Ethical perspectives on the erotic in retailing

Abstract

Purpose – To define erotic retailing in the context of shops selling sexually arousing products to women, and the ethical implications of High Street “porno-chic”. Its purpose is to assess the moral implications of access to sexual imagery and products in the High Street and examines the boundaries of its acceptability in society. Design/methodology/approach – The approach is inter-disciplinary, with two objectives; firstly to demonstrate the value of archived source materials to explore and structure the research problem in depth and secondly to turn directly to a primary philosophical source, to provide a new ethical approach to the research problem. Findings – The findings demonstrate a typology of erotic retailing, the interrelatedness of the commercial opportunity with social and cultural developments in the late twentieth century and propose a philosophical answer to the ethics of erotic retailing. Research limitations/implications – It is concerned with the development of new theoretical frameworks through the use of complementary research methods. Practical implications – Its practical implications concern the future opportunities for a rapidly expanding field of commercial activity and a solution to the ethical problem of “selling sex”. Originality/value – It engages with an emerging area of retailing, exploring and defining an emerging problem concerning the marketing and selling of erotic products and the ethical evaluation of the problem using a philosophical analysis. The research has two objectives; firstly to demonstrate the value of visual archives to explore and structure the research problem and secondly to provide a new ethical approach to the research problem. The findings demonstrate a typology of erotic retailing, and the inter-relatedness of commercial opportunity with social and cultural developments in the late twentieth century. The conclusion proposes a philosophical answer to the ethics of erotic retailing. Its practical implications concern marketing opportunities for a rapidly expanding field of commercial activity and a solution to the ethical problem of ‘selling sex’.

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