 Babeland logo | |
 Babeland in Seattle (2023) | |
| Industry | Specialty Retail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 in Seattle, Washington, US |
| Founders | Claire Cavanah, Rachel Venning |
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Parent | Good Vibrations |
| Website | www |
Babeland, until 2005 known as Toys in Babeland, is a sex toy boutique offering erotic toys, books and pornographic films. LGBT-owned [1] Babeland has an online store and four retail stores (in Seattle, Brooklyn, and two in Manhattan).
Claire Cavanah and Rachel Venning founded Toys in Babeland in 1993, in response to the lack of women-friendly sex shops in Seattle. The store's name is a spoonerism of Babes in Toyland, a feminist riot grrrl punk band and Babes in Toyland , the title of a 1934 Laurel & Hardy film. Committed to offering information and encouragement to women who wanted to explore their sexuality, the owners focused on selling quality sex toys in a boutique-like setting. [2]
In 1995, Toys in Babeland started its mail order business with a small print catalog based out of their Seattle store. Shortly thereafter, in 1996, the Toys in Babeland website followed. In 1998, the owners opened their second Toys in Babeland store in New York City, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In 2003, they opened another New York store, in SoHo. In 2005, Babeland debuted its fourth store in Los Angeles, which has since closed. In 2008, Babeland opened a new location in Park Slope, Brooklyn, [3] making a total of three stores in New York City.
In 2003, Venning and Cavanah published Sex Toys 101: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing and Using Sex Toys. [4]
In 2008, Babeland ran a promotion in which they gave away a free sex toy to anyone who voted in that November's election. [5]
In January 2010, Venning and Cavanah, in association with Jessica Vitkus, published a second book: Moregasm: Babeland's Guide to Mind-Blowing Sex [6]
In May 2016, the Babeland stores in New York City voted to be represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, becoming the first U.S. sex shops to be unionized. [7]
In August 2017, Babeland was sold to rival sex shop Good Vibrations. [8] [9] Babeland continues to operate as a separate brand.
Queer erotica author Dena Hankins worked at Babeland as Web Operations Manager from 1998 to 2006. [10]
Babeland has received numerous awards over the years, including a 2006 Zagat's Survey award as "the best shopping experience in New York."[ citation needed ] In 2014, it was voted "Best Place to Buy Sex Toys" by The Village Voice , [11] Voted "Best Sex Shop" of 2016 & 2017 by the Best of Seattle 2016 Reader Poll in Seattle Weekly [12] [13]
A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The term sex toy can also include BDSM apparatus and sex furniture such as sex swings; however, it is not applied to items such as birth control, pornography, or condoms. Alternative terms for sex toy include adult toy and the dated euphemism marital aid. Marital aid also has a broader meaning and is applied to drugs and herbs marketed to enhance or prolong sex.
FAO Schwarz is an American toy brand and retail chain. The company is known for its high-end toys, life-sized stuffed animals, interactive experiences, brand integrations, and games.
A sex shop is a retailer that sells products related to adult sexual or erotic entertainment, such as sex toys, lingerie, pornography, and other related products.
Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce competition and an inability to adapt during the retail apocalypse resulted in Zellers losing significant ground in the 2000s.
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many parts of the world. A franchise retail establishment is one form of a chain store. In 2005, the world's largest retail chain, Walmart, became the world's largest corporation based on gross sales.
Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids and various others. The company was founded in 1948; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area.
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Ann Summers is a British multinational retailer company specialising in sex toys and lingerie, with 80 high street stores in the UK, Ireland, and the Channel Islands. In 2000, Ann Summers acquired the Knickerbox brand, a label with an emphasis on more comfortable and feminine underwear, while the Ann Summers-labelled products tend to be more erotic in style. The chain had an annual turnover of £117.3 million in 2007–2008.
In BDSM terms, a zipper is a string of clothespins or other clips, held together loosely by a cord or light chain.
A toy store or toy shop is a type of retail business specializing in selling toys.
Good Vibrations is a sex-positive San Francisco-based corporation selling sex toys and other erotic products. It operates nine retail stores: seven in the San Francisco Bay Area, one in Brookline, Massachusetts, and one in Harvard Square; a mail-order business; an e-commerce website; a wholesale arm; and an erotic-video production company, Good Releasing. Formerly, it operated three publishing companies: Down There Press, Passion Press and Sexpositive Productions.
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The Masturbate-a-thon is an event in which participants masturbate to raise money for charity and increase the public awareness and dispel the shame and taboos that exist about this form of sexual activity. From 1998 to 2003, the Masturbate-a-thon raised around $25,000 for women's health initiatives and HIV prevention, education and treatment organizations, and has contributed to debates about safer sex and alternative safe methods of sexual expression. The event awards several honors for those who raise the most money as well as for multiple orgasms and endurance.
A vibrator, sometimes described as a massager, is a sex toy that is used on the body to produce pleasurable sexual stimulation. There are many different shapes and models of vibrators. Most modern vibrators contain an electric-powered device which pulsates or throbs. Vibrators can be used for both solo play and partnered play by one or more people. Devices exist to be used by couples to stimulate the genitals of both partners. They can be applied to erogenous zones, such as the vulva, vagina, penis, scrotum, anus, or rectum for sexual stimulation, for the release of sexual frustration and to achieve orgasm. Vibrators may be recommended by sex therapists for women who have difficulty reaching orgasm through masturbation or intercourse.
Packing is wearing padding or a phallic object in the front of the pants or underwear to give the appearance of having a penis or bulge. Packing is commonly practiced by trans men. People who cross-dress as male may also "pack".
Talkboy is a line of handheld voice recorder and sound novelty toys manufactured by Tiger Electronics in the 1990s. The brand began as a result of a promotional tie-in with the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York; the most well-known product was the Deluxe Talkboy, a cassette recorder and player with a variable-speed voice changer that caused toy crazes over several holiday shopping seasons beginning in 1993.
The Magic Wand aka the True Magic Wand, Magic Wand Original, Vibratex Magic Wand and Original Magic Wand) is an AC-powered wand vibrator. It was originally manufactured for relieving tension and relaxing sore muscles; however, it is most known for its use as a sex toy. Japanese company Hitachi listed the device for business in the United States in 1968. Sex educator Betty Dodson popularized its use as a vibrator and masturbation aid for women during the sex-positive movement in the late 1960s. It functions effectively as a clitoral vibrator for reaching orgasm. The wand is 12 inches (30 cm) long and weighs 1.2 pounds (540 g) with stimulation provided by its rubberized 2.5-inch (64 mm) head.
Dena Hankins is an American novelist and short story author, best known for queer and transgender erotic romance. Her short stories have been published in several erotica anthologies, including Best Women's Erotica of the Year, Volume 8 edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Her non-fiction articles about sailing, electric motors for sailboats, and DIY boat repair have been published by the trusted British magazine Practical Boat Owner and she edited several editions of the boater's cruising guides published by The Waterway Guide.
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