Over 50? Your sex toy store experiences
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| Joan at Smitten Kitten Minneapolis |
6/30/17 update: So many folks in our age group have never shopped in a sex toy shop, or think they’re all dark, scary, and sticky-floored. I describe today’s progressive sex toy store, demystify the experience of shopping there, and encourage you to find the closest store and visit in “How to Shop for Sex Toys” for Senior Planet. I quoted several of you! I hope you’ll comment there and copy your comment here, too. Thanks for being part of our community.
How old were you when you first visited a sex toy store? If your first visit was after age 50, what was that like for you? How did the staff make you feel comfortable (or not)? Was it difficult for you to ask questions? I invite you to share by posting a comment.
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| Good Vibrations San Francisco |
Many of my events are in sex toy stores. At 73, I’m comfortable in stores whose walls are populated by shelves of vibrators and dildos. I love to visit to see what’s new. I pal around with staff members, delighting in the kinds of discussions that sex nerds enjoy.
Yet I frequently hear from people of my generation that they don’t feel comfortable even going into a sex toy shop, let alone asking intimate questions of strangers who look to be the age of their grandchildren. I know what terrific resources these stores are, staffed by trained sex educators and filled with sex toys (aka “orgasm tools,” as I sometimes call them) that can intensify your sexual pleasure in ways you thought had disappeared or at least decreased after a certain number of birthdays.
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| Pleasure Chest NYC |
I’d love for this post to become a discussion. Whether you love sex toy shops or you’ve never dared go in one, or anything in between, please share your experiences and views as comments on this post.* You don’t have to use your real name (choose something other than “anonymous,” please, just so we can keep track of who’s saying what), but please give your real age.
I might want to quote from your experience in an upcoming article. I won’t identify you, except by age, unless you want me to. Thank you!
* Please, though, don’t post a comment aimed at promoting your own business. If you want to advertise on this blog (a very good idea if you want to reach our age group, but only after I scrutinize your site, the quality of your products, and your customer service), email me to inquire. Any commercial promotions disguised as comments will be swiftly deleted.
My age first visiting a sex store was 15 in France. I'm now 55 and still love browsing.
This is Quite lovely , i Need a Super Mum like you ,
Now at 66,however,I haven't been to this newer store,as each one is quite small.I have checked out their website and suggested that they invite you to do a workshop there as they haven't had any senior presenters.
I'd heard about our local feminist "love shop",a clean,well-lighted,respectful place for awhile but couldn't find any friends to go with me. At 53,I decided to go by myself and succeeded on the second attempt. I'd already done some research via the Good Vibrations catalog so had some idea what to look for and expect. The 30-something woman who helped me buy my first vibrator was friendly and respectful. The store went out of business after maybe 10 years (I think increasing rent and the location may have been factors)but our city now has two branches of a similar kind of feminist sex shop.
A little bit younger than 50 (age 48) but I've recently noticed how the I-Phone design ethic has resulted in very nicely designed toys that mimic the sleek I-Phone's design style. This is in the adult toy stores that are novelty and video only stores without any adult theaters attached to the store.
Cyberdolphnow
It was around 50, I don't remember exactly. I was buying some toys as gifts. I didn't feel hesitant about it. The staff were perfectly friendly and helpful. Not a problem. Perhaps I should mention, this was in New York City, where there's a lot of knowledge and discussion of sex-related topics, and a lot of openness about them.
Ok, I'll go first. Age at visit: 59 What was it like for you?: Having never used toys in the bedroom I was really a bit like a fish out of water. Some, I will admit I had no idea what they were for. VERY embarrassed to actually take something to the counter so I didn't buy anything. I couple very young lady's came up and asked if I needed some help. Ok, they were about 20 something, I'm almost 60. My thought was "what do they think they can actually help me with? I don't even know what I'm really looking for." Would it have helped with a 50+ woman there to help? I don't know. So yes, it was difficult to ask questions both because of the age difference and the fact that I really didn't know what I was looking for or why I was actually there. All in all it was interesting and I learned a few things I didn't know before I waled in. Did I go again? Yep, just looking