Sexual Health Boutique vs Jack Shack: The Changing Face of Sex Shops
Posted at 10:46 PM Aug 07, 2008
Photo of Freddy & Eddy's front room (of their shop, not their home) from my Flickr stream wakingvixen
My pal Ian Denchasy, the Freddy half of one of my absolute favorite sex shops, Freddy and Eddy in Los Angeles, has a piece at AVN Novelty called What's Wrong With Sexual Health?. It's written in response to a recent piece by Tony Lovett, the publisher of AVN Novelty (the sex toy-specific publication from Adult Video News), in which Lovett is critical of the upscaling of sex shops and the resistance to using words like "porn" and "adult" because it further reinforces that these are bad things (I'm paraphrasing here).
Ian and his wife and business partner use the phrase "sexual health boutique" to describe their shop, and I think its apt. I don't think that the concept of the "sexual health boutique" is sugar-coating the time honored tradition of porn-lined stores with florescent lighting. Instead, the upscaling of the industry not only appeals to a different audience, but creates the message that there are comfortable boutiques to go to not just for a new pocket rocket when the old one's motor goes on the fritz, but also to learn and perhaps seek out community.
At the same time, I don't think the other kind of porn shops and sex toy marketing will ever go away - and even if it makes some people's skin crawl, those shops certainly have a right to exist. Particularly if they keep turning a profit. It also needs to be recognized that, for many people, there is a definite appeal to the seedier side of sex. Hell, I'll admit to having dropped in on the various unsavory porn shops in my day, it's a bit of an illicit thrill.
--Audacia Ray
Yep, there is certainly a place for both... sometimes one is more in the mood for a Babeland, Good Vibrations or Freddy & Eddy's and other times, the windowless, cramped Smut Shack provides its own excitement!
I actually just visited Freddy & Eddy for the first time last week, when my wife and I attended the In The Flesh reading for July. It was great, their store is so cozy & welcoming and they are both so friendly. I even got to borrow some books! I want to go back soon and shop for some toys, ask them for their opinion on things and of course go back for more erotic readings... :)
Posted by: Brian47 at August 8, 2008 3:11 AM
Actually, I have nothing against the upscaling of sex shops, and get a kick out of Freddy and Eddy, as well as Babeland, Coco, Kiki, Good Vibes, and other high-end variations on a theme. Like you, I also see the intrinsic value in their low-end brethren. The classic adult bookstore is to this new breed as a dive bar is to an upscale "scene" club. Both have their merits, their times, and their place. Ian and I love to spar, and our biggest bone of contention has often to do with disagreement over the language and semantics surrounding this "upscaling." Go ahead and adopt whatever key phrases you think will help your cause, but there's no need to then turn around and decry "porn" and "adult" as our enemies. That's only true if you make it so, and you make it so by empowering these words with your fear. Wringing our hands over "Porn" and "adult" gives our enemies ammunition against us, more than the words themselves could provide. From the pulpit or on the campaign trail, Politicians and priests, while often being exquisitely perverted, are not stupid. If it hasn't happened yet, then I predict we will soon hear the sarcastic tones in which "sexual health" will be belittled as just another word for the "same ol', thing." We know that's not true, but we're not doing our industry any favors in the long run by dumping the language that has worked for us--and that carries positive meanings to millions of consumers for whom it is part of their lexicon.
So I'm all about onward and upward, but with as few "verbal sacrifices" as possible. No one forces someone to call their store "adult" or "pornographic," but for those who wish to do so of their own volition, I feel they should not be judged as being any lesser than those prescribe to "sexual health." Personally, I would take an njoy or Lelo product any day over an inflatable doll, but I would not seek to diminish the legitimacy of the doll as a source of pleasure for someone else. And that's the vibe conveyed in some of the language we hear not only from Ian, but from his more strident peers as well.
I mean, let's be honest. Who really wants to see the glory hole go the way of the triceratops?
I say, can't we all just get along?
Tony "Rodney King" Lovett
Publisher AVN Novelty Business
Posted by: Tony at August 8, 2008 5:44 AM
And also, some places like Babeland and Sparatcus Leathers in Portland OR (where I once worked) are simply retail outlets. You buy things and take them elsewhere--you cannot have sex on the premises, which is totally different from say, a midtown 8th Ave, NYC 'DVD' store, where you can buy a dildo and silicone lube and shack up (with a buddy or not) and watch porn for as long as your wallet can stand.
Posted by: Charlie at August 8, 2008 12:23 PM
