In the early 1980s, when video stores were the new thing and the novelty of being able to rent pornography on VHS was all the rage, the majority of customers renting adult titles were 99% male. By the time we closed our store in 2004, it was not surprising to see a female or two browsing the shelves in the "back room"! But in the early days, you would never see female customers surveying the shelves in the "porn section". Except that is for one brave soul. "Grandma' Porn!", as she was known to the staff was a sweet, gentle old lady in her eighties who would often rent adult, and soft adult titles on a regular basis. Her favorite were films with the words "teenage" or "cheerleader" in the title. She would march bravely into the secluded adult section often startling the male customers who would almost always exit upon her arrival. I never quite knew for sure if they left because they feared she would chastise them or hit on them. In any case this aging suffragette took the first brave steps in opening doors and knocking down barriers for all women who would someday know the feeling of renting porn without shame! Illustration by Dave Perillo.
