The Smitten Kitten Ain't No Toys R Us Toy Shoppe

In a little shop, a tidy one room painted in Caribbean colors with spotlights to illuminate the bright sculptures on small shelves, the quality leather works hanging on the walls, and a table displaying an assortment of soft tee shirts, is where we met these activists. No, this isn't a small local Minneapolis art gallery. No, they aren't exactly artists...

Jessie Jacobson, Jenny Pritchett & Jessica Giordani are the owners of the Smitten Kitten ~ "a truly feminist sex toy store." In August, 2003, the three of them opened both the Smitten Kitten shoppe and the website. But their story really doesn't start there...

The three women met during their college years, became fast friends, and in the process of sharing as all friends do, had several conversations about their broken faith ~ their deep dissatisfaction with sex toy purchases. Online or offline, each had been disappointed by the poor quality of offerings. Just so much 'girl talk,' at the time...

As their school days were ending, each prepared for 'real jobs' in their careers: Jessie the pilot, Jenny the philosophy major, and Jessica educated in women's studies. As they discussed where they wanted to be, what they wanted to be doing one infers that their sad sex toy experiences were continuing. And as we all know, you need to be able to count on your sex toys to get us through such times! As conversations of 'what I want to be when I grow up' bumped & grinded with rants on 'how I want to get off' that an idea was conceived.

An idea not founded in the plans & charts of MBAs, but rather an idea based on need: What the world needed, or at least their corner of it, was a quality sex toy shoppe. Not only high quality products, not only 'good customer service,' but a place that stood for positive sex information as well. A place that was sex positive, feminist, and committed to being part of the community.

Again, let me remind you of their education ~ these were not business majors. How were they going to get a business started *and* be able to keep it afloat? A cute cartoon on their website illustrates this path, so let me just tell you that with the spirit of a Mickey Rooney movie, they reached out to the community & put on a show to raise start up money. It worked. And they are now celebrating their second anniversary.

What's so special about this little sex toy store? Jenny said "I think if we had come from business backgrounds, we would have screwed things up. We really run this like an 'event' not a business. It's more about the passion and less about the books." Cool. But what does that 'passion' mean?

Here are three examples:

#1 They won't sell anything they wouldn't use. This includes DVDs/videos & books, but where you really notice it is in the selection of their sex toy inventory. Most of their toys are silicone, noted for it's high quality & durability. They think very little of silicone's cheaper relative jelly, a substance found in many toys which has health risks and can be sold "for novelty use only." Toys are not only selected

for consumer benefit, but also for political reasons. Since silicone is hand made and not mass-produced, there are no sweatshops to worry about. Says Jenny, "I wouldn't be caught dead in the same room with jel." And so there is none at the Smitten Kitten.

#2 They run classes & workshops. Both at the store and at other locations, including local colleges. These classes include basics like "Sex Toys 101" and more complicated subjects such as "Consensual Non-Monogamy: A Guide To Polyamory, Swinging, and Open Relationships." They educate consumers in how to buy products & then how to use them. They educate people about subjects considered taboo ~ let's face it, in today's climate discussions about discussions are taboo. But the Smitten Kitten workshops are safe sane places to get real answers.

#3 Responsible education. Sitting behind the wrap desk involves more than working a cash register. You have to answer a lot of questions. Not merely about the products you sell, or even about products you don't sell; in this case, you get asked a whole lot of sexuality questions. And no small part of these questions come from the youth in the community. Now before you get your panties in a knot, the area their shoppe is in does not require persons to be a legal adult to enter ~ and the women at Smitten Kitten do not take their positions lightly. Each of their stories conveyed a respect for their roles as holders of information. Even as they answer a simple question regarding condoms, they are mindful to direct young persons to other educators: their parents, schools & other organizations as appropriate.

All of this adds up to a business run with integrity, a shoppe that caters to women & men as they ought to be. Every community should have it's own Smitten Kitten.

The Smitten Kitten is alive & well, and will remain so for a very long time. How can it fail when your dream is grounded in women's studies, it's flight is navigated by a pilot, and it's mission always guarded by a philosophy major.