Local Toronto radio host Jim Richards took an interest in gay porn this week on his “showgram” on Newstalk 1010, reacting to an Xtra exclusive that reveals FedEx refuses to ship porn.
This week Xtra told you the story of Todd Klinck, co-owner of Goodhandy’s on Church St – “Toronto’s pansexual playground” – who attempted to courier a box filled with perfectly legal gay porn from a downtown FedEx Kinko’s location to Pierre Fitch, a Montreal-based pornstar.
After clarifying what “pansexual” means, Richards speaks to Klinck about FedEx’s confusing internal policies. “I have a feeling it would have been fine it wasn’t same-sex stuff,” Richards says. “I don’t want to say they’re homophobic, but this is a little unusual, I think.” Klinck stops the conversation from steering in that direction. He tells Richards the FedEx staff member is just doing his job. “There was no gay-baiting,” Klinck says. “None of that.” The FedEx manager interviewed by Richards, identified only as “Donna,” explains, rather convolutedly, that the company is indeed searching packages to ensure no explosives or other sinister items are going through couriers. These are new rules put in place following the recent terrorism scare involving explosive devices shipped by cargo, she says. FedEx is following the lead of the American government, which banned printer cartridges from luggage. “We as airline shipping companies are obligated to search and secure any freight from an unknown shipper, meaning you don’t have an account with the company and haven’t carried on business with the company in the last 30 days,” Donna tells Richards. “It’s just a matter of securing the freight. “We need to ensure there is nothing bad in there. And the only way to ensure that is to actually search the package.” Klinck says searching every package is logistically impossible, especially given that FedEx guarantees overnight shipping. Then, Donna adds, “we are not supposed to be shipping pornography, either.” “Who gets to decide what is or is not pornography?” Richards asks. “There’s Maxim, Hustler, Playgirl.” Donna calls that debate “a whole different ball of wax… anything could be on those tapes. You don’t know.” Richards makes a good point, suggesting a DVD case with an image of a Disney film on the cover could contain graphic child pornography as well. Likewise any package could potentially be mislabelled. “I wonder if I tried to mail out a couple Jenna Jameson DVDs (through Fed Ex) would it be a problem?” he asks. “I think that’s a little ridiculous.” At the end of the segment, Richard pats himself on the back for giving the gay community so much visibility. “We’re big in the gay community right now,” Richards boasts.
Why you can trust Xtra
