Pucker Up: Eighth Annual Sexy Gift Guide
High-tech vibrators, anal treasures, and rock-star porn.
by Tristan Taormino.

Porn-loving lesbians are in luck: Adult movies by, for, and featuring real dykes are enjoying a resurgence, so you can stuff the stockings of the queer women in your life with lots of DVDs this year. The Feminist Porn Award–winning In Search of the Wild Kingdom ($34.95, blowfish.com), is a mock-umentary about San Francisco queers. Early to Bed's Special Delivery ($29.95, early2bed.com) and Comstock Films' Ashley & Kisha ($27.95, comstockfilms.com) both star real-life couples; Belladonna's Evil Pink 2 features super-hot girl/girl sex ($37.95, smittenkittenonline.com). Speaking of Belladonna, I found the perfect gifts for her:a "Sister Fister" T-shirt ($19.99, cafepress.com/zombiedonkey) and the Nob Essence "Fling," a wooden G-spot dildo ($140, goodvibes.com) that's part sculpture, part impaler.

For the intellectual perverts and perverted intellectuals on your list, give them some smutty reading/gazing material, like Stacked Decks: The Art and History of Erotic Playing Cards ($24.95, blowfish.com); The Best of Best American Erotica, edited by Susie Bright ($14); Michael Grecco's Naked Ambition; or L.A. Bondage, by photographer Dave Naz ($39.95). Ogling Naz's fabulous pics of women bound inspires another gift for bondage fans: a pair of Aslan Padded Suspension Cuffs ($120, smittenkittenonline.com). My favorite new leather toy is the Five Finger Palm Harness ($57, smittenkittenonline.com), a dildo harness for your hand. Strap your favorite dildo—perhaps Vixen's Mustang ($105, babeland.com) or the Jollies Original ($89.99, smittenkittenonline.com)—to the palm of your hand and free up your fingers for other exciting stimulation.

Speaking of stimulation, 2007 truly was the year of the vibrator. More unique, innovative vibrators were released this year than ever before, and any one (or more!) of them would make a great gift. The stunningly designed, surprisingly quiet Nea ($85.95, blowfish.com) is truly a work of art, and perfect for partner sex. Lelo, a Swedish company, also makes Liv, a vibrator that can be used internally or externally, and is also beautifully made ($109, lelo.com). The Delight ($129, babeland.com) is shaped like an asymmetrical S, features 32 different vibration options, and comes in its own slick case for storage. If you like the Cone (which I featured in last year's gift guide, $130, babeland.com)—or even if you thought it was a little strange—you'll love the sleeker, sexier Tuyo ($75, babeland.com), a black orb of silicone and stainless steel with multiple settings. If you really want to impress her with the "it" vibe of the moment, though, then it's gotta be the gorgeous, water-resistant, rechargeable Form 6 Vibrator ($175, jimmyjane.com). Toss in some Good Clean Love Lubricant in Almost Naked ($18, early2bed.com) and a copy of Getting Off: A Woman's Guide to Masturbation by Jamye Waxman ($15.95), and all the girls in your life will be good to go!

Another gift for getting off is more porn: It keeps on giving! My recommendations are: Afrodite Superstar ($29.95, goodvibes.com), the debut title for Candida Royalle's new line of erotica for couples of color; Dave Navarro: Broken, the rock star's directorial porn debut from Tera Patrick's production company ($24.95, gamelink.com); Not the Bradys XXX ($25.95, adultdvdempire.com), the sex comedy of the year; Pipe Dreams ($35.99, shopvivid.com), superstar Janine's final movie (barring a comeback, of course); and Babysitters ($25.95, adultdvdempire.com), the Digital Playground flick that takes the company's sexy contract stars and manages to breathe new life into an old concept. Also consider two great gifts for guys that transcend sexual orientation: the fantastic prostate-stimulation toy Nexus Glide ($55,

Adult Video News FOCUS: Mini-Profile Q&A with Smitten Kitten

 What are the two biggest challenges when it comes to working in the adult novelty business?

One of our biggest challenges has been dealing with the negative stereotypes held by professional people outside of the industry. We had a banker tell us they didn't work with our "type of people" when we tried to open our initial accounts for the Smitten Kitten! Also, trying to move away from the concept of sex toys and equipment as mere "novelty" items.  

