Educational Sex Shops in Canada

For much of the twentieth century, adult shops in Canada were mostly discreet, male-oriented and unwelcoming to many shoppers. In the 1990s a different model appeared: the educational sex shop, which pairs products with books, workshops and a public mission of normalizing talk about sex. Such shops opened in several Canadian cities, and they are often credited with making a taboo subject more acceptable.

Origins

Many early educational shops were small spaces that combined a bookstore with a sex shop and were aimed mainly at women. Founders often came from other fields such as community organizing, education or small business, and they described a wish to create a place where questions about sexuality could be asked without embarrassment. The audience soon widened to include people of all genders, couples and groups.

Opening and expanding

Expansion is not simple for businesses in the adult sector. Owners commonly report difficulty finding landlords willing to lease space, and municipal zoning rules can also limit where such shops operate. Some owners bring press clippings and letters of support to show that a business is respectable. Anniversary events, open houses and parties are common ways to build a local following.

Community funding

Linking retail to community funding is a recognizable pattern among sex-positive businesses. Some shops hold parties and donate a portion of sales to scholarships, bursaries or community organizations, often for women, trans people and other groups who face barriers to education.

What educational means in practice

The educational approach usually combines several elements.

• Workshops on varied sexual topics, mainly held in the store.
• Talks in classrooms and on campuses, where audiences tend to be curious.
• Presentations to doctors and other health professionals about discussing sexuality with patients in a respectful way.
• A sales style in which staff answer questions without pressing a particular product.

Owners sometimes compare the customer experience to ordinary shoe shopping, and some customers wish staff would simply choose for them. Staff are generally trained to describe materials, uses and care, and to avoid medical claims.

Regulation and standards

Adult products sold in Canada are subject to consumer protection rules and to the Criminal Code provisions on obscenity. Many sex toys are sold without medical-device status, so material claims vary between manufacturers, and educational shops often point to sellers' stated material composition.

How the model has changed

Online sales have changed adult retail considerably, and many educational shops have added websites and virtual workshops. Operations, staffing and programs differ over time, so descriptions of individual shops reflect the period in which they were written.