Wink: Sex Positive!
It’s a bright, clean space with no sign of plastic penis straws or boob macaroni.
“Stripper heels are great, but at Pricilla’s there’s always a creepy guy behind the counter,” says Rich, a pixie-haired Ph.D. student in human sexuality. Her goal is to change shopping for sexual accessories from an awkward experience to a comfortable and educational one (a la the mother of all feministy sex-toy-shops, Good Vibrations in San Francisco).
Immediately, Rich dives into a spirited tour of the store, picking up alien-looking objects. “We have externals – which are just for your clit,” she says in a dramatic stage whisper, “and internals – which are not just for your clit.”
She then motions, Vanna White-like, to the “Wall of Local,” where she plans to spotlight a local designer each month. This month: Katie O. Designs. “She makes vibrator covers in all these cool, reversible materials,” Rich explains. “That way, when your parents come to your house, they have no idea what the hell that is.”
There’s also the Wall of Condoms (with different styles blown up for illustrative purposes); they sell for 75 cents each or in a mix-and-match bag of 12 for $8. But they’re not pina-colada flavored or neon-colored. Likewise, massage oils come in sophisticated scents such as lychee and cucumber.
Rich is proud of selling sex toys that don’t look like sex toys: vibrators made out of tiny, surgical-grade metal specifically for strapping onto a tongue; other vibrators that look like tubes of lipstick and rubber duckies; comforters with discreet straps for tying a person down on a bed.
On the flip side, she picks up a huge, flesh-colored, veiny dildo with a giant red base. “I don’t like stuff like this, and I’m probably going to stop carrying it because it’s kind of offensive to me, but it’s what people think of when they think of a dildo,” she says. “I’m trying to get Kansas City away from this idea.”
Rich means to educate. She describes herself as “a younger Dr. Ruth without the Israeli sniper training,” and she knows her stuff. She keeps the water-based lubricants separate from the silicone-based ones, advising that silicone will break down the latex in condoms. And she notes that the Tom and Sally’s chocolate body paint is only for use above the waist because, after all, “Sugar plus vagina equals yeast infection.” Many items are made from medical-grade materials.
A woman with a degree in library science rules over Rich’s book selection. Other employees include an STD expert, a breast-cancer researcher and a certified midwife. A staffer named Catherine is going to grad school in social work. Rich plans to hold workshops with names like Sex Toy 101 and Backdoor 101 and provide information on sex for people over 50 and sex for people with disabilities.
Those the store is “sex-positive,” Rich keeps curtains over the windows in deference to her landlord’s wishes. Also, you have to be 18 to enter -- and Rich says she checks IDs.
Tonight’s grand opening party lasts until 10 p.m., with free food and music by DJ Lynx. – Nadia Pflaum
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