Chocolate: the edible euphemism
In newsagents in Hong Kong condoms are sold in front of the counter in bright Durex packets of every colour, flavour and variety – a cornucopia of contraception, if you will.
This baffles me as I come from the UK, where that shelf space is usually reserved for chocolate bars; prophylactics (ahem), if they are sold at all, are shunted into some dusty corner with other embarrassing items like tampons and preparation H.
This upfront attitude to sex is kind of
refreshing, and of course it does fulfill some of
the same roles as a bar of chocolate. Literally,
of course, in the famous case of Marianne
Faithful. Advertising agencies in the UK would
have us believe that chocolate is an acceptable
replacement for sex – in chocolate adverts models
are at it all the time with confectionary, sucking on Flakes, undressing – sorry, unwrapping, silky
bars of Galaxy Caramel, not to mention the fairly
sinister man breaking into a woman’s flat to leave a box of what the lady loves (what better play on
a rape fantasy is there?)
Chocolate is like an edible euphemism for us Brits (who love a euphemism), whereas here ‘top shelf’
is on the middle shelf, and behind the counter is
right up front. I do wonder if this cuts out the
voracious chocolate eating among office workers
who just cut straight to the chase with no
innuendo.
Where in the UK you might get someone offering to
buy their office crush a little something extra
on the chocolate run, while here instead of Mars
bars, there’s group sex as that ‘little boost’ to
get through the afternoon. Is seven 11 a one-size
-fits-all advert for these by-the-checkout
goodies? It brings a new meaning to Twix fits
certainly.
But maybe I’ve got the wrong end of the stick (ooh er) here? It’s easy to forget sometimes that Hong Kong is a part of China and this eye-catching
display of French letters might be a ploy to
promote the one-child policy? The chocolate-bar-
placement in British shops is famously good at
attracting the kids (good old ‘pester power’), so
perhaps these displays get them used to the idea
of using contraception?
Or is it a way of stopping child obesity? In fact
- good thinking Hong Kong…Maybe if the UK
swapped the chocolate for condoms we’d have less
fat children having children of their own? having children of their own.
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