LOS ANGELES - Porn be gone; sex aids are all about health! That's the message of the new SHEE adult trade association, which will debut February 1, 2009 on SHEEGroup.org, which is under construction. Short for "Sexual Health, Education, and Entertainment," SHEE is the brain child of number of attendees of last year's couples-oriented Love LA show.
The goal of the organization is to create a separate, less-porn-influenced genre for adult products and sex aids; promoting them as health aids that are helpful in sustaining relationships/marriages as well as personal well-being.
Adult retailer and educator Ian Denchasy helped create SHEE to "create an unbiased, reliable repository of sex-positive information accessible to professionals seeking to better people's lives." Denchasy is one of the founders of SHEE, founder of the LOVE LA show, and co-owner of the couples-oriented Freddy and Eddy boutique and online store.
According to Denchasy, the group will help create a safe space for those interested exploring sexual topics outside of the porn world.
Denchasy and the others involved in SHEE want it to help "with the dissemination of accurate information, safe and effective products, fun and dignified retail outlets, and credentialed professionals spreading accurate and timely sex-related information."
"I want it made clear that my wife and I enjoy watching porn together, this isn't about being anti-porn," Denchasy told ANB. "We're pro-sex, and we understand that not everyone we're hoping to reach wants their sex information and products served in the context of porn."
Why should promoting sex as healthy require adult product vendors to distance themselves from porn? According to Deschasy, it's a matter of optics. He said it is very difficult for responsible adult product companies to get positive media attention, when Hustler's Larry Flynt is grabbing headlines asking for relief for the adult industry. To the public and media, "it seems like he [Flynt] is speaking for all of us."Besides, positioning sex aids in terms of health rather than lust makes good business sense. "It's a lot harder to argue against sexual health than it is against pornography," Denchasy explained.
He's right: At a time when sex aids are finally winning mainstream acceptance, being tied to porn is bad for business; a point made by Tantus Silicone founder Metis Black. "It's time we distinguished ourselves from some of the negative elements that have dragged down our overall public image," Black said. "SHEE is a great way to begin to build the new sex industry and move it forward."
In Black's online journal, she explained further. "SHEE is an organization made up of people who care and can work together to make a strong community. We want to include stores, manufacturers, party business women, authors, clerks, bloggers, health workers and everyone who wants to be a part of change."
For more info about SHEE, contact [email protected] or call (310)915-0380.