Thursday, March 06, 2008

Swedes Love Dildos

Yup. They love dildos. Enough that the state-run monopolized pharmacy, Apoteket, is going to start selling dildos in their stores. Once again, my good friends at thelocal.se have enlightened us all. (I don’t actually know anyone at The Local, I’m sorry I mislead you.) Anyway, their article “Swedish State to Start Selling Sex Toys” says it all.

Swedes have voiced their opinions. And dildos are what they want. And they want it now. Or at least by May when Apoteket will start selling them. Their reason being that sexuality is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. And that by selling them they will be removing some of the stigma of going down to the 8th Avenue Arcade to pick up your favorite self-pleasure wand.

Fair enough. Whatever floats your boat. But does this speak poorly of Swedish men? Or does it speak highly of the sexual needs of Swedish women? Or does it just open up the possibility that the Swedes are down for trying anything as long as it is sanctioned and controlled by their omnipresent government? I have no answers.

Again though, I am amazed by the sexual attitudes of this country. So open. But it does hint at some sort of stigma if they feel the need to legitimize dildos by selling them in the pharmacy. But nonetheless. So open.

I just can’t imagine my friendly neighborhood pharmacist hawking a dildo. Mostly because I have known him since moving to the US and hang out at the pool and go skiing with him. Although, he is a charming man…

Welcome to Sweden. A land where dildos can be found in the same aisle as contact lens solution. Which by the way cost me 95 SEK the other day, that’s over 15 dollars. For the contact lens solution. Not a dildo.

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57 comments:

  1. 8th ave arcade... hah got kicked out of there when i was 17 all i wanted was some friendly neighborhood porn ... fascist pigs. btw - their.

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  2. I blame the tight pants

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  3. If more people did not satisfy themselves via artificial means, they might just be lucky enough to experience the amazingly connective power of saving themselves for a whole lot of the real thing. And I'm pretty sure that's a sentence which could apply to just about any subject in life. :o)

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  4. hmmm... the tight pants could be the problem...

    good comments. this was just to great of an article to pass up commenting on.

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  5. @anonymous - forgot to say good catch. my English grammar skills are clearly devolving the longer I am in Sweden.

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  6. I don't think this speaks poorly about Swedish men. However I would'nt. Sex is after all a human need, just like dental floss and antibiotics.. So why not?

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  7. yo dude. love the site, but i'm confused about one thing: shouldn't you be an American Swede in Sweden? correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't you more American, which would mean it comes first in the title?

    again, keep up the good work.
    Obama for prez

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  8. Yes! I knew I loved Sweden. Silly sports reporters and dildos in the pharmacy. Too funny. I'm moving immediately. So next time you pick up your 15 dollar contact solution is it safe to assume that Perry will be receiving a gift upon your return home?

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  9. @ sandra - fair enough. but there are lots of things that are human needs that aren't necessarily sold in the same store.

    @anonymous - you would think so. however, I am taking advantage of a time honored american tradition. think Irish-American, Mexican-American, African-American. Hence, Swedish American. Youa re right though. I am much more American than Swedish though.

    @chase- Ill be honest... I hope to find someplace cheaper to buy contact solution

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  10. we want to know how you KNOW about the 8th Street arcade???

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  11. come on now... everyone knows about that place.

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  12. Apoteket is selling dildos cause for some people it would be emberessing to just walk in to a sex store and say "I want a dildo".
    It´s more natrual to walk in to the pharmacy and buy one.

    sry for bad grammar.

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  13. no worries at all...

    I must say though I find it quite interesting that people are more comfortable walking into the pharmacy, the same place you, as sandra put it, buy floss and antibiotics to pick up a dildo.

    but fair enough I suppose.

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  14. Okay, this is funny. I tend to assume people are comfy being sexy and intimate with their loved one...and are comfy discussing medical things. But I don't see anything sexy or intimate about a plastic toy/a fake body part or a pharmacy. Help...is this another cultural thing?

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  15. I don't know that I have an answer I'm afraid.