Click HERE to read the rest of the article.

"Sex- Out In The Open Talking About A Taboo Topic" KARE 11 News Extra  Featuring Smitten Kitten

By Jana Shortal, KARE 11 News

 

Fab Place To Buy Adult Gifts- Smitten Kitten

Ten small lesbian businesses we adore. 

Dangerous Dildos, Part 1 Author, Tristan Taormino recounted her experience with a red dildo that left her ass feeling as if it were on fire and she laid out the research on the culprit: phthalates, a group of industrial chemicals found in many sex toys. 

This is a topic near and dear to our Smitten Kitten hearts because we've been going to the mat against the Adult Sex Industry since 2003 over this issue!  The Smitten Kitten does NOT sell toxic toys!

Dangerous Dildos, Part 2 Author, Tristan Taormino highlights the Smitten Kitten's efforts to make sex toy manufacture and sale safe for consumers by organizing our non-profit Coalition Against Toxic Toys!

Sex Toys And The Revolution by reporter Candace Furniss is a social justice news article published by Confluence, a free and independent bi-monthly journal.  Enjoy this interview with Jessica and Jennifer, Co-Founders of The Smitten Kitten and The Coalition Against Toxic Toys regarding "Sex Toys and The Revolution."

Photo: Lise Gagne/iStockphoto. Reprinted from Grist.Org. All Rights Reserved

 
Naughty By Nature: Ever Thought About Toxins In Your Sex Toys, is an environmental news article exposing the toxic nature of PVC "novelties" by reporter Emily Gertz.  The Smitten Kitten is plays prominent in this article. 

Women's pleasure products sizzle on the shelves Sexual satisfaction seems to be on everybody's mind. So how come so many woman are left wanting?

By Gail Rosenblum, Star Tribune Staff Writer   
Copyright 2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Published: June 25, 2006 Edition: METRO
Section: SOURCE Page#: 1E 

By the look of things at Smitten Kitten at Lake Street and Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis, the road to women's sexual satisfaction has never been more inviting.

Customers who enter the well-lit, airy shop with classic furnishings will find a lovely spread of tea and cookies at the back. But who has time to eat when autographed copies of Ducky DooLittle's "Sex With the Lights On," are stacked at the front door?

The shop, billed as "a truly feminist sex toy store," is owned by smart women in their 20s, two with women's studies degrees, all with open-minded sexual attitudes and exacting standards for their product lines. Some adult toys boast "superior German engineering." Hand-made leather floggers are priced up to $300.

"We're all sexual people," says co-owner Jennifer Pritchett, 28. "We have lots of customers in the suburbs."

But while Smitten Kitten is certainly a cut above the seedy standard, it is no longer cutting-edge. "Sex and the City" got women talking, and home parties got them spending - on vibrators, massage oils and more. Sales at Pure Romance parties, for example, topped $30 million in 2004.

Even Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target and CVC have quietly joined the revolution, stocking feather ticklers, edible body paints and vibrating rings in the "planning and protection" or "feminine hygiene" aisle.

So, ladies: Is everybody happy?

Not exactly.

Sex therapists, sexuality educators and vendors of sexual enhancement products see many reasons why many women still can't get satisfaction. Exhaustion. Lowered libido due to medications or menopause. Differing sexual needs among couples, straight or gay, which can cause deep divides inside and outside the bedroom. Lack of a partner because of divorce. Boredom among long-marrieds. Embarrassment or fear of trying new things.

And a biggie: lack of understanding by men and women about how the female body works, whether we're age 20, 50 or 80.

Write this down and today's newspaper will be worth the price of admission: Most men need 4 minutes to reach nirvana before falling into deep REM sleep. Most women? About 20 minutes to even get started.

"There are two polar extremes," says Bean Robinson, associate director of the Program in Human Sexuality at the University of Minnesota and a licensed family and marriage therapist. "There are women who have strong sexual desire, act on that desire and are freed from the double standard, and then there's the flip side: women who are too tired, too busy and wouldn't care if they never had sex again."

The clinic sees about 1,000 clients a month for a variety of issues, including sexual dysfunction and sexual pain. But the biggest problem among women, and a growing number of men, Robinson said, is low libido. She points to a JAMA study from 1999 in which 42 percent of women reported low desire, arousal problems or pain.

