By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 22, 2012
Despite over 225 signatures urging city council to keep the Taboo Naughty But Nice Show from being axed, the anti-sex crusader and former mayoral-candidate Gerda Peachey got her way when Canwest pulled out from its contract with the Abbotsford Tradex.
At an Abbotsford city council meeting, Peachey accused the sex show of violating “standards of decency” and shortly afterward, Canwest announced it was cancelling the show. The company, which produces the Taboo show, explained that they felt they needed to be “a good community partner” and the campaign by Peachey, which, according The Vancouver Sun, accused the show of harming family values and increasing the crime rate, was enough bad publicity that they wanted out.
It’s a shame, because the show’s name, “Taboo,” suggested that it was willing to face the very sorts of criticism Peachey levied against it – and against sex-positivity in general. Peachey’s accusations, besides being entirely baseless, are rooted in a very fear-based, puritanical, ethnocentric religiosity that has no place in politics. It is not the purpose of the City of Abbotsford to ensure that every event fits every member’s specific moral code. If someone is scared to death of their own sexuality, and of the possibility of being struck down by an angry sky god for the sexual-liberation of their neighbours, that’s an issue they should work out with a personal counsellor, not a city councilor.
It would have been the fifth year the show had run in Abbotsford, and I will admit that I once attended the show out of curiosity. It was surprisingly tame, given the way certain fear-mongers paint the picture. The show features a number of booths and demonstrations – think the PNE marketplace, only singles and couples sex toys instead of food processors. One booth had costumes, including corsets, for people to try on if they were interested. The show also featured several educational seminars, designed to teach couples new ways to please each others, and healthy ways to do it. For example, one seminar taught audience members the differences between different types of lubricant – an important lesson for new couples to learn. The general atmosphere of the show was light-hearted and positive. All sorts of people went, from young adults to those in their late 80s (and likely a couple even older). This isn’t the type of event that increases the crime rate. It just isn’t.
According to The Vancouver Sun, Canwest president Peter Kiddell will engage in discussions with the city and with Peachey in order to try and address concerns. Unfortunately, that leaves my concerns unaddressed: the way Kiddell and company buckled to the nonsensical whims of a select few. I am not pleased.
Not everyone in Abbotsford is a fundamentalist Christian, nor are they all ready to whip themselves the moment they have a sexual thought. Abbotsford is very multicultural and religiously diverse – and, importantly, even those who aren’t terrified of sex need to be respected – and events catered to them need to be welcomed too, even if someone would prefer not to attend themselves. What happened to the show this year is just the beginning, if we’re going to let particular religious groups overstep their bounds in overzealous attempts to turn the City of Abbotsford into fellow “believers” of their specific ideologies. These are your freedoms at stake.
