There might be any number of discrete ways nowadays for women to buy sex toys, in 1992 things were a little different.
Before female-friendly toys were available, Kathryn Hoyle went shopping for one.
What she found, however, was alienating, intimidating and sleazy. The dark, dingy sex shops owned by porn barons, were all run by male staff – catering to male sexuality only.
Amidst the DVDs and scratchy panties, were the ‘toys’, each as phallic and graphically ‘realistic’ as the next, locked away in grubby glass cabinets.
Fellow customers followed her around, often standing too close for comfort.
Three months later, in April 1992, and on a budget of £700 and a large tin of playfully ironic pink paint, Sh! opened its doors in London.
The revolutionary award-winning shop tells Metro.co.uk that the name is a playful comment on society’s silencing of women’s sexuality – with the exclamation mark sticking its tongue out to all that.
‘Sh! was the UK’s first sex shop for women, and it was also the UK’s first-ever boutique-style erotic shop. Ky (Katheryn) set about creating a place where the individuality and complexity of sexuality were celebrated; a place where women could explore and discover their own, true sexual selves.
‘Demonstration toys were laid out on tables, all with batteries so customers could handle the vibrators in order to feel the intensity and listen to the volume before making their decision. In those days, this was unheard of. Before a customer left the shop with her new purchase, the staff religiously battery-tested each vibe to ensure it worked. This made Sh! the first shop to offer guarantees on all electrical toys, and to return faulty vibes to suppliers.
‘Sh! was born out of passion, rather than business acumen.’
The sexy retailer, also the largest producer of silicone dildos in the EEC, has a unique door policy; men are only allowed when accompanied by a woman. This is to ensure women have a safe, free space to browse.
In the summer of 1992, founder Ky came across a Roger Rabbit vibrator in an East London warehouse. She wanted women around the UK to know about it but knew the male-centric name had to go, so she called it Jessica Rabbit.
Six years before the rabbit’s famous appearance on Sex and the City in 1998 and well before it became known as the ‘Rampant Rabbit’, Sh!’s Jessica Rabbit was featured in hundreds of mainstream women’s magazines and TV shows.
Vaginismus sufferers who may experience pain or fear of vaginal penetration are now told they can also use Sh! products as they have created a soft silicone vibrating dilating kit, after working with the NHS.
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As the first place in the UK to offer an erotic class (in 1999 by Jo King, the ‘Burlesque Queen of Striptease’) they now regularly offer classes and workshops on many topics of women’s sexuality.
Sh! also want women who have suffered domestic abuse to reclaim their pleasure, which they aim to do with their support group Cafe V, every two months.
Here are some of the creations of the revolutionary shop which continues to redefine female sexuality:
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