Associated with sensuality and pleasure, sex toys are increasingly coveted by women. 7% of them admit to using them. Erotic gadgets are emerging from the grim and sordid shackles they were once confined to.
In the past, the “market” for sex toys was not very attractive in France when one wanted to entertain themselves by purchasing a sex toy. Two options were available to the prospective buyer: either visiting a sex shop, which was no easy feat, or opting for discretion by ordering from a mail-order catalog, like La Redoute or Les Trois Suisses… knowing full well that the products presented did not have a very exciting appearance.
Are French women more uptight than others?
For many, sex toys are often synonymous with sexual poverty. This marks a real boundary between the southern countries, which are rather resistant, and the northern countries, which are big fans! The Netherlands even launched the first vending machine for vibrators—an apparatus resembling sandwich or hot drink vending machines. It allows, at any time of day or night, the purchase of erotic toys or naughty lingerie. But be warned, access to this dangerous machine is strictly reserved for adults.
Sex Toys in every aisle
Chic porn arrived in France five years ago. Since then, sex toys have stepped out of their ghetto and are enjoying widespread success among women. The sexual object is becoming less dramatized; the price is affordable, and the advice from complicit vendors is given without being vulgar. In haute couture or department stores, a variety of shameless naughty accessories are making their appearance.
Once scandalous, they have been redesigned and renamed “sex toys” by Nathalie Rykiel. The daughter of the famous designer opened a boutique in September 2004 where, in the basement, one can find naughty gadgets which, according to her, “participate in the pursuit of erotic pleasure.” Enough to reconcile French women with these objects, “presented in a funny and friendly manner.” As a result, women dare to take the step!
Adult versions of pajama parties, and less “outdated” than Tupperware meetings, Yoba evenings showcase the virtues of intimate toys to an assembly of women. The concept is appealing. Playful and colorful, all the women leave with their new “toys.” Already several dozen sex toy ambassadors are working in major French cities.
The lotions are causing a sensation
Evoking the sensuality of touch and smell, the perfume chain Sephora launched a new range of cosmetics last February that can be licked, smelled, and kissed. The goal of the operation: to lather the body, exhale the senses, and ultimately intoxicate one’s partner.
“Would you like to taste with me tonight?” That’s the slogan used by Jessica Simpson, the creator of this line, to hook the consumer.
Body foam that can be sprinkled with candies, “kissable” body powder, mini gloss for the navel, make up the “Les Desserts” range. They come in three different fragrances: red fruits, vanilla-caramel, and chocolate-coconuts. “These edible lotions are all the rage,” says Laurianne, a sales advisor in a Sephora store in Nice. “People buy them for serious reasons, as naughty products, or less serious reasons, as funny gifts.”
Sex toys, objects synonymous with pleasure, today French women want to consume eroticism without moderation.
Elsa Rigaudin
