More Anti-Gay Bigotry - and Hypocrisy - in Gloucester County, Virginia

As some readers may recall, last year I wrote about the small, tastefully Gay Pride Month display that was erected in the Gloucester County library only to be hastily taken down after knuckle dragging Gregory Woodard,  member of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors - who just happened to also be an anti-gay fundamentalist pastor in his day job - complained about the display and said it was "promoting homosexuality."   Here's how one reader who actually saw the display described it:

The only sign on the display read, "June is Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Month" with a graphic of a person in rainbow colors, a copy of the Rainbow flag and a graphic that said "Gay Pride" and "Be Yourself".
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The materials included in the display included works by Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Rita Mae Brown, Langston Hughes, Walt Whitman and Alice Walker; music CD's by Sir Elton John, Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls; a movie DVD, "Milk", starring Sean Penn, about Harvey Milk.
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There were also biographies Andy Warhol, T.E. Lawrence, Alexander the Great, and Michelangelo, together with non-fiction books about LGBT issues and some fiction books for adults and young adults.

Not exactly risque or indecent stuff.  Nonetheless, it was too much for the homophobic Pastor Woodard who would seemingly like to pretend gays do not exist. Thankfully, Woodard decided not to seek re-election.  That being the case, I decided to make an inquiry to Gloucester County as to why there was no Pride Month display this year.  Here's the response I received from Brenda Garton the County Administrator:

Dear Mr. Hamar:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Gloucester County’s behalf.  In the area of public library displays, the library director approves displays in the libraries.  Displays change from year to year except for established programs and activities, seasons, holidays and community events.

Respectfully yours,

Brenda Garton

One of my sources in Gloucester County described Ms. Garton's reponse in this way:

What a load of horse shit! Typical Gloucester County...skirt the issue, slough it off, etc.

It seems that in fact many of the library displays never change and are ALWAYS annual events:  there's always a Black History Month display, always something about Christmas, always a military appreciation month display, etc.   And other Gloucester County reader states that the Library is up to it armpits in offering all kinds of "programs" which they describe as "mostly kitschy arts and crafts, and such."  Another, reader said "This library reflects the community's character...tacky and shallow."

All of which brings me to the issue of hypocrisy.  The mere acknowledgment that gays exist and that, yes, some of us have made major contributions to society is just too much for the good residents of Gloucester County.  But guess what book I'm told has a lengthy waiting list with library patrons?   Fifty Shades of Grey - a best seller that has been dubbed "mommy porn" because of the titillating sex (at least titillating if one is a middle aged matron from backwards Gloucester County).  Here's how Wikipedia describes the book:

The plot traces the relationship between recent college graduate Anastasia Steele and manipulative billionaire Christian Grey.  .   .   .  Upon learning that she is a virgin, Grey agrees to have sex with her in order to prepare her for later encounters, fully intending that the contract would be signed. As she gets to know him, she learns that his sexual tastes involve bondage, domination, and sadism, and that childhood abuse left him a deeply damaged individual. In order to be his partner, she agrees to experiment with BDSM, but she struggles to reconcile who she is (a virgin who has never previously had a boyfriend) with whom Christian wants her to be, his submissive and a to-do-with-as-he-pleases partner in his "Red Room of Pain".   .   .   .  The book's erotic nature and perceived demographic of its fanbase as being composed largely of married women over thirty led to the books being dubbed "Mommy Porn" by some news agencies.^[9][10] The book has also been reportedly popular among teenage girls, and college women. 

A review of the book on Amazon.com has this to say in part:

Then come the sex scenes. The first one is tolerable but as she goes on, they become so unbelievable that it becomes more laughable than erotic. She orgasms at the drop of a hat. He says her name and she orgasms. He simply touches her and she orgasms. It seems that she's climaxing on every page.

One has to wonder how a tasteful Gay Pride Month display that was historically accurate and featured noted authors, artists, etc. was too offensive for the sensibilities of Gloucester residents, yet there's a lengthy waiting list for Fifty Shades of Grey made up of women who are apparently just dying to read about "butt clamps" and "vagina balls" and more.  But there may be one explanation - at least for the book's popularity.  If you've seen many of the men from Gloucester County, the female inhabitants have good reason to read fiction to fulfill their sexual fantasies.  The male population for the most part is a veritable nightmare.  They make celibacy look like a really attractive option!