Unsettling

Okay, so I am not afraid or ashamed to admit most things, especially when it comes to my likes and dislikes. Anyone who knows me knows my opinion is always readily available. Heh.

I like Hilary Duff.

I like her music.

She was adorable as Lizzie McGuire and the handful of made-for-tweens movies she has performed in (I won't insult you by calling it acting-no matter how much I like her, I still have standards).

I think she is relatively still a "good" girl...at least when you compare her to LiLo and Brit, right? Even after her stint in War, Inc. which included dropping a live scorpion down her pants (for real!), which I only glancingly witnessed when the Beast watched it - I was scrapbooking in my glorious scrapbooking haven on the dining room table, I still think she is adorable. I realize and can admit, as some others don't/won't, that she has to grow up eventually, and at least she is doing it in a classier way than those other tramps (whom I still love, but I digress).

So, imagine my surprise when I saw this:

Now, don't get me wrong here. I think she's beautiful, and intelligent and well...I sort of give her props for making the cover. At least she didn't fug it up.

Here's where I take issue: I discovered this little gem when I was perusing my rental options at the local Hollywood Video this evening with the Girl and I heard her excited tween voice exclaim from behind me: "Look, mom! Hilary Duff is on that magazine!" (She is about to turn eleven you know, so her love for Miss Duff needs no explanation.) However, I turned around and saw her approaching this magazine. IN ALL ITS GLORY! No black plastic bag cover, no black plexiglass flap covering the titles displayed across the page (they don't show here but they are what you'd expect), no parental advisory. Just there on the turn-about. I diverted her attention with a video and a quick "Oh, cool! Hey come look over here with me, we're almost done!" Then thanked my lucky stars she is still naive enough to have only noticed the picture.

While the photo is really not THAT bad, no nipple slippage or anything, its the fact that they didn't even try to camouflage that the magazine is available there that is unsettling. C'mon, even 7-11 has the black plexiglass flaps that cover the chance of nudity-and the mags are behind the counter at most of the stores. Not the video store...they have it right there prominently displayed between the candy shelf and the previously viewed titles for your convenience. The amount and type of questions that would have ensued had she read the titles of the articles emblazoned across the cover makes me want to shake the Hollywood Video employees until some sense comes into their heads as I break out in a cold sweat.

Now, with all of that said.

Way to go Hilary...work it girl.

Way to Fug it up, Hollywood Video.

Glad I have ninja reflex parenting skills.