5 ms·

I don't really understand the motivation behind this puritanism. I get why respectable institutions don't want to touch things like selling weed or prostitution

by simias 6y ago

I don't really understand the motivation behind this puritanism. I get why respectable institutions don't want to touch things like selling weed or prostitution since that's not legal everywhere and they could get in trouble. But sex toys? Who cares? Like, that's not a rhetorical question, literally "who cares?" Are people going to stop using Wells Fargo because they very indirectly help in the commerce of sex toys?

CobrastanJorji 6y ago
A conservative, evangelical Christian answer would probably be something like "the point is to please each other, and sex toys are about pleasing yourself" or "sex toys encourage masturbation, which is a sin." Then you'd point out that many sex toys are meant for partners to use together, and they might reply back "ah, but Genesis says that husband and wife should be one flesh, not flesh and plastic" but would probably ultimate agree that sex toys, when used exclusively between a cis-male and cis-female, married couple, could be not sinful in some circumstances. A cynic would probably say that, like many such issues, it's ultimately about maintaining control over women.
chki 6y ago
I would guess that yes, they are actually worried about certain religious groups no longer doing business with them because they "support" "immoral" practices.
rmrfrmrf 6y ago
Alabama, Georgia, and Texas have laws restricting the sale and possession of sex toys.
- lvturner 6y ago
  Seriously? I'm genuinely mind blown by this. What are the ownership restrictions? Is it blanket or just to certain categories or sizes of toys?
  - tclancy 6y ago
    You can have a blanket. It’s just that we need to know what happens under it.
  - dylz 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Obscenity_Enforcement_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Obscenity_Enforcement_Act > State Representative John Rogers of Birmingham has repeatedly introduced legislation to repeal the ban, but each bill has been defeated. > Exemptions exist for "bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial or law enforcement purposes." It looks like they're sold as educational devices or something equally absurd, fake pretext and all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute > In Burleson in 2004, Joanne Webb, a mother of three and a former schoolteacher, faced up to one year in prison for selling a vibrator to two undercover police officers posing as a married couple at a private party. > In 2007, a lingerie shop in Lubbock was raided, and items "deemed to be illegal by the Texas Penal Code" were confiscated. The clerk on duty at the time was arrested and may have had to register as a sex offender. What the fuck? Texas one seems like it was ruled unenforceable in 2008.
- stx 6y ago
  Yep, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute Looks like its never been enforced though. Really though laws that are not enforced are a bad thing because some day they could selectively be enforced. Also because they are not enforced and hence not affecting anyone, no one cares to get rid of them. "The Obscene Device Law is a Texas statute prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law was introduced in 1973, and was last updated in 2003. While the law was never formally repealed, in 2008 a U.S. District Judge released a report declaring it to be "facially unconstitutional and unenforceable"."
  - someperson 6y ago
    > facially unconstitutional Given the context I thought this was a humorous typo for 'farcically'. but it appears to refers to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_challenge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_challenge
asya999 6y ago
Sadly there are still US states where some sex toys are illegal (this is me rolling my eyes). https://www.mic.com/articles/131616/14-outdated-sex-laws-that-need-to-change-this-year-in-one-map https://www.mic.com/articles/131616/14-outdated-sex-laws-tha... is a pretty funny summary. Did I say funny? I meant tragic.
OJFord 6y ago
> I get why respectable institutions don't want to touch things like selling weed or prostitution since that's not legal everywhere and they could get in trouble. But sex toys? If that is the reason for the former, it's probably the reason for the latter too.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

by simias 6y ago

CobrastanJorji 6y ago

A conservative, evangelical Christian answer would probably be something like "the point is to please each other, and sex toys are about pleasing yourself" or "sex toys encourage masturbation, which is a sin." Then you'd point out that many sex toys are meant for partners to use together, and they might reply back "ah, but Genesis says that husband and wife should be one flesh, not flesh and plastic" but would probably ultimate agree that sex toys, when used exclusively between a cis-male and cis-female, married couple, could be not sinful in some circumstances. A cynic would probably say that, like many such issues, it's ultimately about maintaining control over women.

chki 6y ago

I would guess that yes, they are actually worried about certain religious groups no longer doing business with them because they "support" "immoral" practices.

rmrfrmrf 6y ago

Alabama, Georgia, and Texas have laws restricting the sale and possession of sex toys.

lvturner 6y ago
Seriously? I'm genuinely mind blown by this. What are the ownership restrictions? Is it blanket or just to certain categories or sizes of toys?
- tclancy 6y ago
  You can have a blanket. It’s just that we need to know what happens under it.
- dylz 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Obscenity_Enforcement_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Obscenity_Enforcement_Act > State Representative John Rogers of Birmingham has repeatedly introduced legislation to repeal the ban, but each bill has been defeated. > Exemptions exist for "bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial or law enforcement purposes." It looks like they're sold as educational devices or something equally absurd, fake pretext and all. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute > In Burleson in 2004, Joanne Webb, a mother of three and a former schoolteacher, faced up to one year in prison for selling a vibrator to two undercover police officers posing as a married couple at a private party. > In 2007, a lingerie shop in Lubbock was raided, and items "deemed to be illegal by the Texas Penal Code" were confiscated. The clerk on duty at the time was arrested and may have had to register as a sex offender. What the fuck? Texas one seems like it was ruled unenforceable in 2008.
stx 6y ago
Yep, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_obscenity_statute Looks like its never been enforced though. Really though laws that are not enforced are a bad thing because some day they could selectively be enforced. Also because they are not enforced and hence not affecting anyone, no one cares to get rid of them. "The Obscene Device Law is a Texas statute prohibiting the sale of sex toys. The law was introduced in 1973, and was last updated in 2003. While the law was never formally repealed, in 2008 a U.S. District Judge released a report declaring it to be "facially unconstitutional and unenforceable"."
- someperson 6y ago
  > facially unconstitutional Given the context I thought this was a humorous typo for 'farcically'. but it appears to refers to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_challenge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facial_challenge

asya999 6y ago

Sadly there are still US states where some sex toys are illegal (this is me rolling my eyes). https://www.mic.com/articles/131616/14-outdated-sex-laws-that-need-to-change-this-year-in-one-map https://www.mic.com/articles/131616/14-outdated-sex-laws-tha... is a pretty funny summary. Did I say funny? I meant tragic.

OJFord 6y ago

> I get why respectable institutions don't want to touch things like selling weed or prostitution since that's not legal everywhere and they could get in trouble. But sex toys? If that is the reason for the former, it's probably the reason for the latter too.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]