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  16. Why would it be less awkward to go to the drugstore and buy a dildo than go to a sex shop? I think it's pretty weird to be honest.

    Robban

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  17. By the way, the pharmacy is going to be privatized. probably. If it is, I think it's the only good thing this government has done.

    again, Robban

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  18. yeah I think its a bit weird to buy that sort of thing in a pharmacy also. but whatever floats your boat.

    and what about lowering the tax burden so now Denmark is number 1 not Sweden? Thats good right?

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  19. In the U.S. the government, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, are outlawing sex toys. In Sweden you vote for the government to SELL dildos! You gotta love it.

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  20. it is a bit of a cultural difference isn't it. but that is kind of ridiculous to ban their sale. really ridiculus actually.

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  21. You absolutely made me laugh out loud with this post. I read the story in the newspaper, but your take on it cracks me up. Keep up the good work. Erik

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  22. glad you enjoyed it... it is quite a country.

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  23. I fully agree with you!

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  24. good times - rumor has it they are selling them now. I have yet to be in an apoteket in a while though...

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  25. "Again though, I am amazed by the sexual attitudes of this country. So open. But it does hint at some sort of stigma if they feel the need to legitimize dildos by selling them in the pharmacy. But nonetheless. So open."

    I am amazed too. They knew there is nothing bad or "evil" about sexuality. I just wonder, why is that in some countries, it is really hard to talk about sex publicly.

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  26. it is somewhat refreshing. I blame religion for not being able to talkopenly about sex

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  27. i wish....the whole world will wake up and open their minds on sex toys as they are not made to harm people...who knows, they're probably the solution to lessen the fast rising population counts or crimes such as rapes and sexual abuses.....

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  28. oooh I like it, dildos as the solver of the worlds problems.

    but I do agree, that theres nothing wrong with a bit more openness when it comes to this sort of thing.

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  29. Yes, without dildos or other sex toy products our pleasure will not be solved as fast as what we have right now..
    Sex Toy Goddess

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  30. oh good times with a little sex toy spam

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  31. very great time with the dildos, sex toys....and vibrators....

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  32. What's the size that you bought? The solution, not the dildo :D

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  33. haha... I love it. the biggest size they had. obviously.

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  34. I love to use dildos...sex toys and vibrators...

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  35. Re: it being awkward to buy a dildo at the pharmacy:
    I'm willing to bet Apoteket isn't going to offer some crazy embarrassing selection. Just the basics, the sleek, the smooth, maybe two styles at most, probably just one. Very utilitarian. It will be like buying a lighter. A last minute thought- "Oh yeah, I do need one of these."

    If you want the "massive black guy" or the "crazy glitter butterfly" or whatever, my guess is the 8th street arcade will still be your shop. (Btw, I just made those up. don't actually know the names of any except the pocket rocket and the rabbit.. but doesn't everyone know about those?? hahaha)

    p.s. i just described a dildo using the word utilitarian. Awesome.

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  36. I think youre on to something there. I really do need to check this out. For research purposes only of course.

    And the use of the word utilitarian when discussing dildos was well done. And strangely fitting.

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  37. i am just smiling here after reading your post.i was just searching for this dildo thing and accidentally bang on your blog lol.This is amazing that swedes are that much open about sex toys.I hope my country will become that much open some day.Here in asian countries people are still lot of conservative about it.

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  38. It is pretty interesting how liberal they are about their sexual attitudes.

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  39. It's so nice to read this kind of write-ups, informing that a country loves sex toys or dildos. Not, like in the US sex toys are not that open in public but in Sweden, the people and the government loves it. Nice!--Rica--

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  40. I'm not prude or anything, but i can't imagine a child walking around the pharmacy with his mom, picking the dildo up and asking "mommy, whats this?"

    Its disturbing for the mother who has to deal with this confused child, and hilarious for the onlookers watching it unfold(id laugh, not gonna lie). There are some things that need to stay the same--sex toys staying in sex shops.

