On September 27, NoPornNorthampton mailed a version of its Open Letter to Barry G. and Annette E. Goldberg of Longmeadow, MA (PDF, explicit language) to virtually all the registered voters of Northampton and Longmeadow, over 29,000 people. The Goldbergs own property at 135 King Street in Northampton, and are in the process of leasing it […]
Month: September 2006
The Republican: “Anti-porn plan advances”
Today’s Republican reports on progress in regulating adult businesses in Northampton: In what some called a first step in the fight to restrict pornography in Northampton, the Planning Board and the Ordinance Committee last night both approved bans against adult viewing booths in most sections of the city…The viewing-booth measure now goes to the City […]
A Middle Way Between the Puritans and the Libertines
At Talk Back Northampton, Peter Brooks said he believes that the founders of NoPornNorthampton are “victims of the hysteria and fear that history shows can grip a community that is regarded as relatively educated.”We reply that if you want to see hysteria and fear, take a look at how porn films and magazines view women. […]
Valley Advocate: “Erotica: Eden’s Dark Side”
The September 28 Valley Advocate writes about how “Northampton’s understanding of its special local culture is headed for a test…” Northampton has a mix that includes not only mainstream adult consumers of porn, but students–young people discovering their sexuality and experimenting with materials to help them enhance it. It has gays and lesbians, who have […]
Letter to Gazette: “Restrictions can be placed on our constitutional rights”
Today’s Gazette publishes a letter to the editor from James J. Palermo of Florence. He writes,“Constitutionally protected rights are frequently regulated lawfully. For example, we have the right to bear arms, but we do not permit people to carry loaded guns within city limits, or to carry a handgun without a permit. While we have […]
Recap: How Things Stand, and What You Can Do
By popular request, we provide here a summary of the present situation and suggest what people can do to preserve the health of the area around 135 King Street. In late June, Capital Video Corporation, a major pornographic video retailer and producer, signaled that it wanted to open a “big-box” adult video store at 135 King Street […]
Gazette Supports “Regulating porn stores”
The lead editorial in today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette throws its support behind recent efforts to regulate adult businesses in Northampton: Northampton is on the right track in using its zoning authority to discourage a proposed pornography shop from opening on King Street, but more work has to be done to ensure the city’s actions can […]
The Science Behind Pornography Addiction
Dr. Mary Anne Layden gave this testimony at a US Senate Science, Technology, and Space Hearing in 2004. Dr. Layden is Co-Director, Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program, Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania… Pornography, by its very nature, is an equal opportunity toxin. It damages the viewer, the performer, and the spouses and […]
A Feminism that Looks Out for Women
Not all of today’s young feminists accept the message that porn, prostitution and stripping are “liberating” for women. In this article from the Bucknell University student magazine The Counterweight, first-year student Lee Markison shares her disappointment that a university women’s group invited local “sex workers” to put on a sexually explicit show on campus: Nipple […]
Boston Globe: “Adult video store plan divides Northampton”
Today’s Boston Globe prominently features an article about the porn shop debate in Northampton. Jendi Reiter and Adam Cohen have been called busybodies, Bible-pushers, and Communists since they started fighting to stop an adult video store from opening near their home on the edge of Northampton’s cafe-studded downtown.The couple laughs off most of the name-calling, […]