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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Sex / Retail Some Vibrators Are More Equal Than Others

Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 6:41 AM

The King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania has a Spencer's Gifts... that sells vibrators, penis-shaped pasta, and t-shirts with images of "a woman on all fours wearing a leash around her neck" that say, “How to Train your Bitch." Classy! So you wouldn't expect the management at KOP Mall to have a problem leasing a space to a store that sells vibrators to women and t-shirts that say, "“Love your Body: Start a Revolution," right? Wrong.

What is the refusal to rent me a space really about?

Let’s review: Spencer’s is owned by man. Feminique Boutique is owned by a woman.

Spencer’s sells t-shirts that degrade women, such as one that depicts a woman on all fours wearing a leash around her neck that says, “How to Train your Bitch." Feminique Boutique sells t-shirts that empower women, such as one that says “Love your Body: Start a Revolution."

Spencer’s sells vibrators in the view of minors that contain phthalates, a chemical known to be harmful to the female reproductive system. Feminique Boutique sells vibrators in an 18+ backroom that are phthalate-free.

Spencer’s has an expressed business mission of humor and gag gift giving. Feminique Boutique has a business mission of advocating that “women are sexual subjects, not objects."

To me, it’s about the mainstreaming of sex-negativity. Sex toys can be sold as long as they are “novelties” with the purpose of embarrassing someone who opens it at their 40th birthday party. But when women buy one to actually be used and enjoyed, as they would from Feminique Boutique, it makes people uncomfortable. Sex can be talked about, as long as it’s a joke or putting someone down, which is why “training your bitch” t-shirts and penis shaped pasta is acceptable at the mall for the entertainment of 12 year olds, but a woman who loves her body and proudly wears the Feminique Boutique shirt that declares that, well, that’s obscene. My indignation is not at Spencer’s. It’s a free country and I support their right to run their business as they see fit. But for the King of Prussia Mall to allow the sale of vibrators and other sex related products in a way that exacerbates social norms of female subservience while denying the opportunity for a competing business that sells similar products in a pro-female environment is discriminatory, sexist, and illegal.

More here. Petition here.

Comments (29) RSS

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I'm more than a little surprised that Spencer's is even still in business, or at least that they still have stores. They're really living up to their "expressed business mission of humor and gag gift giving", though. The described t-shirt certainly does make me gag.

Posted by Southern Gentleman

on March 17, 2010 at 6:52 AM

so much injustice in the world...
how do we find the strength to go on?

Posted by Asanté on March 17, 2010 at 7:00 AM

I don't think there's anything wrong with being treated like an object WHEN YOU WANT TO BE... but a tacky t-shirt like that is def not helping their image. Is the KOP mall threatened by the overt (yet positive) sexuality of this store, whereas Spencer's just hides behind their "humor and gag gift" BS?

Posted by mixy on March 17, 2010 at 7:04 AM

Jesus, I'm only about five zip codes over... this shit is embarrassing.

Posted by vitupera on March 17, 2010 at 8:09 AM

Interesting that a mall can afford to turn down business in this economy. I'dn't have thought it would be that hard to obtain a lease somewhere.

Posted by Sili on March 17, 2010 at 8:14 AM

1. "Feminique Boutique" is a terrrrrible store name.

2. Something about her three-item blog suggests this mall thingy was a PR stunt from the get-go, and has been a great success.

3. It's going to take way more than this to get me to join somebody's effort to shape the retail mix at an upscale shopping mall. Anywhere. Ever.

Posted by gloomy gus on March 17, 2010 at 8:30 AM

@5 -- You'd be surprised, actually. Malls are trying to get what they can when they can... but if the mall fails, there's potential real estate sitting underneath. Plenty of malls are striking a balance between maintaining a profit for as long as they can and not wanting to have to break lease agreements if some developer is hungry for the land they're on.

Posted by MythicFox on March 17, 2010 at 8:43 AM

Jesus, I thought Spencer's was juvenile when I was 14. I can't believe they're still in business either.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty

on March 17, 2010 at 8:59 AM

I didn't read the linked stuff, but I suspect mixy @3 is onto something. Spencer's probably sells its vibrators as "novelty items." In some states, you can't sell sex toys at all without that subterfuge. It's quite possible the mall can't allow them to open up shop for legal reasons.

Anyway, it still sucks.

Posted by kitschnsync on March 17, 2010 at 8:59 AM

@6- I live a few miles from that mall. It's not upscale, and never has been, despite what their website says. That being said, the boutique would probably do better in town. The only people shopping at that mall are teenagers and mothers with little kids trying to get out of the house for the day.

Posted by kuzibah on March 17, 2010 at 9:07 AM

No-one should shop in malls.

Posted by tiktok on March 17, 2010 at 9:36 AM

the king of prussia mall? who the fuck thought up that gem?

Posted by olive on March 17, 2010 at 10:03 AM

as much as i agree with the protest, internet petitions do fuck-all. Nothing has ever been done through internet petitioning.

Posted by really now? on March 17, 2010 at 10:10 AM

It's been years since I went into a Spencer's. I guess I haven't missed much.