    Does it seem to you that Sweden literally prides its self on being " open" about everything(esp sexual subjects)?

    i don't know how a country filled with semi frigid men and women can be so sexually indulged...
    oxymoron??

    btw i Loved your post! The last line made me laugh because im always converting krons to dollars in my head while i shop hahahaahah

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  41. I think Swedes do pride themselves on being open sexually. but it oesn't really bother me at all that they are selling them in the pharmacy. if it works then go for it. pus, as you say, the potential for hilarity is glorious.

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  42. Almost two years late.. anyway, I don't think this is because swedes are open with their sexuality, rather the contrary.

    Picking up a box at the pharmacy is less conspicuous than entering or leaving a sex shop. If you meet someone you know, they will think you bought band aids, skin lotion or something like that.

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  43. maybe, but I dont think that the pharmacies in the US will even consider carrying dildos.

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  44. RE: the last two comments: It's not just about being seen at a sex store. Most sex store's aren't cozy places, like Babeland or Smitten Kitten, they're grody places in iffy neighborhoods, where bad-smelling middle age men stand around looking at porno covers and fiddles in their eh, pockets. To have sex aids at the pharmacy helps people who feel insecure about entering that sort of place (as I certainly would. Luckily, Seattle has a Babeland) Second, most pharmaciess in the US sell "personal massagers" (which are actually vibrators) these days, and at least in Seattle the condom department has cock rings and fancy lubes.

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  45. agreed, 8th avenue arcade back in Greeley isn't exactly a nice place to stop by on your way home for an exciting night.

    well done to the Seattle pharmacies!

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  46. Not so hairy Canadian Swede in SkåneMarch 18, 2010 at 8:53 AM

    A little late but ... I still buy most of my sex toys online. That being said, I've also shopped for them in person. I haven't seen the selection at Apoteket yet but feel that it most likely would not be the place for me to buy them. There are two reasons for this: 1. the staff at Apoteket, with whom I cannot see myself discussing a possible purchase of a vibrating pleasure rod, and 2. the layout of most Apoteket-shops, which offer no privacy whatsoever. Besides, walking into a seedy sex shop at the dingy end of town and seeing the highly questionable customers there makes me feel normal somehow normal ;)

    You mentioned saline solution being in the same aisle as the dildos ... ever try buying saline solution outside of Apoteket or the optometrists? Gov't regulations are so stringent that saline solution apparently cannot be sold in regular grocery stores and such. It is apparently more hazardous to the general population than hair dye, bleach, and surströmming combined.

    Go figure, eh!

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  47. oooh the classic self esteem boost because of seedy people. thats why I like carnivals. the carnies all make me feel strangely normal.

    but I definitely see what you mean.

    and yes, saline solution is clearly a health hazard. at my optometrist it is under lock and key behind the counter. pretty ridiculous.

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  48. i don't know how a country filled with semi frigid men and women can be so sexually indulged...
    oxymoron?
    Mold Certification

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  49. probably the same way someone advertising mold certifications can make comments on posts about dildos.

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  50. Just felt like I had to be a part of this conversation, seeing as I am Swedish and all...

    @Not so hairy Canadian Swede in Skåne: You don't actually have to discuss buying these products with Apoteket's staff, or even set foot in the non-privacy of a store, since you can buy all of their products online.

    http://kampanj.rfsu.se/sverige/trustinlust/index.html

    This web site should be nice, educational and interesting if you are from, say, the US. ;) (Btw, it's in Swedish, but still, you could google translate it or ask a Swedish-American like Hairy to translate it for you)

    Speaking of the whole "Swedes are so open about sex"-thing; according to RFSU half of all the people in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) own sex toys. I don't know about you, but I think that's awesome. More sex to the people! Because I mean, come on, we need it! What else should we do in the winter time when it's dark and cold and people complain about EVERYTHING in this country. Shut your cake hole, grab a sex toy and have fun! :) It's good for ya!

    /Linn The Pink Viking

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  51. Saw same at Walgreens last week. They are up high. I kid you not. Love your blog and entries, very well written and humorous. Thanks!

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