THE brisk business done by peddlers of sex toys during a recent expo in the parking lot of a popular, upscale New Kingston supermarket has spurred event organisers to plan another show in Montego Bay for Mother’s Day.

And while the owners of adult novelty shops feel that it’s about time the Bible-thumping Jamaican society accepts that there are many eager customers ready to purchase the wide range of sexual paraphernalia available, there are concerns that the country’s norms and mores are under threat.

The opening up of the mainstream media landscape and the resulting need to push the envelope because of the high levels of competition, as well as the easy access to sexual content via cable and the Internet are being blamed for the cultural shift.

Audley Bucknor, the manager of Action Plan Events and the organiser for the February 4 pre-Valentine’s Day ‘Global Wines and Chocolate Expo’, said the adult booths got more orders and inquiries than the others. In fact, one of them ran out of vibrating condoms early and had to restock. “There seems to be a massive market for sex toys and (customers are) both male and female,” he said.

Bucknor boasted that his may have been the first expo in Jamaica with sex toys among its showpieces. “It has never been done before, not so open and public,” he said. Yvette James, the owner of Intimate Occasions, an adult novelty shop, was one of those who jumped at the opportunity to be a part of the expo after she saw the newspaper ad seeking booth holders.

Business had always been slow ever since she started to sell a range of sex paraphernalia in a Constant Spring plaza a year ago. The extra promotion would bring in more clients, she thought.

The venue was good too – central and fairly well used. And she would not be alone as, of the 25 booths, there were three others peddling sex toys.

The outcome, however, was far from what she had anticipated, James told the Sunday Observer days after her promotional stint. There were many curious onlookers, she offered them a 10 per cent discount on all items and handed out business cards, but sales continued to be slow, and callers were few.

“Some people were surprised (at the sex toys) and the majority of them were shy about it,” James said. “I suggested that they come to my store (but) some are narrow-minded, not open to this. Even one lady said she is a Christian. I told her I’m not selling something illegal. These things are a part of life.”

The “things” include vibrating condoms, vibrating vaginas and penises, plus a range of creams that are said to enhance the sex act.

The only item among James’ stock that was selling was ‘Forever Young’, a cream that is said to help delay the point of climax for men.

But other booth owners had more luck, according to Bucknor who is now busy planning his second show for the western resort city.

However, some sociologists are not excited about the idea. They frown on the public peddling of sex toys.

“Our cultural values are breaking down. Sexual activities are becoming more open,” was the concern of sociologist and university lecturer Dr Aldrie Henry. “A few years back, some things wouldn’t happen; now I see people are taking it on as normal behaviour.”

A contributor to this ‘openness’ according to Jacqueline Johnson, spokesperson from the Broadcasting Commission, is the increase in the number of media houses over the last 12 years and the intense competition that comes with the opening up of the media landscape.

To get the edge, some media entities introduce programmes with more salacious topics to attract larger audiences, she said.

Television programmes like TVJ’s Man Talk and CVM’s Our Voices have, in the past, carried explicit discussions on sex and other issues which, years ago, many in Jamaican society would have considered too ‘risky’. “Given the recognised influence and pervasiveness of electronic media, there are of course concerns about the impact of programming on social values and on children,” she added.

Dr Henry is also worried that the increasing sexual openness will negatively affect young people. So too is Mary Clarke, a Kingston-based social worker.

“Whereas adults are mature and can make informed choices, sometimes we expose our young people who are not as informed and cannot cope with the consequences of their choice,” she said.

No supermarket that allowed sex toys to be sold in its parking lot would get her business, she added emphatically.

Rev Dr Donald Stewart, a pastor and cable TV host who often speaks about the erosion of family values on his programme Reality of Spiritual Warfare, which appears daily on Jacks Cable in St Catherine, blamed the growing acceptance of lewd programming largely on an easy access to information via cable TV and the Internet.

“It’s not easy keeping sexually explicit material from children,” he told the Sunday Observer.

With the Internet, even if you are not browsing a porno site, a click of the mouse can easily expose you to pop-ups or sites selling sex toys – and even sex itself, he said. And cable, with its daily dose of sexually explicit movies and seductive music videos, presents an even greater challenge, he added.

“Nothing is hidden; we’re at an age where these things are bombarding us left, right and centre. When you have opened up people’s appetites, when we have been desensitised to the wrongness of certain actions, it opens up a whole floodgate and it comes and floods us like a tsunami and we lose control,” he said.

In contrast, Easton Williams, a sociologist for more than 20 years, argues that the increasing exposure is “a good thing”.

“The common reaction is that it breaks down morality, but I think a lot of people are too intolerant of other views and everybody has a right to operate and express themselves in a plural society,” he said.

According to Williams, the increasing freedom of expression which is played out in debates about once-taboo issues such as abortion and sexual preferences, as well as efforts to push issues such as human rights and the rights of individuals to make informed decisions, are breaking down the old system of intolerance.

“As society evolves we have to become more tolerant of different perspectives and beliefs,” he said. “We tend to advance Christianity and those values above others, because we have been controlled – in a way, socialised – into the dominant values of Christ. As society evolves, different contending belief systems will emerge and groups challenging traditional values and attitudes.”

Dr Orville Taylor, a lecturer in the sociology department at the University of the West Indies, said change is inevitable as societies become more integrated within a larger global community and no one can stop the change.

The real issue, for him, is whether Jamaica or Jamaicans can afford the evolving taste for “elements of metropolitan lifestyle”.

“Valentine’s Day is also something imported, something alien to our culture that has become part of our culture. As a sociologist very concerned with issues of development, I want to see more locally-made stuff. Let me see more local-made sex toys, if you wish,” he said.

“It’s bad enough that these things are being imported but we’re spending very precious foreign exchange to buy them. Think about it! We’re importing the values, then the taste patterns and then the goods!”

But while conceding that there’s nothing anyone can do to stop or even censor the flood of information, Henry suggested a more aggressive values-and-attitudes campaign that would target both children and adults. “I think the values-and-attitudes campaign, which I don’t hear much about, needs to step up its work because I think it’s too dormant,” she said.

Stewart agrees.

“What we have to be doing, as early as we can, is to be educating children to see what is right and what is wrong,” said the pastor.

The Broadcasting Commission recently introduced the Children’s Code for Programming, partly in response to these concerns, Johnson said. The code provides guidelines for how programming with sexual content, violence and certain types of language are to be treated by broadcasters and cable operators.

“Indications are that electronic media will eventually become a highly personal experience with reduced opportunities for mediation from regulatory bodies. Consequently, there is a growing need for societies, including Jamaica, to become more media literate,” she said.