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Virginia Beach aims to remove 'vulgar' t-shirt, booty-shorts displays from storefronts

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Published  August 14, 2025 11:26am EDT
Virginia Beach
FOX 5 DC

The Brief

    • The Virginia Beach City Council has approved a resolution asking Oceanfront retailers to voluntarily remove indecent or vulgar T-shirts from their storefronts.
    • The city council says the displays create an "unwelcoming environment" for families and are not good for the city's brand.
    • This is a voluntary request, as officials say the legal standard for enforcing obscenity is difficult to prove.
    • The resolution has the unanimous support of the entire City Council.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Virginia Beach City Council has approved a resolution requesting that Oceanfront shops voluntarily remove vulgar clothing and other risqué merchandise from their storefronts. The resolution, which had the unanimous support of the council, is an effort to improve the city's "family-friendly" image and create a more welcoming environment for tourists and residents.

Souvenir clothing along Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Aug. 4, 2025. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

What we know:

Walking around Virginia Beach, it is a common sight to see t-shirts with "I love boobies," "It ain't gonna spank itself" and "M.I.L.F. Hunter" printed and displayed outside storefronts where thousands of tourists walk to the beach, often on family vacations.

The Virginia Beach City Council unanimously approved the resolution that explains how these items can create an "uncomfortable environment" for tourists and families in the area, highlighting the desire to create a more tasteful image for the popular Virginia tourism destination. 

According to Councilman Worth Remick, who represents part of the Oceanfront, the resolution is a "calm, gentle, nice way to say this is not good for our brand, for our city." The measure comes after a summer of complaints about lewd merchandise being displayed on Atlantic Avenue.

What's next:

A key part of the resolution is that it is a voluntary measure. The city has a history of cracking down on problematic behavior, but officials say that the legal standard for obscenity is a difficult standard to reach, which is why they are encouraging voluntary action from retailers.

The city council is also asking the Resort Advisory Commission and the Atlantic Avenue Association to take a public stance in support of a family-friendly environment and to encourage their members to comply with the resolution.

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