OFFERING PEARLS OF SEXY WISDOM Andelloux. |
If you're in the market for a steaming slice of sex advice, local sexologist Megan Andelloux is the woman you want to know.Which is why I'm glad I know Megan Andelloux.
So what's the first pearl of sexy wisdom Andelloux has for students in Rhode Island?
"Make it fun," she says.
And if you're not sure how to do that, Andelloux can help.
A former Planned Parenthood educator turned sex-positive specialist, Andelloux now runs the CENTER FOR SEXUAL PLEASURE AND HEALTH in Pawtucket, where she doles out advice and offers classes on blow jobs, female orgasms, and BDSM. I took a class with her once where people practiced cunnilingus on plum segments. It was splendid.
But fun sex is about more than just licking fruit. It's also about knowing where to go for information, birth control, and safe sex toys.
For sex toy shopping right in Brown University's backyard, check out Wicken-den Street's MISTER SISTER, a store that's as cheeky as its name. This little shop is queer-friendly — note the rainbow flag hanging in the back — and services a gay male crowd, although people of all genders and sexual orientations can find something inside, from the vast array of corsets and cock rings to the shelves lined with brightly colored vibrators. If handcuffs aren't your thing, you'll also find glow-in-the-dark massage lotion and massage oil laced with gold dust. If handcuffs are your thing, you won't have to look far to find them. They're in the front window. And don't forget to pick up some condoms on your way out. Safe sex is fun sex, with or without the cuffs.
If you don't mind a short train ride north, you can visit GOOD VIBRATIONS in Brookline, Massachusetts, where you'll find top-of-the-line vibrators, dildos, and other sex toys (some for top-of-the-line prices, with others in a more reasonable range) and a friendly staff that is happy to talk to you about things like nipple-stimulating cream — without blushing. Good Vibrations is woman-friendly and seems designed to diminish the shame associated with sex toy shopping. You won't find customers lurking red-faced behind porn magazines or pretending they mistakenly stumbled into a sex shop on their way to Starbucks. Instead, you might find people of all ages talking about sex as they buzz the display models on their noses and fingertips.
These shops also have a delightful selection of books for education and...pleasure.
For a huge selection of porn DVDs and magazines, there is AMAZING SUPERSTORES, an adult-store chain with locations in Warwick, Providence, East Providence, Johnston, North Kingstown, and Newport. (The store in Newport is called Wild Orchid but it's part of the same chain.) Amazing's Thurbers Avenue location is the only sex shop I've ever entered that has an in-house smoke shop, where you can find an array of bongs and pipes (for tobacco use only, of course). Locations in Johnston, Providence, and North Kingstown have viewing rooms for adult videos, if that's your thing. If that's not your thing, you can browse the range of sex paraphernalia, from penis-shaped cookie cutters to vibrators, butt toys, and lingerie.
