Vibrator nation : how feminist sex-toy stores changed the business of pleasure / Lynn Comella.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Comella, Lynn, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Vibrators (Massage)--United States.

Vibrators (Massage).

Sex toys--United States.

Sex toys.

Female masturbation--United States.

Female masturbation.

Female orgasm--United States.

Female orgasm.

Sex industry--United States.

Sex industry.

Feminism--United States.

Feminism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 pages)

Place of Publication:

Durham : Duke University Press, 2017.

Summary:

In the 1970s a group of pioneering feminist entrepreneurs launched a movement that ultimately changed the way sex was talked about, had, and enjoyed. Boldly reimagining who sex shops were for and the kinds of spaces they could be, these entrepreneurs opened sex-toy stores like Eve’s Garden, Good Vibrations, and Babeland not just as commercial enterprises, but to provide educational and community resources as well. In Vibrator Nation Lynn Comella tells the fascinating history of how these stores raised sexual consciousness, redefined the adult industry, and changed women's lives. Comella describes a world where sex-positive retailers double as social activists, where products are framed as tools of liberation, and where consumers are willing to pay for the promise of better living—one conversation, vibrator, and orgasm at a time.

Contents:

Introduction: the making of a market

The business of masturbation

Out of the therapist's office, into the vibrator shop

Living the mission

Repackaging sex

The politics of products

Sexperts and sex talk

Selling identity

Profitability and social change

Conclusion: grow or die?

Appendix: studying sexual culture and commerce.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780822372677

0822372673

OCLC:

1139388860