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August 16, 2004
Sex appeal | A new Portland store rides the next wave in the adult entertainment industry
By Caitlin Elsaesser
Almost exactly a year after opening, Pandora's Boxxx, an adult store in Brewer, shut down last month as part of a court settlement with residents who had long opposed the shop. That's a different scenario than the one that has greeted Nomia, an adult store that opened in Portland in February to largely positive feedback from the community.
The stores sell essentially the same goods ˆ adult toys and sexually explicit books and videos ˆ but they've received different reactions from their respective communities, likely due to their widely differing business strategies. Pandora's Boxxx, owned by Dover-Foxcroft resident Clifford Tumosa, did not disclose that it was an adult entertainment store when it first entered the city, instead registering under the name Northshore Distribution Inc. and telling its landlord and city officials it would sell video tapes and recording equipment. The store was located in a former auto parts store about 900 feet away from a local church ˆ a fact that incensed residents, one of whom characterized the store's clientele as "twisted" in a letter published in the Bangor Daily News. Tumosa did not return repeated phone calls seeking an interview for this story.
Nomia, on the other hand, presents itself as sophisticated, clean and open. The small shop, above a jewelry store on Exchange Street in downtown Portland, uses a simple line drawing of a woman's silhouette as its logo; its slogan is "Peace, love and revolution, one orgasm at a time." The lower level of the small shop features a selection of corsets and books about sexuality ranging from works by Simone de Beauvoir to more explicit adult material, while the upper level holds the more provocative toys and videos. Store owner Gina Rourke speaks with a smile of "community outreach," "healthy sexuality" and "open communication."
The difference in the stores' approaches underscores the changing face of the adult entertainment industry. Portland's Nomia is one of a relatively new breed of adult businesses that seek to be more mainstream, emphasizing women's comfort, sexual openness and what proponents call "sex-positive" education. It's a stark contrast to the tawdry sex shops that erect stockade fences around their parking lots to hide customers' vehicles from view.
But as the number of stores like Nomia continues to grow nationwide, according to anecdotal reports from industry experts, so does the debate over what role even enlightened adult stores have in the community. "When a market deals with sex, it will always be somewhat taboo," says Petra Zebroff, who runs San Francisco-based libida.com, an adult website for women, and has a PhD in human sexuality. "There will always be stores that cater to what is not acceptable. I think that some of the market will go mainstream, but there will always be a part of it that will be taboo."
No visor required
Traditionally, of course, communities have not seen adult businesses as desirable additions to the retail landscape. Theresa Ayotte, a Brewer resident who led the resistance to Pandora's Boxxx, believes the stores are a nuisance. "Severe blight goes along with [adult] businesses," she says. "Property values decline; the level of violent crimes, as well as molestation of children and rape, rise." (Adult industry proponents dispute that argument, saying that adult businesses don't promote violence or crime.) Ayotte says she doesn't want to prohibit adult stores entirely ˆ but, noting that there was an armed robbery in front of Pandora's Boxxx before it closed, adds that for the safety of the community it's imperative that they be restricted to designated areas away from churches and children.
Ayotte's position is supported by zoning ordinances throughout Maine; with no state laws governing the industry ˆ though legislators have considered them ˆ individual municipalities use zoning restrictions to regulate the location of adult stores. David Szewczyk, the lawyer for the residents of Brewer who sued Pandora's Boxxx, says particular establishments "cause damage to [people like my] clients. Not that [adult businesses] do not have a right to free speech, but that because of the placement they are a nuisance and so ought to be restricted." In many city ordinances, zoning restricts adult businesses from operating near schools, residential areas, churches and other adult businesses. The city of Portland, according to its ordinances, restricts adult businesses to certain areas in order to "preventˆ deleterious effects and, thus, protect the public health, safety and general welfare" of the community.
The idea that adult businesses cause a nuisance to communities is exactly what Gina Rourke and others in the "sex-positive" industry are trying to change. Nomia is one of what Rourke says are a number of women-owned sex toy stores opening up across the country, led by businesses such as Toys in Babeland and Good Vibrations. These stores cater to couples and seek to be women friendly, a move away what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. For her part, Rourke wishes to help "normalize sex and sexuality" by promoting open expression. "People should not feel like they need to put on a visor when they enter into my shop," she says.
Acknowledging that overcoming stereotypes would be the bulk of her challenge as the business began, Rourke says she has focused on making her store approachable. To help women feel comfortable entering the shop, she's designated Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. as "women only" night. She recently added a "date night" promotion, in which couples who show a receipt from a dinner date in Portland will receive a discount in her shop.
The approach seems to have worked so far. Though Rourke declines to discuss the store's revenues, she says her reception has been predominantly good since the store opened in February. And though she has had a few challenges from people who she says have "an assumption that anything having to do with the adult industry is inherently negative," Rourke admits that even these reactions are "not even really negative, but more of a polite toleration."
Despite the many ways in which her shop is different than adult stores like Pandora's Boxxx or Portland shops like Video Expo and the Treasure Chest, Rourke is wary of criticizing the competition ˆ in part, she says, because her shop may be subject to the same condemnation that's been aimed at shops like Pandora's Boxxx. What's more, she says, many of her customers also shop at Video Expo or stores like it. Still, Rourke does admit that Nomia's approach differs from that of much of its competition, saying that she is "not [just] selling the same old smut in a different form."
That's an assessment with which Zebroff agrees. "The more traditional stores are much different than the sex-positive industry ˆ I do not consider them to be competitors. They are marketing to a totally different group," she says. "The difference is that the traditional adult market is associated with a younger, male, often uneducated population. The sex-positive stores market to women or couples, and often people who are educated."
