For all the bad press, hubbub baloney that the John Stagliano/anti-obscenity lawsuit has caused our industry, I defy you to go into your local Walgreens, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart and go to the ‘family planning’ section. Please. Do it. Even better, go to their websites. Google any one of these companies with the words ‘personal massager’. You know what you’re going to find? Oh, in the stores you’ll start with your Healthometer personal massagers and Trojan vibrating rings and maybe even some Kama Sutra weekender kits, but online you will find the full Doc Johnson, Pipedream, Cal Exotics, etc. line of dildos, toys, vibrators, you-name-it.
Then we get this obscenity bull. Um, did you not know this was the “adult industry”? Don’t you know why it’s called that?? Why is it that “Pussy Torture 8″ hit your radar, but not 1-7? The story line finally get too rough for you?
On that note….let me first say, I LOVE being in this industry. Like no other industry I’ve ever been in, this is the best. People in this industry are 99% the best people you will ever meet. They’re honest, down-to-earth, anti-cut-throat (hey, I said 99%) and have the BEST sense of humor as a industry culture that you will ever meet (did I mention Pussy Torture 8? – I’m a liberal, feminist, hetero, monogamous mom of 3 and that cracks me up).
That brings me back to Walgreens. We are mainstream. We are in your everyday life. You download us, albeit secretively in some cases, but you can’t go into a 7-11 and not see the Enzyte next to the gum at the check out counter. We are everywhere. We permeate your Superbowl ads. You can cover up the Cosmo cover at your local Piggly Wiggly all you want, but you have warming lube next to your 2% milk in your grocery cart. That Hitachi Magic Wand you keep in that purse you don’t ‘use anymore’ in your closet isn’t going to charge itself. Lelo, Vida and Babeland wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t a new sexual consciousness sweeping the globe. I picked up the Eueopean Adult Industry News mag today to read that a director of a big British toy chain is concerned about the economy and our industry’s future in it. Boy, grow a pair. Look at the signs. If you let this happen, it will.
You know what I’m going to do. I’m going to look at Walgreens, I’m going to look at NACS (read: giant national convenience store trade show) this fall, I’m going to look at the reality of the situation. This crap is akin to prohibition. You’re not going to stop people from having sex (even if it’s just with themselves and a Fleshlight) anymore than you’re going to keep me from my evening glass(es) of wine. Look at the numbers, drinking and sex do not go down in economic downturns. Just the tipping. Ha ha (can you tell I’ve bartended?).
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, look outside a bit of our wonderful industry and look to expand. Don’t let the big, bad wolf scare you. If she’s so scary, I’ve got Pussy Torture 9 waiting for her….
Becky is the Product Sales Manager for Empire Labs, Inc.