THIS ENTRY WAS POSTED ON June 3, 2019 BY THEPLEASURECHEST.
Pride and Protest
2019 marks the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, a New York uprising that ushered in a new era in the Gay Rights Movement. The Stonewall Inn, as most past (and present-day gay bars), served as a place of refuge for LGBTQ+ folks to gather amidst the contentious climate that both condemned and criminalized queer culture in small and big cities alike.
As we look back over the past 50 years to the Gay Liberation Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s, it’s important to recognize this history in relation to where the LGBTQ+ movement is today. From riots to Pride celebrations, criminalization to the current commodification of queer culture, corporate vs. non-corporate Pride, and exclusion to intersectionality: The Gay Rights Movement has fought for equality and acceptance (event amongst itself), yet STILL fights for its rights in the face of our current oppressive Administration. While rejoicing on progress and resilience amidst the rainbows and parades this time of year, it is a great time to also reflect on the radical roots of Pride.
Trans activist Marsha P. Johnson.
Philadelphia introduces a more intersectional Pride Flag 2017.
Dyke Day LA is a non-corporate, 100% community funded Gay Pride event.
Progress and Pleasure
Amidst this hotbed of history, the Pleasure Chest opened its first location in West Village in 1971. The 47" wide and 12' long location was mere blocks from the historic Stonewall Inn. One radical element of queer culture that Pleasure Chest embraced from our founding and continue to advocate and promote today is the pursuit of pleasure.
Vintage West Village 1971.
Happy 50th to Pride! In honor of the 50th anniversary of Pride (and an almost 50th to us!), we are sharing some Pleasure Chest fun facts to celebrate! Did you know that Pleasure Chest was the first sex shop to not block out our windows like most other adult stores at that time? We took the shame out of the game and we've been celebrating sex-positivity, liberation, and the prioritizing of pleasure for folks of all genders and sexual orientations ever since!
15 Fun Facts about the Pleasure Chest:
1) The Pleasure Chest started out in New York as a small (only 47” wide and 12’ long) waterbed store. Mood lighting, cock rings and handcuffs were soon added to the inventory, and quickly outsold all of the beds, establishing our flagship location as a full-fledged sex shop by 1971.
2) The Pleasure Chest was the first adult retailer to not block out store windows and hide merchandise.
3) “We treat our customers just as though they were walking into [a furniture store] to buy a table and chairs.” – Pleasure Chest co-founder Bill Rifkin, 1972.
4) Many celebrities have identified themselves as proud customers of The Pleasure Chest, including Victoria and David Beckham, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Queen Latifah and Olivia Munn.
5) The 1984 gay porn feature Fantasize was shot in the Los Angeles store.
6) Frequent customer Joan Jett says that she bought a leather ring belt from the Los Angeles store, and gave it to Sid Vicious. The belt can be seen in many photos of them from the '70s.
7) The Pleasure Chest has sold over 10,000 Rabbit vibrators since their appearance on Sex & The City, which was shot in our New York store!
Oh that Rabbit Habit...
8) The Queen song “Let Me Entertain You” released in 1978 includes these lyrics: “If you wanna see some action/We get nothing but the best/The S & M attraction/We got the Pleasure Chest.”
9) In 1972 Kama Sutra oil was the store’s top seller.
Kama Sutra Collection.
10) Wardrobe for a leather bar scene in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and the Gimp's outfit from Pulp Fiction were both sourced and bought at the Pleasure Chest.
11) When Pleasure Chest employees earned individual sales commissions, competition was fierce. Most of the staff were men and many were known to stuff their jeans to attract customers and boost sales. The company sought to level the playing field and banned the bulge. Aprons became mandatory uniforms for staff for awhile.
Too much?
12) Most of the women’s apparel and shoes sold by The Pleasure Chest in its early years came exclusively in men’s sizes, to serve cross-dressing and trans customers.
13) The Pleasure Chest used to sell jars of Vaseline and T-shirts with the Crisco logo.
14) “I have gone to the Pleasure Chest. Hey, you know what, there’s nothing wrong with The Pleasure Chest. I don’t care if you’re famous or not, everybody needs a little toy here and there.” – Queen Latifah
15) Over 1 million cock rings sold since 1971.
So many cock rings...
This year we'll be OUT again at various Pride events in LA, NY and Chicago doing outreach and handing out some sexy swag. Stay tuned on our social to find us and grab some of our limited edition Pride pins and maybe a free spanking or two! (With consent, naturally).
Our new Pride pins are IN! Swing by a store or find us at Pride for some sexy swag!
Find us at:
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- Have a beautiful Pride, everyone!