phallophobia invades Castro district

Tommi Avicolli Mecca comments on
phallophobia in the Castro:

http://sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=4325

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[ TBL says:
By publishing Tommi's argument against phallophobia,
and Felice Newman's celebration of anal massage [24 Nov. 2005],
the S.F. Bay Times shows that Aphrodite and Eros
still serve
among the muses of queer culture. ]

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BAY AREA REPORTER,
1 December 2005:

Letters to the Editor

http://www.ebar.com/openforum/opforum.php?sec=letters

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Is SF the next Fresno?



My partner and I were visiting San Francisco recently and were shocked to hear from Mr. Robert Hedric of Phantom*SF and then read in the Bay Area Reporter about the storm of controversy regarding the teak penis window display ["Penis poses problem for Castro store," November 10]. I have just returned from an extended trip to Europe. Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway is full of male nudes on open view to all members of the public, as are scores of male nudes in the Louvre in Paris, and countless other places on that continent. Only in North America does this ridiculous prudery about the male (and female) nude exist. It does not help that this "anonymous" gentleman is obviously teaching his children that they should be ashamed of their own bodies. This perverted practice would seem to extend to the San Francisco police and various fundamentalist city officials and politicians, spouting obscure city codes to bolster their sick and extremist viewpoints.
I beg you not to become another Fresno, California, where we currently reside. Fundamentalism and fascism have completely taken over City Hall here, spearheaded by our fundy mayor, Alan Autry of In The Heat Of The Night ("Bubba") fame. The police department insists on welcoming you with a "Praise the Lord" on its administrative departmental e-mails. They use religion and relentless harassment of gay bars and adult bookstores as a deterrent to any freethinking citizen. We have had our lives threatened and have been firebombed for expressing our views in the Fresno Bee, the local newspaper here. That is what can happen if a community does not stay vigilant against reactionary elements in their midst. As long as these people are allowed to perpetuate their narrow and censorious view of the world, then children will always be ashamed of their bodies and regard anything unclothed as dirty and shameful. Do not let this happen in San Francisco. The gay community, and the San Francisco community as a whole, deserve better than this. And so does Fresno.
Laurence D. M. Marshall and Larry D. Norton
Fresno, California
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Castro complainers


On Sunday, November 20, ABC 7 led its newscast with the story about the artwork with the exposed penis that appeared in the storefront window. I've lived in this neighborhood for over 25 years because I like the fact that my sexuality is not criticized by those coming into my neighborhood.
These complainers remind me of the people who buy a home near an airport, and then bitch about the noise.
You knew you were buying a home in a sexually open neighborhood; now don't complain about what you might see. Maybe if your children saw a penis early in life they would grow up to be a bit more tolerant.
David Differding
San Francisco

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