A trio of Greater Victoria municipalities, led by Colwood, are apparently among the randiest in the country.
Adult novelty company PinkCherry Sex Toys this week released its annual top 25 Canadian cities list for purchases of its sex toys per capita and the West Shore city came in at No. 2.
PinkCherry, a wholesaler, retailer and online retailer of sex toys, adult novelties and lingerie, recorded its sales and locations between Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2014. Topping the list with highest sales per person was Kentville, N.S.
Other Island communities making the list included Victoria coming in seventh, View Royal at 17th and Parksville at No. 22.
"If I looked at demographics for our customer base, I would say that most customers are married and most people are middle-aged," said Amanda Stacey, owner of the Love Den in Langford. "If you look at the demographics of downtown, you might have a younger, more single group … With Colwood being high density for middle aged people, I don't know, it would make sense to me."
Stacey, who has operated her shop for more than 12 years, pointed to sex toys as marital aids, sleeping aids and stress relievers for couples, singles and people who don't see their partners for long periods of time, including military wives and husbands.
"Human sexuality is becoming more and more acceptable. Fifty Shades of Grey actually made Ben Wa balls sell out in North America. It's something I have never seen before," she said. "The book was in Costco: when the book is in Costco, it gives people permission to explore, because they (don't sell) anything illegal or immoral … So if they see it there, they think it normalizes a stigma that is hanging around."
PinkCherry Sex Toys determined which cities ordered the most product, and divided the amount of revenue in each region by the number of adults living in the area according to the census, to determine the average amount of sales per capita. Rounding out the top five were Alberta cities Fort McMurray in third and Grande Prairie in fourth, with Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL in fifth.
Stacey said attitudes around sex are changing.
"My grandmother's views of sex are not mine, and her views are very wrapped up in guilt, fear and shame," she said. "I don't have that, so it's changing with age. People are starting to realize it's fine to have fun with your partner in bed. It's a lot more of a casual attitude than it used to be."
alim@goldstreamgazette.com