Posted by Simone on March 17, 2010 at 10:28 AM

What's wrong with being sexy?

Posted by Smell the Glove on March 17, 2010 at 10:28 AM

@12 - The mall is either in or near King of Prussia, PA. Admittedly, that's a stupid name for a town. But I've heard worse.

Posted by Sheryl on March 17, 2010 at 10:30 AM

But the Mall has a Ruby's me and my exes always ate at. Freakin AMAZING Burgers (And semi stalker-esque servers...)

Posted by RugbySkin on March 17, 2010 at 10:35 AM

The KOP mall doesn't care what gender you are. They care about how much money your store is going to bring in. It isn't the mall that is to blame, it's the women that will not buy sex toys while shopping with their families and friends. Society isn't quite ready to be proud of masturbation, even though there's nothing wrong with it. If no one buys vibrators, the store won't make money. THAT is what KOP is concerned about.

Posted by meemer on March 17, 2010 at 10:36 AM

The PA State constitution requires all town names in the state to be stupid.

Posted by six shooter on March 17, 2010 at 10:36 AM

Perhaps she'd have better luck if she tried to open her store in a mall in Intercourse, PA.?

Posted by Urgutha Forka on March 17, 2010 at 10:39 AM

I can't help but think that Feminique Boutique's emphasis on Spencer's actually undermines their argument.

In some malls, stores have a "non-compete" clause with the mall itself. For instance, if I open a movie theater in a mall, I will likely have an agreement with my landlord that it cannot lease space to a rival movie theater company within the same mall. The same may be true of a book store, or a travel company. Obviously, much depends on the size of the mall, the size of the store, and the relative bargaining positions of each. Still, I don't find it inconceivable that Spencer's has the exclusive right to sell "sex items" within KOP.

Anyone looking into this before jumping to finger-pointing and blame?

Posted by I Hate Screen Names on March 17, 2010 at 11:00 AM

They're fighting an uphill battle. Pornography, and today's message about sexuality in general ( threeways, GG guy fetishes etc.. ) is all about degrading women, any empowering message will be attack directly or as in this case indirectly. Unless Feminique Boutique is not willing to fully participate on that the big boys wont let them in. Still, it's worth supporting them if for nothing else than seeing them expose the filth promoters and their enablers.

Posted by Loveschild

on March 17, 2010 at 11:09 AM

@21, ummm... no. How many malls have you been in that only have one clothing store, one sneaker store, one fast-food joint, one housewares/bedding/furniture store, and one jewelry/accessories store? It'd be a mighty small mall.

Posted by Brooklyn Reader on March 17, 2010 at 11:10 AM

@23 Ummm... yes. It depends on the type of good or service being sold and on the mall. Not all malls offer such contracts, and not all stores are able to obtain such contracts even if they are in a mall that happens to offer them. But agreements like that exist, whether you're aware of it or not. And your examples of food and clothing only highlight your ignorance of business real estate transactions.

Again, Spencer's may not have any such agreement with the mall-- I don't have any more knowledge about KOP than any of the other posters. That's the problem: lack of knowledge.

Posted by I Hate Screen Names on March 17, 2010 at 11:16 AM

24 Lack of Knowledge is what gives the Slog it's particular charm. That, and lots of credulous clueless arrogance....

Posted by I believe it- IT MUST BE TRUE!..... on March 17, 2010 at 11:33 AM

@19: I'm a big fan of the Pennsylvania towns Pillow, Chinchilla, Mars, Blue Ball, Bird-in-Hand, Faggs Manor, Goosetown, Cornog, Basket, and Woodchoppertown, . We actually got married in a church off the Virginville exit.

@17: Yes, the burgers at Ruby's are amazing. I thought there was a law against mall food being that good.

Posted by Fangdoc on March 17, 2010 at 12:18 PM

@16: Hey, "King of Prussia" is a lot friendlier than "Kaiser" or "Fuhrer".

@22: Wait, wait, wait...pornography is all about degrading women? Explain to me how this degrades women:
[link to dude-on-dude themed malware site removed]
(Don't worry, the link is perfectly safe for your work, Loveschild.)

Posted by venomlash on March 17, 2010 at 12:59 PM

@27- WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
The link provided here will download a virus onto your PC if you click on anything in there. I'm de-lousing my PC even now. It's one of those fake virus-scanner thingies that loads into your memory, then hijacks any attempts to get rid of it, including using your normal AV software. Won't even allow TASKMGR to run.
Be warned and thanks, BC. Normally I love ya, but you're kind of owly on this thread (all in good fun, I'm sure), but this site's bad news. Cute boys, tho.

Posted by OutInBumF on March 17, 2010 at 8:22 PM

@28: Woops. Good thing I didn't click it; I just Googled "gay porn" and copy-pasted the second link I found. Sorry.
But I am not Baconcat.
(Alleged makes crack about Teh Gheys infecting each other with viruses in 3...2...1...)

Posted by venomlash on March 17, 2010 at 9:23 PM