Texas Bill’s Proposed Pleasure Ban

January 8, 2025

It might be unsurprising, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking: Republicans in Texas have introduced H.B. 1549, a bill that would restrict sales of pleasure products at “big-box” stores and other non-adult retailers. The bill carries significant penalties for non-compliant businesses: fines up to $5,000 for each violation. That is, should the bill become law, and should a store like CVS or Target deign to sell a vibrator, it better be ready to pay up.

Of course, as journalist Jeff Dana elucidates in an article for XBIZ, the reason for this unwarranted attack on our fundamental human right to sexual freedom is a baseless moral panic around sex and pleasure. Republican State Representative Hillary Hickland makes this clear. In a recent statement, she notes that children should not be “exposed to obscene devices” or “sexually explicit items that compromise their innocence.” Another Republican State Representative, Christin Bentley, chimed in on the paranoia, writing that the “state has a compelling interest to protect children from sexualization, as it leads to their exploitation and is critical to both their safety and natural development.”

Neither articulates any actual harm done to children who (gasp!) see a sex toy while shopping. Conveniently, both ignore the real, terrifying harm of curtailing our right to sexual freedom by restricting people’s access to pleasure. Taking sex-related goods off the shelves doesn’t just decrease access – it serves to make sex and pleasure taboo. And that stigma is extremely dangerous for all of us, including children.

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation firmly oppose H.B. 1549. We are unwavering in our commitment to protecting and promoting our fundamental human rights to sexual freedom, and, yes, to pleasure.