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Senate Bill Would Snip Faux Testicles On Vehicle Bumpers

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 18, 2008

Updated: 04/18/2008 03:35 pm

TAMPA - With gasoline skyrocketing and the housing slump pulling down Florida's economy, legislators this week found time to talk about fake bull's testicles that hang from the rear bumpers of vehicles.

Often, they hang from the backs of pickup trucks.

The state Senate this week opened discussions on the squeamish subject. One senator wants the owners subject to a $60 fine.

The move comes as the vehicle accessories are growing in popularity, thanks in part to the Internet sales of brands such as Your Nutz and BullsBalls.

This may be more a reaction to a worsening economy than an expression of manliness, said cultural anthropologist Allan Burns, who teaches at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

"In these times when people are not having fun and houses are being foreclosed upon and the economy is so bad," Burns said, "the fact that people can be a little cheerful may be a good thing.

"In some sense, I think that people have a playful attitude," he said. "Human beings have playful spirits and sometimes that gets expressed in ways like this. I don't think it's evil or vicious.

"I suspect that it's not as much some kind of statement about manliness," he said, "as it is just some kind of goofiness."

Burns said he has seen the adornments but doesn't know anyone who has them.

"I drive a Prius," he said, "so I wouldn't put them on it."

Your Nutz, a California Internet mail-order business, boasts colors including sun-kissed sienna, dark forest green and even electric blue lighted sets that cast an eerie glow.

David Ham, founder and owner of Your Nutz, said today the replica bull testicle business is booming and he welcomes the free publicity generated by the Florida Senate's discussion.

"Every time this happens," he said, "it drives my sales through the roof. I can't thank this lawmaker enough. I'm considering contributing to these guys who are coming up with these bills."

"Don't these legislators have better things to do?" he said. "If this is the most important thing to worry about in your state, I want to move there."

Without the Internet, Ham said, "I wouldn't have started this business, and there would not be a testicle industry."

BullsBalls boasts a wide variety of products, ranging in price from the mid-teens to more than $50 a set. The Arizona retailer sells mocha, ivory, pink, silver, gold and chrome, too.

BullsBalls owner John Saller said he has been selling the product for more than 10 years and now ships about 500 sets a month.

He said he has even swung deals with new car dealerships in other states to attach the replicas to new cars, if buyers want them.

"I sell mostly to states along the East Coast, and Texas and Montana," he said. He heard about the move in the Florida Legislature this week, he said, but he's not concerned.

"Florida is not the first state to do this," he said. Virginia and New Jersey legislators have tried similar sanctions, and so far all attempts to reel in the replicas have failed, he said.

"It's a First Amendment thing," he said.

His advice: "If you're driving down the road with your kid and your kid asks, 'What's that?' and you don't know what to say, just tell them 'That's a male truck.'"

Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, sparked the Florida discussion this week. Senators tried not to get too graphic as a bunch of school children watched from the gallery.

The fate of the bill remained up in the air and could be decided next week, but the discussion revealed some strong opinions.

Sen. Victor Crist, a Republican whose district covers part of Hillsborough and Pasco counties, was flabbergasted that it took place at all.

"It was a waste of time," he said this morning. "We have better things to do than sit down and listen to a debate on whether or not someone should be allowed to hang an ornament on their trailer hitch or not.

"To me," he said, "It's a First Amendment right of personal expression as long as it's not rude, crude or lewd, and it has not been proven to be that."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

Reader Comments

Posted by ( Come_on ) on April 18, 2008 at 12:46 p.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by ( BernHard ) on April 18, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

It's nuts how these legislators worry about a bunch of bull.