Doin’ It Well

Hello intrepid duo,

I’m hoping you can help me.  I know there are a few sex shops in town (I pass Urbana News all the time), but I wonder if there are any that are specifically GLBTQ or women-friendly?  Is there a clean, safe place to explore and purchase porn in C-U, or will I have to brave the dark, creepy shops of my imagination to find the good stuff? And who has the best variety? 

Thanks,

Trepidatious but Curious

Hello TbC,

Thanks for the great question. As you may know, there are four sex shops in town:  Illini Arcade, Fantasy’s, I-Block, and Urbana News. While gay or questioning men may find different needs met at any of the four stores, for women we recommend Illini Arcade and Fantasy’s.

When you walk into Illini Arcade & Fantasies, you’ll notice they are both well lit, clean, and most of the time, have women working behind the counter. In fact, Illini Arcade and Fantasy’s are designed to meet the needs of female consumers. When we visited them and talked to the managers (who are, incidentally, women), they told us that they have designed their stores to be the “women-friendly” shops in town. These two stores, along with Urbana News are owned by a female-run parent company out of Chicago. If you want to ensure that a woman is working, call ahead to either place, and they can let you know. The staff we encountered at both places was very friendly and willing to answer questions we had about products and films.

Illini Arcade & Fantasy’s periodically host ladies’ night.  At ladies’ night, men are not allowed, and the women learn about different aspects of sexual health, based on what those particular women are most interesting in discussing. Almost thirty-five women attended the last ladies night.  Past topics have included Introduction to Sex Toys and Anal Sex 101. Check their website to find out the next date or sign up to receive email alerts of upcoming events: http://www.loversplayground.com/.

Both stores were equally stocked with porn designed specifically for women but the selection was small, which reflects the larger pornography market. As you might suspect, the vast majority of the porn there is marketed towards straight males, with gay male films making up less than a quarter of the titles. The lesbian , bisexual, or trans titles are limited, but both places had several to choose from. The managers said that it is difficult to get good lesbian porn, especially the variety that is not “girl on girl” produced mainly for the benefit of straight men.  We found (mostly-straight) films directed by women including Nina Hartley, Viv Thomas and Candida Royalle. The lesbian films were the most limited, but a few recommended production companies of lesbian films included Abbey Winters, Lez Love Video, and Girlfriends Films.

The reading materials directed at women were more limited than the films. Both stores had a few educational books, including Sex Toys 101 (required reading for all store clerks) and Women’s Travel books.  Fantasy’s had Transgender Tapestry magazine, but the LGBT magazines at both places were limited, due to a number of these publications going out of business.  At both places, you can request that they order a product for you, including specific movie or magazine titles.

Illini Arcade and Fantasy’s have an array of sex toys, lubes, condoms, and lingerie as well. From vibrators to dildos to BDSM items, most any toys you would be looking for are there. The stores keep a few demo toys with batteries in them so customers can get an idea of how they work, but any customer can bring a toy to the clerk if they have questions. In addition, women can try on lingerie before they buy it.

Both shops have active arcade booths, small viewing rooms that require tokens to view films. Illini Arcade has a wheelchair accessible arcade booth.  Movie requests can be made for the arcade; they change their movie titles on Fridays.

Illini Arcade and Fantasy’s are open 24/7 with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Busy arcade (movie watching) hours that draw mostly men are lunch hours and Fri & Sat. nights. If you want to avoid the crowds, visit the shops during dinner time or during the day. 

Although geared toward women, men do visit these two shops. We were told that the staff is trained to intervene if a man is in any way making someone feel uncomfortable. Although these two shops are definitely not the dark and creepy shops of your imagination, you might want to check it out with a friend until you feel comfortable heading out solo.

If you visit either of these shops and can’t find what you’re looking for, or are intimidated to go to an adult shop, our top picks for women-owned, LGBT-friendly shops online are: Early to Bed, Good Vibrations and Toys in Babeland.

Happy shopping! Next week we’ll be interviewing staff members from Chicago’s very own Early to Bed sex toy shop.

Sex 411:  Women & LGBTQ Friendly Sex Shops

Illini Arcade, 33 E. Springfield Ave. in Champaign

Fantasy’s, 3604 N. Cunningham Ave. in Urbana

http://www.goodvibes.com/

http://www.early2bed.com/

http://www.babeland.com/

Kim Rice and Ross Wantland are professionals in the fields of sexuality and violence prevention.  Email them at buzzdoinitwell@yahoo.com