After reading about Shawn's misadventures in a local sex shop, I knew it was my duty as your faithful Pro-Sexplorer to bring you the news about one of my more recent discoveries. I was tipped off by a friend about a rare creature (maybe even mythical) in Tampa Bay – the tasteful sex-toy shop. And I'm talking tasteful, a quality not solely constituted by the confidence that you won't stick to anything in the store (the floor, the walls, the packages, an employee…). I had dared to hope before – after all, NYC has Babeland – and been repeatedly depressed by the economic indifference to my need for a sex-toy shopping experience somewhat akin to a spa day.
Pandora's Box is not your typical sex shop. From the view outside, you'd have no idea of the goodies hiding in the back room. It's completely lacking in neon, there are no red X's to be found, and sexual aids account for a mere 25 percent of its inventory (local zoning laws – only so much depravity per square foot in downtown St. Pete). While the front of the store is business as usual, if your business includes art, hand-made jewelry, refinished antiques, and an aura-reading machine, the back is a treasure-trove of sex toys for those not of the straight male persuasion. No blown-up images of gaping vaginas, no creepy guy in a booth, in fact, no videos or books of any kind (it's a different license). Pandora's Box is a woman-owned, woman-run shop offering a choice collection of sex toys in a discreet, raunch-free environment. In short, it delivers the goods.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2009.
