The Blight of Indecency: Antiporn Politics and the Urban Crisis in Early 1970s Detroit

Abstract

L a t e i n t h e s u m m e r o f 1972 , the Adult World Bookstore opened its doors in the neighborhood of Redford, a residential community located in northwest Detroit. The bookstore—and the pornographic material it housed—quickly caught the attention of Pastor James O. Banks of the Redford Presbyterian Church, who on September 17 used his weekly sermon to discuss the Adult World. In his remarks the pastor condemned the bookstore, bemoaning what its opening symbolized both for the Redford neighborhood and more broadly for Christian values. He sought to draw distinctions between normative sexuality (practiced within the bounds of heterosexual marriage) and commercial sex as represented by the goods on offer at the Adult World: “It is cheap. It is raw sex. It is crude. It is degrading. It is sex separated from sexuality. It is sex pictures and symbols being sold. It is wrong. It represents a way of life in total contradiction to the Christian.” The pastor used his sermon to reiterate the importance of Christian norms on sex, norms that had been central to antiporn politics for decades. Banks ended his speech by calling on his congregation to reject apathy and take action against the bookstore. And take action they did. Letters protesting the Adult World soon began arriving in the mailboxes of major city officials. What started as a slow stream of letters soon became a flood, with not only church members but also many neighborhood residents and organizations writing to express their consternation. Their letters, however, quite often emphasized concerns