Event Review: Sex Expo NY

So, what would make your friend El Casque to wake up early on a Saturday and take a 1-hour subway ride? Free stuff, of course! Well, free stuff at a sex expo. A couple of Saturdays ago, I woke up early on a Saturday morning and dragged my fat ass to Brooklyn where SHE Media was presenting its annual exposition, renamed as Sex Expo this year.

This was my second visit to this Expo – named Sexual Health Expo until last year – and I wanted to see if there were any changes to the format. The Sex Expo is a different event from the ones I am used to go. Instead of porn stars or naked people walking around, this expo is more of an educational event with workshops, product exposition, and some raffles.

What I liked

The gift bag. For the second time, I have to say this event has one of the best gift bags of any event I have  gone. This year, the gift bag included:

  • Trojan  Multi Thrill 3-in-1 vibrating bullet
  • Candiland Kissable Love Dust (3 oz)
  • Lube samples packets
  • Adam & Eve thong
  • Bijoux Body Decorations
  • Trojan Riviera hybrid lubricant
  • Migliori lube sample
  • Drilldo stress relief toy
  • Uberlube sample packets

In addition, the bag included the usual discount coupons (more than 7 stores), gift pens, stickers (lots of them) and the SHE magazine / program. Considering this is basically a free expo, the goody bag itself was much better than the bags given in other expos I had paid $40 – $80 for a multi-day pass. Again, the sponsors in this show did not hold their punches…

The expo floor. This year the venue was fully repaired, so the expo floor was much better organized and there were many more vendors. They had more than 60 booths packed with products and services. Unlike last year, I saw a couple of vendors with models (most of them in not too revealing clothes), so the tone was less serious but still far from overtly sexual. The products and services were mostly focused on women, but still there were  more male-centered vendors than other sex shows I have gone.

Vendor’s Gifts. One of the reasons driving me to expos is the chance to get lots of free samples from different vendors (yes, I admit it – I go to get free shit!). This expo had a good mix of vendors I have seen in other places and others that were unknown. Known companies like Bad Dragon was giving bags with lube samples and company merchandise, X-Rated Baskets was giving cleanup towels and condoms, and many other companies were either giving samples of their products, heavy discounts on their stuff, and most were doing raffles throughout the day.

What I did not like

The emphasis on female topics. Although I could notice a more variety of topics in the workshops, still most of the topics were centered on women issues. I am not going to whine about it – I have learned the industry is geared towards them. Still, the presenters I heard talking on Saturday when I went to the Expo were extremely careful in avoiding offending people of any orientation or sex – which was an “improvement” from last year.

Verdict

Like I have said in the past, I am still trying to manage the fact that in the sexual education scene, straight men are ignored. Still, this expo is a good show to assist. You are sure to learn something new and useful and get free shit. And that is the purpose of the show.

1 thought on “Event Review: Sex Expo NY”

  1. Porn was male dominated – in the past few years more and more women are directing and producing porn with a female POV. My issue is more with the educational sessions. Women always complain that men are not sexually educated, but the current educators do not take men in consideration!

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