Call me a prude but....

...I would think most people would prefer to buy their sex toys and games from the privacy of their own home. And of course being Winnipeggers, we would want to price compare - you can't beat online shopping for that!

I'm referring of course to the announcement that Discreet Boutique is closing their doors. According to the article in the FreeP the owner is blaming the demise on "harassment from downtown panhandlers". Downtown pandhandlers have been all over the news lately, scaring away Air Canada employees from their hotels is another of their trademarks, perhaps if only those cranky uptight Air Canada employees had been able to make it to Discreet Boutique to purchase some "relaxation aids" then we might not even be in the position of them talking about striking (as usual). My disdain for the general attitude of Air Canada employees aside, I just find it hard to believe that panhandlers have scared away all the delicate flowers wanting to purchase sex toys in Winnipeg.

In Winnipeg, where local gossip travelled at the speed of light (okay, maybe the speed of a cross-town bus) long before facebook, if you were buying something at DB with that gift certificate that you won at a social to get your rocks off, chances are, someone saw you; that's one of the drawbacks endearing qualities of a city like Winnipeg. Zero anonymity. I mean, most of us have probably stopped in to DB at some point, or maybe you just went to Dominion News as a giggling teenager to look at the various wiggling battery operated devices, or for the truly less adventurous, the 80's/90's mall staple - San Francisco. On a side note, did you know that Dominion News sells, y'know, like magazines? I went in there quasi-recently to find a small print magazine - totally forgot to look for dildos while I was there - maybe they don't even carry them anymore?!

We live in a society that doesn't freely talk about sex and masturbation, it's just not what we do for the most part. While respectable men and women, rich and poor may have shopped at DB over the years, the freedom to discreetly shop for these things from home on the internet without accidentally running into another mom from the PTA bakesale was probably what killed DB off rather than  the panhandlers. I mean, if you're willing to risk everyone in Winnipeg finding out what your sexual predilections are, then someone asking you for a dollar isn't going to keep you away.