Page 16 - AVN Intimate Fall 2017

FEATURE
By ShERRi L. ShAULis
The Pleasure Seekers
Lynn Comella’s ‘Vibrator Nation’ chronicles the sex-toy revolution
Vibrator Nation does an excellent job of
manufacturers who share a mission of
educating readers about the role women such
providing pleasure products made from body-
as Betty Dodson played in encouraging women
safe materials to hiring staff members who are
to explore their own bodies and sexuality
passionate about helping customers overcome
through masturbation, as well as suggesting
their fears and find the right toys.
they find pleasure products to help achieve
“While these decisions vary from company
orgasm.
to company, feminist retailers spend a great
One of the more intriguing chapters is titled
deal of time, energy, and care evaluating—and
“Repackaging Sex.” Comella starts off the
often debating—which items will make it
chapter by recounting her visit in 2015 to a Las
onto their shelves and what this merchandise
Vegas adult bookstore. The store, considered
communicates not only about sex and gender
a “dinosaur” by today’s standards, features
but also, importantly, about their businesses,”
video arcade booths that serve as “a space for
Comella writes.
sexual encounters, especially for gay, bisexual,
Other chapters focus on the reliance of
bi-curious, and closeted straight men that
today’s feminist adult boutiques on sex experts
use the arcade for anonymous or clandestine
and sex educators to train staff members and
liaisons,” Comella writes. It’s the kind of
customers on the latest innovations and their
store “feminists like Dell Williams and Joani
benefits; branding a store and becoming a
Blank rebelled against when they started their
trusted resource of the community; and how
vibrator businesses in the 1970s. They are also
feminist and sex-positive stores have changed
examples of a dying breed of sex shop.”
the landscape of sex toy manufacturing.
Vibrator Nation is an essential read for anyone
interested in opening an adult boutique, or
who already owns one and is looking for
inspiration—and for anyone who is interested
in the history of adult boutiques and what
they might look like in the years to come.
It’s apparent Comella has a deep respect and
admiration for the people she interviewed and
for their missions. Unlike so many academic
books, there is no condescending attitude
toward the industry or its people, but it is
not strictly a gushing love letter with no real
substance. Comella took years to research and
write Vibrator Nation, and the hard work shows.
And while she hypothesizes a bit on where
the industry and feminist adult boutiques
are headed, it would be intriguing to see her
revisit the state of the industry with an updated
version of the books in a few years.
Sex Toy Historian Lynn Comella, author of “Vibrator Nation”
that take an academic study approach
Even in 2017, there are not many books
to the adult industry, let alone to the
pleasure products industry. Lynn
Comella, who spent years researching and
writing Vibrator Nation, traces the movement
that changed not only the way sex and sex toys
are talked about, but also how they are sold,
marketed, developed and more.
Comella (pictured above; photo by
Krystal Ramirez) starts off with a concise yet
comprehensive history of the roles women were
expected for decades to happily and eagerly
fill (wife and mother); research by the likes of
Betty Friedan and Alfred Kinsey, which found
women were not only open to more sexual
experiences but also having them outside the
confines of marriage; the attacks on pornography
and sex toys by governments at the local, state
and federal levels that seemed to unfairly target
women; the emergence of sex-positive feminist
sex stores; and the sea change as old-school sex
stores and sex toy manufacturers catering to men
came to realize the buying power of women and
shifted to become more female-friendly.
From that introduction, Comella addresses
specific points about the people who have
made great strides in the evolution of pleasure
product retailers, the economic and social
factors that have forced changes in the business
model through the years, and the shift to focus
on women as purchasers and not just users of
pleasure products.
16 | INTIMATE | FALL 2017
This is an essential read
for anyone who owns an
adult boutique or is
interested in opening
one—or for anyone
interested in the history
of adult stores and what
they might look like in the
years to come.
Through the chapter, Comella details the
emergence of sex boutiques that dedicated
themselves to providing information and
education on everything from the products
they stocked to the anatomy of their customers
to the resources available for all types of
sex and sexuality. She also details the rise—
particularly in the 1990s—of stores that made
changes in their aesthetics and inventory to
met the wants and needs of a new clientele.
She tells the stories of Babeland, Good
Vibrations and other pioneering feminist
stores that did away with the look and feel
of “raincoater” stores and instead opted for
better lighting, themed displays and a cleaner
atmosphere to create a space “that was not
only warm and welcoming, but communicated
a set of messages about women’s sexuality that
was different from those one would typically
find in a traditional adult store.”
That segues into the next chapter, “The
Politics of Products,” where she talks
about how even feminist stores struggle
with the products they carry, from finding
Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores
Changed the Business of Pleasure, by Lynn Comella;
Duke University Press; 266 pages including end
notes; $25.95 list price.