Preparation
- Assign Carroll’s Chapter 18 to be read prior to the class meeting
- Print Handout #1 and cut the bullets into strips. If necessary, create additional roles so that all students can participate in the role play (more town council members, more press, residents, etc.)
Procedure
· Explain that despite the general economic struggles in the US in 2009, sex toy sales were steady, and, in some cases, growing. According to an Oct. 27, 2009 story by Chris Norris titled, “Porn Flounders, But Adult Novelty Business Booms” (http://www.cnbc.com/id/33491586), Babeland, a chain of sex toy stores across the country, reported an increase in sales of 10% in the first half of the year. Hustler Hollywood, also reported sales increases. The Times of India reported that globally, the sex toy industry is valued at USD 15 billion, with a growth rate of 30%.
· Ask students where sex-related items can be purchased, and list responses on the chalk/whiteboard (internet, adult stores, in-home parties, pharmacies). Note that even big-box stores and franchise pharmacies and grocery stores often sell “personal vibrators,” pleasure-enhancing condoms, and personal lubricant.
· Discuss the pros and cons of adults being able to purchase items in any of the environments the class has identified.
· Say that business owners are not always welcome in communities, and some zoning regulations prohibit stores from being located near schools, parks, houses of worship, and residential areas. These regulations may create business zones that lump together adult stores, tattoo and piercing shops, bars with dancers, and other “non-family-friendly” businesses. Invite students to discuss the pros and cons of such zoning.
· Explain that the students will now role play a meeting at which the decision will be made whether to allow a sex shop to open on Main St. of a small community.
· Read the following article, which was taken from a real news item:
9th Circuit upholds city's sex-shop zoning law
SPOKANE, Wash. — In early 2001, the City Council unanimously passed a law limiting where adult stores could be placed. The law said adult sex-oriented stores could not be located within 750 feet of a public park, library, school, day care center, church, or other adult business. Adult businesses also could not be within 750 feet of any homes, apartment buildings or farms.
The law also gave existing adult stores one year to either relocate or change the nature of their businesses. Six of the city’s seven existing adult stores would have to be relocated under the ordinance. The City Council also decided to establish more sites where adult stores could be located.
· Distribute the role play parts, and instruct town council members to sit at the front of the room, facing the class.
· Explain basics of public meeting protocol. Explain that you expect every student to participate (making exceptions as needed if specific students have issues with public speaking). Explain that the role slips are only a starting point; students should feel free to embellish their characters’ comments.
· The Mayor should invite the store owner to describe the nature of the business, the storefront, and location of the shop.
· The Mayor should preside over council discussion before opening the floor to public comment. The Mayor should call on members of the community and press.
· Redirect the discussion if needed, pointing out important elements students may otherwise miss.
· At the end of the discussion, the Mayor should call the question and ask the Council to make any revisions needed in the policy (location limits, lighting, window displays) before voting on the matter.
· When the meeting is adjourned, process the activity. Ask students if they agreed or disagreed with the Council’s decision. What seemed realistic? Unrealistic? How might their own home towns respond to a situation like this?
How do you bring hot topics into your Human Sexuality classroom? How can you refine a lesson based on the Carroll text? I invite you to contact me for help.
Melanie J. Davis, MEd, CSE teaches Human Sexuality as well as Marriage and the Family at Moravian College. She is a doctoral candidate in Human Sexuality Education and is the owner of Honest Exchange LLC, a sexuality consulting and resource development practice based in Somerville, NJ. Melanie is a partner in the New Jersey Center for Sexual Wellness in Bedminster, NJ.