The managers of these “marital aide” stores (some dislike the term “sex shop”) see themselves as both educators and bedroom missionaries of a sort, assisting god-fearing couples in their maintenance of the all-important marriage bond. Their tools are the same as those employed by secular stores like Melrose Urban Female; it’s just that the standard vibrators and massage oils are repackaged without any of the traditional titillating descriptions or pornographic imagery. Moreover, the websites themselves tend to focus on the spiritual transcendence of sex as opposed to its more earthly pleasures.
To an outsider, visiting the religious sites feels a bit like listening to the bleeped-out version of an explicit hip-hop song: the substance is the same, it’s just missing the X-rated details … And while they don’t flaunt their holiness, they’ll occasionally rely on religious messaging to sell themselves, or perhaps put potential customers at ease. Book 22, for example, promises to “enhance the intimate life of all God’s children.”
Good sex is clearly important for a healthy romantic relationship, and if religious types (especially orgasm-desiring women) need a holier box around their vibrator in order to make it palatable, I say praise the lord.
