The Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce has made a poor decision.

Shame on the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce for peddling pictures of a naked boy sheathed by a “sold” sign in their “Men of Glastonbury Chamber 2016” calendar (blandly reported here by the Hartford Courant).  The suggestive calendar, full of images of naked men posing behind various housewares, goods and signs, is a fundraiser for the Chamber.  These titillating calendars have been published for years and appear to raise money while simultaneously lowering Connecticut’s standards for taste and culture.

But this year with your $10 donation, you will acquire at best, an incredibly naive attempt at humor and worse, a child’s photo with a possible #4 ranking of “posing” on the COPINE scale of sexual quality.  The COPINE scale helps therapists identify and make distinctions between obviously obscene and pornographic material versus sexually suggestive or non-suggestive child photography.

According to the scale, it should be considered “posing” to place the image of this pre-pubescant, nearly-naked boy in an even mildly suggestive setting such as in a calendar of nearly nude men.  Even more suggestive when the same page includes four barely-covered naked men openly marketing their services.  I find it hard to believe that nobody, from the owners of the realty company, to the photographer, to the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce, had concerns over this picture and its inclusion in this collection.  That said, the stupid award must go to the persons that decided to place a “sold” sign in front of the boy’s developing manhood.

What parade of horribles should his parents now guard against as the internet discovers this incredibly naive image?  A good start would be for The Hartford Courant to remove this image from their online gallery of photos.  The Family Institute of Connecticut has previously warned against human trafficking in Connecticut and encourages policy makers to be pro-active.

The Family Institute of Connecticut understands that mistakes and poor judgements happen.  We hope that more companies , organizations and people will turn against the pornographic incrementalism our culture is embracing and seek less tawdry ventures to market their commerce.