KATHMANDU'S EMERGING SEX TOY MARKET

PRATIK RIMAL

The sex toy market in the capital has witnessed a steady growth over the past few years. The reason is the conservative Nepali society is gradually becoming liberal about sex. More and more people are opening up about sex, and sex related issues. And they no more hesitate to experiment if it enhances their sexual pleasure.

The number of people flying abroad for education or employment has been on a constant rise for the past many years. This has brought in not only brought remittance but also western cultures. "Increasing access to the media, Western culture and the rapidly changing socio-cultural and economic dynamics too have contributed to a change in the sexual behavior of Nepalis," said Sanjeev Pokharel, an anthropologist.

However, such changes were hardly noticeable when The Condom House and Sweet Secret were established three and five years ago, respectively. Yubaraj Neupane, proprietor of Condom House shared that his business was disappointing in the first year because very few people would enter his store. "Nepalis were not used to a public display of sexual items. Also, many would look down upon the shop as sex and sex-related issues were still a taboo for them," he said, "but things have changed over the past couple of years."

Each country has its own social and cultural beliefs. While these beliefs have their own value, they hold an individual back from trying something new, or say, doing something out of the blue and thus, learn through experiments. As a country opens up, it slowly breaks away with the social, cultural beliefs that are more restrictions than rules and Nepal is not an exception. "Things have really changed in Nepal over the past few years," Neupane shared.

"One of my friends is getting married. I am going to gift him condoms," Ayush Shrestha (name changed), a customer at the store shared. Shrestha, who himself buys condoms knows the importance of safe sex. "People should be open about sex with their partners. If you're open, you can be helped. If you are not, you are likely to get into one or the other problem," Shrestha said.

CONDOMS AND THEIR USE

There are many types of condoms in the market and one should know the kind of condoms to use on different occasions with different persons. Confused? Let truth be told: condoms are not as simple as they seem to be, and ignorance, here, is not a bliss.

Condoms aren't used only to prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. They also enhance the sexual pleasure, according to Neupane. "If the female partner is a virgin, one should use light, thin and lubricated condoms without dots," Neupane said. One should use such condoms because the girl's genital is yet to open and using dotted condoms could injure her during intercourse.

If it’s a woman who's already been pregnant, once or twice, the male partner should use extra dotted condoms with lubricant because the woman's genital has already eased and relaxed. Using dotted condoms will heighten her sexual pleasure.

If it is a prostitute, one should use plain, lubricated and dot less condom. Since prostitutes do it more for money than pleasure, it's likely that her genital is dry. Using a dotted condom could cause friction and tear it.

SEX TOYS

Sex toys are objects or devices that are primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. A range of sex toys can be found in the market. Varying in the degree of features, male sex toys cost from Rs. 1500 to Rs. 25,000 while, for females, the price of sex toys ranges from Rs. 2800 to Rs. 8000.

Sex toys are sometimes seen as catalysts for sex, and are totally harmless if used properly. Neupane said that for sanitation, one should use condoms while playing with sex toys. "If they carelessly use and put it away, and then use it again, they could get infected," Neupane said, adding that sex toys were not for sharing. "No one should share sex toys," Neupane added.

BUSINESS

Neupane and Manjit Poudel, CEO of Sweet Secrets, started their business with an investment of around Rs. 800,000 and Rs 2.5 mill respectively. With little sales in the first year, Neupane doubted if he had taken the right decision. However, things have changed now. Neupane's business has been growing at a steady rate. People of all age groups come to his store to buy condoms. "Customers range from teenagers starting from 16 to as old as 70," Neupane said, "But sex toys business is yet to grow into a good business."

However, when Paudel introduced sex toys and condoms in the market five years ago, the response he got from people was that of appreciation. Nevertheless, Paudel did have some doubts on how the audience would view their shop. "We had apprehensions. But the feedback we got was startling," Paudel shared, adding, that more than 90 per cent of the people appreciated their work.

Paudel also says that sex toys are already a good business. He sells more than 100 sex toys a month. "Sixty percent of the buyers are males, while the remaining 40 per cent are females," Paudel informed.

The Condom House displays a range of condoms and sex toys for both men and women. The shop sees around 100 customers a day on an average. "People don't just come to buy condoms or sex toys. They also come for information regarding condoms and safe sex and ways to enhance sexual pleasure," Neupane said.

According to Neupane, the price of condoms ranges from a rupee to Rs. 700 per piece. "We do not have a condom manufacturing industry here, and therefore import from abroad," Neuapne said, adding that the store imports condoms from India, Japan, London, China, Malaysia, and Korea.