The TEXXXAS pornography expo has been pushed out of the mainstream in Houston, Texas.
Instead of being hosted in a prestigious hotel, the TEXXXAS pornography expo will not be relegated into a seedy strip club.
This is an important victory for the movement to end sexual exploitation.
In less than two weeks, two hotels (Hilton Houston Galleria Area Hotel, and the independently owned Holiday Inn Southwest hotel) opted to break contracts with the TEXXXAS porn event.
Organizers have no choice but to use a strip club as a new venue. It’s significant that socially responsible corporations are refusing to do business with this expo in light of the many harms associated with pornography.
Among those concerns was the potential for an uptick in sex trafficking and prostitution.
We know this is likely, because Dallas police have reported that a similar pornography expo held there was directly linked to several arrests of men seeking to buy sex. Additionally, pornography expos are built around an industry that glorifies sexual violence against women, and the perpetuation of rape myths, and are therefore incompatible with any mainstream venue.
We applaud the local Hilton and Holiday Inn hotels for recognizing that this event exemplified the exact opposite of their brand standards for guest safety and anti-sex trafficking initiatives.
John Gray, the TEXXXAS event’s creator, claims the event will be PG.
But if his event is PG why did he attempt to assure the public with promises that the windows would be blacked out? And why would attendees have to be 18 years old to enter? The answers to these questions make it obvious that Mr. Gray’s event is right where it belongs: in a seedy strip club where the purpose of the expo—which is to leer at and sexually exploit women—cannot be denied or given a veneer of sophistication.”
Anyone who is interested in joining the larger movement opposing sexual exploitation in all of its forms is welcome to attend our Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation (CESE) Summit in Houston, TX, this Sept. 29 – Oct. 1.
This event will be the exact opposite of the TEXXXAS expo. At the CESE Summit you can learn more about the harms of pornography, sex trafficking, child sexual abuse and other topics, in addition to learning ways you can get involved and make a difference in your community.
