Good News Tucson - A Family Values Publication

COMMENTARY:

A Reader's Perspective of Mall Pornification

Editor's Note:
When Bridget first emailed GNT regarding this issue, we were quite alarmed. As proponents of family values, we decided to run her guest editorial to bring awareness to items that are in plain view of young people shopping at the mall. Bridget's editorial should not be seen as an attack on Park Place Mall or Spencer Gifts, but rather a call to awareness for parents who consider the mall safe place to let their children hang out.

by Bridget Anderson

Laura Ingraham has coined a catchy phrase which aptly describes the current situation in our country in which smut has been mainstreamed. She calls it the "pornification of our culture." This was the phrase brought to my mind when I visited Park Place Mall last week.

I remember the Spencer Gifts catalog of my childhood - filled with gag gifts and lava lamps. Imagine my surprise on going into that store with my 11-year old daughter!! I made a quick exit, and went home to look up online the Arizona statutes on obscenity. I went back alone, armed with pen and paper, to obtain more detailed documentation, and I will attempt to describe what I saw there in terms that would be printable by this family publication.

The front of the store had Christmas ornaments that would not be appropriate for any family tree, but that just proved to be a mild intro to the rest of the store. One side of a shelf featured various 'underwear' products made from stringed round candies, complete with photos. For anyone in need of lubricants and vibrators, there was quite an extensive selection available. (The vibrators were not even dignified with the euphemism "personal massager.")

You may be surprised to learn that there are numerous 'fun' products available with 3-D representations of male genitalia - necklaces, lamps, etc.

To give the store a more intellectual and educational atmosphere, there was a section devoted to books. A few were wrapped, but most were open for anyone's leisurely perusal. Books on positions for each day of the year, the Kama Sutra, as well as booklets with detailed instructions on a certain sex practice popularized by President Clinton, complete with line drawings!

In case this is all too boring in this enlightened era, bondage gear was also available, including an "Under the Bed Restraint System," with a color photo of an underwear-clad woman chained at the wrist and ankle.

There was more that I am unable to describe without making this unprintable. A Park Place official requested I describe the problematic merchandise in more detail, which I did, including photos.

He has not yet responded.

The Arizona statutes regarding obscenity clearly forbid the display of the aforementioned items in places where "minors are invited as part of the general public." In the short 30 minutes I was in the store, I counted no less than 11 students appearing to be well under 18.

I don't believe hearts can be changed through legislation and activism, but I do feel strongly that the rights of people who believe in protecting their children from pornography should be protected.

I have never been a culture warrior, but this made me so angry. Aren't there 'special' areas around town where people can have these kinds of businesses, and display these types of items? Many of us feel the public library with its free access to pornography for anyone is no longer a safe place to send our kids alone. Must we now add Park Place Mall to our list of unsafe places that are no longer family-friendly?

gntEDITORIAL