As the evening creeps across the sky and the bitter winter air nips at uncovered fingers and cheeks, people will flock to the Calgary Roundup Centre this Friday to find a little heat, in more ways than one.
In the last few years, Taboo… The Naughty but Nice Sex Show has seen a dramatic increase in attendance and in exhibitors. Last year, the event featured and was attended by more than 100 exhibitors and 25,000 consumers.
Visiting Calgary from November 9 to 11 at the Roundup Centre, the seventh annual Taboo Show has added two new venues to its western Canadian tour, with organizers hoping to add more in the future. “We seem to get more attendants and exhibitors each year,” says show director Darryl Rosengreen.
Besides the regular stops on the tour in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, this year the Taboo Show will also visit Abbotsford, B.C. and Regina. Rosengreen, who has organized the show since its debut, says after considering the size of Vancouver, Abbotsford was added to the tour to “service the valley of Vancouver,” and encourage people in the suburbs to attend. However, Regina was a whole other issue. “It’s funny — Regina actually approached us (to tour) there,” Rosengreen says, adding that there may be plans to add Victoria, B.C. in the near future.
Formally known as the Everything to do with Sex Show, the concept for the consumer show originated in Toronto eight years ago. The goal was to gather “everything to do with sex” in one exhibition area for a couple of days and give people the opportunity to explore, inquire and get in touch with their sexuality through a variety of seminars, products and shows.
About four years ago, the show branched off from its Toronto partner under the new name Taboo Naughty but Nice Sex Show. While Rosengreen admits the first few years of the show were very difficult as exhibitors and consumers weren’t quite convinced that the show was a reputable event and not a risqué romp, once it established itself, it caught on with businesses and consumers alike. “I see more and more companies getting into this business,” says Rosengreen. “We’ve provided a venue for them to do business and promote themselves in an open mainstream atmosphere.”
In the beginning, it was difficult to attract exhibitors outside of the “love shops.” Now, they offer everything from travel vacations and nutrition to toys and bondage. “I think the show has grown to encompass anything to do with sexuality, romance, health and wellness,” he says. “It’s just about looking and feeling your best and enjoying life.”
The show’s goal, according to Rosengreen, is to provide three essential services to consumers: education, in the form of seminars; entertainment, with a variety of different shows on the mainstage; and, of course, shopping.
Dawn Johnson, an expert on pop culture and sexuality at the University of Calgary, says events like the Taboo Show can play a vital role in sexual education and awareness for some individuals. “I think that for some people, school, home and even conversations with friends can be kind of intimidating places to ask questions and share information about sex,” she says. Johnson adds that events like the Taboo Show create an anonymous environment to learn in.
According to Johnson, the increasing interest in the show, and similar consumer trade shows, isn’t surprising. “I think it demonstrates that people are increasingly interested in, and comfortable admitting, an interest in talking and learning about sex,” she says.
Historical and cultural circumstances also influence how individuals view sex and sexuality, according to Chloe G.K. Atkins, an expert on human sexuality at the University of Calgary. She uses the shift in sexual views from the beginning of the Second World War to the postwar era as an example. During the war, people felt less constrained about sexual exchanges, as many men were sent off to fight knowing they may never return. Women during this time often used their bodies to conciliate invading soldiers and feed their starving families.
However, in a postwar era, sexual views became more conservative and promiscuous behaviour outside of marriage was less tolerated until the introduction of the pill and the onslaught of the sexual revolution. Events like the Taboo Show “provide an opportunity for individuals and organizations who are interested in promoting safe and healthy sexualities to interact, network and learn from another,” Atkins says.
