The King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania has a Spencer's Gifts... that sells vibrators, penis-shaped pasta, and t-shirts with images of "a woman on all fours wearing a leash around her neck" that say, âHow to Train your Bitch." Classy! So you wouldn't expect the management at KOP Mall to have a problem leasing a space to a store that sells vibrators to women and t-shirts that say, "âLove your Body: Start a Revolution," right? Wrong.
What is the refusal to rent me a space really about?Letâs review: Spencerâs is owned by man. Feminique Boutique is owned by a woman.
Spencerâs sells t-shirts that degrade women, such as one that depicts a woman on all fours wearing a leash around her neck that says, âHow to Train your Bitch." Feminique Boutique sells t-shirts that empower women, such as one that says âLove your Body: Start a Revolution."
Spencerâs sells vibrators in the view of minors that contain phthalates, a chemical known to be harmful to the female reproductive system. Feminique Boutique sells vibrators in an 18+ backroom that are phthalate-free.
Spencerâs has an expressed business mission of humor and gag gift giving. Feminique Boutique has a business mission of advocating that âwomen are sexual subjects, not objects."
To me, itâs about the mainstreaming of sex-negativity. Sex toys can be sold as long as they are ânoveltiesâ with the purpose of embarrassing someone who opens it at their 40th birthday party. But when women buy one to actually be used and enjoyed, as they would from Feminique Boutique, it makes people uncomfortable. Sex can be talked about, as long as itâs a joke or putting someone down, which is why âtraining your bitchâ t-shirts and penis shaped pasta is acceptable at the mall for the entertainment of 12 year olds, but a woman who loves her body and proudly wears the Feminique Boutique shirt that declares that, well, thatâs obscene. My indignation is not at Spencerâs. Itâs a free country and I support their right to run their business as they see fit. But for the King of Prussia Mall to allow the sale of vibrators and other sex related products in a way that exacerbates social norms of female subservience while denying the opportunity for a competing business that sells similar products in a pro-female environment is discriminatory, sexist, and illegal.