Does this mean that Maine can expect to see more stores like Nomia in the future? According to Zebroff, it's entirely possible. "Now it is not just men going into these stores, but women and couples," she says. "Society is changing."
The stores sell essentially the same goods ˆ adult toys and sexually explicit books and videos ˆ but they've received different reactions from their respective communities, likely due to their widely differing business strategies. Pandora's Boxxx, owned by Dover-Foxcroft resident Clifford Tumosa, did not disclose that it was an adult entertainment store when it first entered the city, instead registering under the name Northshore Distribution Inc. and telling its landlord and city officials it would sell video tapes and recording equipment. The store was located in a former auto parts store about 900 feet away from a local church ˆ a fact that incensed residents, one of whom characterized the store's clientele as "twisted" in a letter published in the Bangor Daily News. Tumosa did not return repeated phone calls seeking an interview for this story.
Nomia, on the other hand, presents itself as sophisticated, clean and open. The small shop, above a jewelry store on Exchange Street in downtown Portland, uses a simple line drawing of a woman's silhouette as its logo; its slogan is "Peace, love and revolution, one orgasm at a time." The lower level of the small shop features a selection of corsets and books about sexuality ranging from works by Simone de Beauvoir to more explicit adult material, while the upper level holds the more provocative toys and videos. Store owner Gina Rourke speaks with a smile of "community outreach," "healthy sexuality" and "open communication."
The difference in the stores' approaches underscores the changing face of the adult entertainment industry. Portland's Nomia is one of a relatively new breed of adult businesses that seek to be more mainstream, emphasizing women's comfort, sexual openness and what proponents call "sex-positive" education. It's a stark contrast to the tawdry sex shops that erect stockade fences around their parking lots to hide customers' vehicles from view.
But as the number of stores like Nomia continues to grow nationwide, according to anecdotal reports from industry experts, so does the debate over what role even enlightened adult stores have in the community. "When a market deals with sex, it will always be somewhat taboo," says Petra Zebroff, who runs San Francisco-based libida.com, an adult website for women, and has a PhD in human sexuality. "There will always be stores that cater to what is not acceptable. I think that some of the market will go mainstream, but there will always be a part of it that will be taboo."
No visor required
Traditionally, of course, communities have not seen adult businesses as desirable additions to the retail landscape. Theresa Ayotte, a Brewer resident who led the resistance to Pandora's Boxxx, believes the stores are a nuisance. "Severe blight goes along with [adult] businesses," she says. "Property values decline; the level of violent crimes, as well as molestation of children and rape, rise." (Adult industry proponents dispute that argument, saying that adult businesses don't promote violence or crime.) Ayotte says she doesn't want to prohibit adult stores entirely ˆ but, noting that there was an armed robbery in front of Pandora's Boxxx before it closed, adds that for the safety of the community it's imperative that they be restricted to designated areas away from churches and children.
Ayotte's position is supported by zoning ordinances throughout Maine; with no state laws governing the industry ˆ though legislators have considered them ˆ individual municipalities use zoning restrictions to regulate the location of adult stores. David Szewczyk, the lawyer for the residents of Brewer who sued Pandora's Boxxx, says particular establishments "cause damage to [people like my] clients. Not that [adult businesses] do not have a right to free speech, but that because of the placement they are a nuisance and so ought to be restricted." In many city ordinances, zoning restricts adult businesses from operating near schools, residential areas, churches and other adult businesses. The city of Portland, according to its ordinances, restricts adult businesses to certain areas in order to "preventˆ deleterious effects and, thus, protect the public health, safety and general welfare" of the community.
The idea that adult businesses cause a nuisance to communities is exactly what Gina Rourke and others in the "sex-positive" industry are trying to change. Nomia is one of what Rourke says are a number of women-owned sex toy stores opening up across the country, led by businesses such as Toys in Babeland and Good Vibrations. These stores cater to couples and seek to be women friendly, a move away what has traditionally been a male-dominated industry. For her part, Rourke wishes to help "normalize sex and sexuality" by promoting open expression. "People should not feel like they need to put on a visor when they enter into my shop," she says.
Acknowledging that overcoming stereotypes would be the bulk of her challenge as the business began, Rourke says she has focused on making her store approachable. To help women feel comfortable entering the shop, she's designated Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. as "women only" night. She recently added a "date night" promotion, in which couples who show a receipt from a dinner date in Portland will receive a discount in her shop.
The approach seems to have worked so far. Though Rourke declines to discuss the store's revenues, she says her reception has been predominantly good since the store opened in February. And though she has had a few challenges from people who she says have "an assumption that anything having to do with the adult industry is inherently negative," Rourke admits that even these reactions are "not even really negative, but more of a polite toleration."
Despite the many ways in which her shop is different than adult stores like Pandora's Boxxx or Portland shops like Video Expo and the Treasure Chest, Rourke is wary of criticizing the competition ˆ in part, she says, because her shop may be subject to the same condemnation that's been aimed at shops like Pandora's Boxxx. What's more, she says, many of her customers also shop at Video Expo or stores like it. Still, Rourke does admit that Nomia's approach differs from that of much of its competition, saying that she is "not [just] selling the same old smut in a different form."
That's an assessment with which Zebroff agrees. "The more traditional stores are much different than the sex-positive industry ˆ I do not consider them to be competitors. They are marketing to a totally different group," she says. "The difference is that the traditional adult market is associated with a younger, male, often uneducated population. The sex-positive stores market to women or couples, and often people who are educated."
Does this mean that Maine can expect to see more stores like Nomia in the future? According to Zebroff, it's entirely possible. "Now it is not just men going into these stores, but women and couples," she says. "Society is changing."
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