Wednesday, March 05, 2008

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...

12 comments:

Eileen said...

American- Land of free- home of the brave- where nipples are free to roam

Stephanie J said...

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.

Catherine Avril Morris said...

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.

Unknown said...

for a second, i thought you were talking about a flasher in walmart...which sadly enough wouldn't have surprised me! :) happy weekend!

Sara Hantz said...

I love the sound of your sister, definitely my kind of girl!!!

Susan Hatler said...

No male nipples at Wally World, huh? Where's the fun in that?

Tessa Dare said...

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..

Barrie said...

Next time I'm in Walmart, you know exactly what I'll be doing... And how about Target? What their position?

Anonymous said...

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.

Trish Ryan said...

Glad to hear Walmart is open to carrying this small piece of the American dream :)

Vicki said...

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.

Alyssa Goodnight said...

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...