Less scientific, but worth considering, is a recent poll of 6,800 men on MensHealth.com in which 41 percent (the highest number in the survey) said they wish they could change their female partners' lack of sex drive.

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Different ages and desires

Missy Pederson sees it, too. Pederson, 27, was the first statewide rep for Athena's Home Novelties, seller of "toys, aromatherapy, books, videos, bondage in a home-party setting."

For Pederson, the challenge is less about product comfort and more about psychological comfort. The first thing out of many women's mouths at her home parties is, "Am I normal?" But what, Pederson asks, is normal? "['Sex and the City' character] Carrie Bradshaw? Our mothers? Married women like myself who say, 'Oh, my God, it's been three weeks since we've had sex and I'm the sex lady?' Everybody wants orgasms, they want dialogue, and they want to feel validated."

Pederson is encouraged by the growing number of women who seem willing to start that dialogue, with their health care providers, girlfriends or significant others.

It's clear, though, that a woman's age plays a big role in how she views her sexuality. Spend an hour with Pritchett and fellow Smitten Kitten owner Jessica Giordani, 26, and you realize just how unhip you are.

They talk about sex toys with ease, and believe that everyone, if given the right information and confidence, can experience their pleasure potential.  "People love vibrators," Giordani says, holding a $52 waterproof, ergonomically designed model. "I got my mother one."

Still, they're delighted to take curious and often timid customers - female, male and transgendered - on tours of the store, helping them find what they need without shame or guilt.

"People come in guarded and tense, and, by the end, shoulders come down and they see the tea and cookies," Pritchett says. "We're just normal people."

But if it's true than most women in their 20s just want to have fun, many change dramatically in their 30s when faced with an unexpectedly effective form of birth control: kids. It may take years for new moms to feel sensual again. Or awake again.  By the time the kids are big enough to have play dates (hurry, honey, quick!), a good number of women find themselves divorced. Or dealing with mega-hormonal shifts. Or, if single, maybe they're just pickier about whom they choose to have sex with.

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Find your own pleasure

Playwright Julie Marie Myatt spent three years in Minneapolis on a Jerome Fellowship and wrote "The Sex Habits of American Women," which was presented at the Guthrie Lab in 2004. She now lives in Los Angeles, "where, kind of like my play, there's the public version and the private version [of women's sexuality]. It's so hard to know what's going on."

Growing up in the 1980s, "smack in the middle of AIDS," Myatt said, she had little guilt about exploring her sexuality - just plenty of caution. Now 39, she sees a big shift among her single female friends. "We have a lot more options. We talk about sex now. But people are getting pickier. While many people I know would like to be more free and more sexually active, they're probably less right now."

The group perhaps having the most fun might surprise some:

"Women from 50 to 60," says sexuality educator Candy Hadsall, without hesitation. Hadsall owns Ms. LaVie's School of Loving Arts in Minneapolis. Free from child-rearing responsibilities, tired of beating themselves up over cellulite, confident and curious, these women, Hadsall says, "push the envelope sexually more than younger people."

Their own mothers might be surprised to hear that. One 83-year-old divorcee interviewed over coffee on a recent Saturday afternoon described married sex as nothing more than "a duty, a responsibility." When her husband brought home sex toys from a trip to Asia, her response was: " 'How dare you?' I was insulted."

Times have changed. Unlike the lonely old days, when sex therapists were unheard of, women today can find plenty of support. A good place to start is a woman's health care provider, who can rule out medical conditions that might be causing plummeting libido and other sexual problems. Most women, though, probably just need a green light.

Terre Thomas, 47, owner of the eclectic gift shop Fairy Godmother in Minneapolis, sponsors an occasional Restore the Tingle workshop, where women are encouraged to ask everything they want to know about sex, anonymously. Common questions, she said, include, "Why am I slower to be aroused at certain times?" And, "Should I be OK with only having one orgasm?"

Ultimately, sexuality educators say, the best sex occurs when women and their partners define it in a broader, more holistic way.

"Sex is putting lotion on my back," Robinson says. "It's holding hands, kissing, massage. Take charge so it's not just male-driven."  Men like that, by the way, Robinson says. "Quickies have their place, but you can't just have a diet of one thing."