Sugar owner Jacq Jones leads the "Keeping Your Relationship Hot" workshop.
(Credit: Amanda Krotki)
- Photos:
-
As a part of that mission, the sex toy shop offers seximars, or seminars in sex, for the sexually curious. "Keeping Your Relationship Hot" was held on a cold night in February to help attendees prepare for Valentine's Day. The owner of the store, Jacq Jones, gave an hour-and-a-half presentation on various topics related to staying spicy in a long-term relationship.
The childless couples attending the session got the short end of the stick, so to speak, because much of the content focused on keeping a sex life alive in the face of child-rearing. (For example: Nix that whole "family bed" concept.) None of the attendees—gay or straight—seemed to be in the family way, which made us wonder if they felt even worse for having a less than wonderful sex life without even being able to play the kid card.
The class was interesting on a mostly psychological level, with the emotional side of a relationship taking precedence. Emphasis was placed on the importance of both scheduling date nights (once a month, at the very least) and masturbating (your partner can't make you happy until you know how to make you happy). Our biggest take-away? For some people, paying the bills and changing the oil is the way to show your love. For others, it's flowers and candy. Be sure to know which one of those things works for your partner and do it.
While all of these tips were useful and something we'll definitely keep in mind in our own relationships, we were hoping to be more scandalized and learn a few sexy tricks, but that didn't happen.
Jones does pass out a check list to facilitate communication about unmentionable secret desires such as, "Can you please give me an enema?" (By the way, that was a hypothetical question; we don't actually want an enema. Thanks, though.) Also, many of the 12 or so attendees at the seximar seemed to be in their 30s or older. Whether that was a result of the class topic or is actual representative of the typical Sugar crowd is hard to say. It's unlikely that many young hipsters in two-week-old relationships have difficulty keeping their sex life aflame, but who knows?
The upcoming "Porn 101" session (March 9) might be attended by a younger crowd. Young or old, though, these sessions are considerate of the more modest among us, as everything remains completely confidential. Jones also encourages the curious and inexperienced to ask her anything either in class or privately. Her personality gives the class a little levity (although not as much as we'd hoped for when sitting in a room full of strangers surrounded by dildos). She tells funny anecdotes to try to loosen up the mood, though there weren't many chatty Cathys around. We guess you don't want to run into someone at the grocery store who heard you talk about your enema fetish.
The most interesting thing we learned has more to do with vocabulary than relationships. Did you know that pervertables are everyday objects you use for sexual purposes, like binder clips for nipple clamps? Finally, you can incorporate office supplies into your sex life!
Bottom line is that these classes are an interesting way to spend a night, but don't expect to learn anything earth-shattering without doing your own research.
