11.6M digital users and 13.4M social media followers, places youth at the following risks:
- Being prosecuted and/or convicted for the production and/or distribution of child pornography which can result in criminal charges, including the youth having to register as a sex offender for life.
- Vulnerability to sex predators and sex traffickers who often disguise themselves as a peer and "friend" in an attempt to gain a youth's trust and groom him/her into sexual activity both online and offline.
- Sexual exploitation by both pedophiles and other youth who may use the nude images as tools of sextortion, revenge porn, and public shaming, leading to life-long trauma and even suicide.
- Unwelcome sexts may be experienced as sexual harassment and have negative psychological consequences.
Ironically, Teen Vogue's sexting articles were promoted at the same time the FBI issued a press release warning school closings due to COVID-19 present a potential for increased risk of child exploitation as students are spending more unsupervised time at home on computers.
TeenVogue.com has not backed down from the public outrage and continues to publish graphic and outrageous articles to normalize potentially harmful activities for its minor readers including:
2020: "Dating and the Coronavirus: Can You Still Kiss, Have Sex, and Go on Dates During Social Distancing?"
2019: "How to Sext Safely: When is it Safe to Send a Partner Nude Photos?"; "How To Have Queer Sex"; "How To Use Sex Magic To Manifest Your Best Self"; "How To Get An Abortion If You're A Teen"; "Oral Sex 101: Tips and Tricks for 'Going Down' and Staying Safe"; "Having Sex When You're Fat: Tips on Positions, Props, and Preparations"; and "Why Sex Work Is Real Work"
2018: "Everything You Need to Know About Period Sex – All Your Questions Answered"; “What To Do When Your Partner Doesn't Want to Go Down on You"
2017: "How to Sext: The Best Tips and Tricks"; "How To Masturbate if you have a Penis – There's no Wrong Way to Self -Love"; "How To Masturbate if you have a Vagina –Step by Step"; “Anal Sex: What You Need to Know/How to Do it the Right Way”
“The once trusted fashion and beauty teen publication of Conde Nast, Teen Vogue is now a parent's worst nightmare. Conde Nast executives must not ignore Teen Vogue's rogue ‘anything and everything goes’ sexually charged agenda which exploits the innocence and safety of youth, circumvents parental concerns and harms the Conde Nast brand,” Hughes continued.
Concerned citizens can sign the The Enough Is Enough® petition to Shut Down Teen Vogue here.
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