What's it really like to work in a sex shop in Canada?
Day one Got a call from ELLE Canada. They want me to work at a couple of sex shops in Toronto for a few days to find out what turns Canadians on. I've been a baker, a waitress -- even a slaughterhouse worker -- but this is a first for me. It's kind of inti-midating for a (lapsed) Catholic girl. What if someone I know recognizes me?
Day two First day at Lovecraft in upscale Yorkville. Pink walls, soft lighting and hushed tones. I am dazzled by the displays containing hundreds of hard, jelly and silicone penises in every shape and size, vibrating tongues, cock rings and Fuzzy Boobie Danglers. Start my unofficial training with store owner Anne Amitay. Amitay opened Lovecraft -- Canada's first sex store -- with fellow teacher Mary Sutherland in 1972. (Their original idea of distributing teaching aids for children with developmental disabilities fell through due to funding problems.) Within a week of opening, stock sold out. At first, customers were mostly men, but now 60 percent are women.
Amitay shows me around the store. "We don't sell just anything,"she says, pausing in front of some whips and paddles hanging in the SM section. "We definitely wouldn't sell anything like Spanish Fly. Or anything hardcore that's degrading to women or men."The cuddly bear and dolphin vibrators catch my eye. "The trend for cute vibrators started about 10 years ago,"explains Amitay. "Since then, it has really picked up momentum. Many women, it seems, don't like their toys to look like penises-they like them to look more unthreatening."
Day three Need to familiarize myself with the inventory. Since Lovecraft sells some 13,000 vibrators and dildos each year, I decide to take a shortcut. On the counter is a big black binder full of the secrets of the sex-toy trade. Put together to help the staff find customers their perfect toy, the binder is crammed with staff reviews of everything from the G-spot Vibe and the Micro Butterfly to the Rabbit Pearl. The triple-gold-star award goes to the Dancing Egg, a.k.a. the Gizmoz. It was launched 20 years ago and costs $15. "It was beyond fun!" wrote an employee. "Because of the speed control, you can either binge for hours or be more practical and get off in just a few minutes. Absolutely unbelievable!"
Armed with this new-found knowledge, I head out onto the shop floor. In the book section, middle-aged, well-coiffed couples browse through shelves stacked with titles like The Clitourist: A Guide to One of the Hottest Spots on Earth. Nearby, a twentysomething strokes his newborn's head, cooing softly over the dressing-room door where his partner poses in a lacy, see-through number.
Day four Need to check out the competition, so I've got some time lined up with Seduction on Yonge Street. Step into a cavernous, warehouse-style store with fluorescent lighting. Seduction lures a broader demographic than Lovecraft and draws more from the lesbian and gay population. "There are three floors to check out," cries a clerk in his late 20s to patrons entering the store, catching the attention of a Bay Street fellow in a pinstripe suit clutching a copy of a Boss Bitches DVD. Across the aisle is a collection of Candida Royalle DVDs-a hit with women-with titles like The Gift and My Surrender. "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right," bellows the clerk. And there's lots of fun to be had in this store. Seduction's most popular item is the Fukuoku 9000 Finger Vibe, a blockbuster seller since the tiny vibrator was promoted on the syndicated Talk Sex with Sue Johanson show. Made in China, it sells for $40 and has been on the market for about three years.
The store manager, 27-year-old Philippe Gauthier, talks me through the merchandise. "There's so much still to learn about the business," he says, "despite working for the chain for seven years in both Montréal and Toronto." He tells me that Torontonians are much more adventurous than their Québécois counterparts. "People here go much deeper into their fetishes," Gauthier explains, arching his eyebrows knowingly as I take in the titles of videos nearby: Transamore, More than a Woman, Bang Bang She Male. Gauthier shows me the jewel in the Seduction crown: the $12,000 Realdoll. Displayed in her own private room, this one-of-a-kind make-believe masterpiece is created with state-of-the-art Hollywood special-effects technology. Her completely articulated skeleton allows for anatomically correct positioning, and her silicone-rubber skin feels like real skin. The Realdoll is designed according to the customer's specifications; he can choose her body type, face, even her fingernail colour. This "dream woman" is packaged as "the most realistic love doll in the world."
Day five It's 10 a.m. and I am scheduled to work the noon-to-nine shift at Seduction today. Oddly, I feel sort of redundant. I decide to stay home instead.
