It's Not Sex, It's SeXXXercise!

MayorBob.

Posted to Business on Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 01:47:43 PM EST (promoted by 1fastdog). RSS.

Stephanie Babines wants everyone to know she's all about fitness first.  As a matter of fact she would like to earn a living helping women become more fit, trim, and limber.  But the zoning officials in Adams Township, Pennsylvania don't want to let her open her business.  What could possibly be objectionable about another having another fitness salon?  According to the authorities in Adams Township, it's not the fitness, it's the method Babines plans on using to get the ladies fit.  According to Babines, they're a bunch of narrow-minded blue noses and she's willing to go to court to prove her point.

Babines is the owner/operator of Oh My You're Gorgeous a ladies' exercise salon which features pole dancing as an exercise regime.  Actually, pole dancing is just one of the exercise programs her salon would offer.  Babines has a master's degree, a day job, and began work on opening her salon back in February.  She leased space in a shopping center and spent (US)$10,000 to refurbish the space to conform to a dance/fitness studio.  Then she applied for an occupancy permit from the township.  The township said no in a rejection letter back to her:

"We recently received information that would classify your business as an `Adult Business,' because of the content of your advertising and information from your websites."

She's been to two separate appeals hearing with the zoning board and both of them resulted in turndowns.  So, it's off to federal court with an assist from the ACLU.  Witold Walczak, executive director for the ACLU in Pittsburgh, said the ban by the township is an attack on Ms. Babines' First Amendment rights.  Walczak noted that pole dancing is not, in and of itself, prurient business and "have become an increasingly popular form of exercise for women around the country, and even in China, a country not known for freedom."  The complaint says that Babines considers "pole dancing to be both an art and a sport, and she believes that pole dancing demonstrates that women can be powerful, physically strong, and beautiful with their clothes on."  All the pole dancing classes offered require participants to be fully clothed.  Gary Peaco, the township code officer who wrote the rejection letter begs to disagree.  During testimony given at the two appeal hearings, Peaco said it didn't matter whether participants were naked or fully clothed.  He referred to the dance routines as "provocative ... containing sexual innuendo" and, therefore, the studio needed to be classified an adult business.  Peaco also said that Babines' web site "said it all" as to whether the business was too sexed-up for the township and commented that the colors selected by Babines were "often associated with sexy and seductive and are favored by porn sites."

Social commentator Violet Blue took a look at pole dancing and found it to be physical, not merely prurient, exercise.  Many people would agree with that as pole dancing is not merely for strip clubs anymore.  In fact, it has become an increasingly popular form of physical exercise around the nation.