Sex Sells in West Chester... Still!

Because we here at Phillyist firmly believe that there's nothing wrong with owning a sex toy or two—hell, we think every girl needs at least one vibrator!—we've been intrigued by the recent plight of Jill McDevitt, a small business owner just outside the city in West Chester. McDevitt's store, Feminique Boutique, an adult novelty shop in the college town's Business District, came under fire earlier this month when Msgr. Edward Deliman of St. Agnes Church alerted his parishioners of the store's existence—and its location, one block from the church and its adjoining school. Deliman said the store's proximity was corrupting the morals of the children who attended the school and church, and last week filed an appeal of the building permit McDevitt obtained to open her store.

This initial story saddened us greatly. Hasn't it been proven, time and again, that kids with no exposure to sexuality or education about sex end up, on the whole, making worse decisions and having worse experiences when they do become sexually active? But we're not the only ones who were upset: McDevitt received an outpouring of support in the form of an online petition, garnering signatures from as far away as China. And now St. Agnes Church has withdrawn its appeal, deciding instead to "focus its efforts on amending the borough code to prevent similar 'adult' establishments in the future." Their re-zoning efforts could mean an end to Feminique Boutique in the long run, but for now, sex is alive, well, and residing in the West Chester Business District.

Hurrah!

Image Credit: Flickr user sorian.