Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Start Date

5-8-2024 1:00 PM

End Date

5-8-2024 3:00 PM

Subjects

Sexuality & culture, Sex toys

Advisor

Dr. Kai Cheang

Student Level

Undergraduate

Abstract

Since the development of sex stores, the product appeal has been directed toward cisgender men and excluded other groups, creating an experience exclusive to the male gaze. With this, products sold at early sex stores often did not appeal to the female population and excluded queer and gender non-conforming individuals altogether. These original sex stores objectified the female body and many of these traditional stores still exist now. However, in the 1970s, feminists began to create sex stores directed toward women and they in turn became hubs for information as opposed to just sex stores where women could shop comfortably away from stores made for the male gaze. This is the background that is important for the development of my research proposal, as I consider these past limitations and use the method of observation and location based research to analyze different styles of sex stores: traditional stores versus feminist and queer based stores. With these observations I plan to bring different aspects to the discussion, which include capitalism, class, and identities that are underrepresented or have not been included at all in the current research surrounding this topic. The end goal of this proposal is to showcase the purpose of using an observational method and how it is the best method for the proposed research process due to its ability to do a broader location analysis and to show the importance of broadening this topic to include underrepresented groups.

Creative Commons License or Rights Statement

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/41929

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May 8th, 1:00 PM May 8th, 3:00 PM

Sex Toys in the City- The Sex Toy Market vs. Profit, Culture and Education

Since the development of sex stores, the product appeal has been directed toward cisgender men and excluded other groups, creating an experience exclusive to the male gaze. With this, products sold at early sex stores often did not appeal to the female population and excluded queer and gender non-conforming individuals altogether. These original sex stores objectified the female body and many of these traditional stores still exist now. However, in the 1970s, feminists began to create sex stores directed toward women and they in turn became hubs for information as opposed to just sex stores where women could shop comfortably away from stores made for the male gaze. This is the background that is important for the development of my research proposal, as I consider these past limitations and use the method of observation and location based research to analyze different styles of sex stores: traditional stores versus feminist and queer based stores. With these observations I plan to bring different aspects to the discussion, which include capitalism, class, and identities that are underrepresented or have not been included at all in the current research surrounding this topic. The end goal of this proposal is to showcase the purpose of using an observational method and how it is the best method for the proposed research process due to its ability to do a broader location analysis and to show the importance of broadening this topic to include underrepresented groups.