Saturday, September 17, 2005

The Globe and Mail: Sex toys coming soon to drugstore near you
Canada is soooo cool...

Better believe it. Shoppers Drug Mart, the country's largest drugstore chain, Wal-Mart Canada and a slew of other stores have entered into agreements to stock their shelves, coast to coast, with a new line of sex toys, discreetly called "sexual well-being products."

The move is especially surprising for Wal-Mart, which doesn't sell video games rated "adult-only" and recently removed a magazine from one of its stores after a customer complained that it was too sexual.

But Wal-Mart Canada spokesman Kevin Groh said the product line is a good fit, as the company caters to the Canadian mainstream and, as such, carries products that reflect mainstream tastes.

He added, however, that some of Wal-Mart's customers will undoubtedly disapprove. "It would be naive of us to think every product we stock would meet the approval of every single customer in the store."

Sex toys and Wal-Mart?

According to some sex educators, it underscores a growing acceptance for open discourse about sex in Canada.

"People have a disposition to explore sexuality," said Cory Silverburg, a sex educator and co-owner of Come As You Are, a Toronto sex toy, book and video store. "I'm thrilled to be living in a country where we can do that."

I would love to see them try this here. All the fundies would be apoplectic, and that would be a riot.