Sex toys do the trick

2005-09-22 13:06

Hong Kong - With surveys showing Hong Kong men prefer work to sex, the city's women are seeking help with their love life from a high street pharmacy chain that has begun stocking sex toys alongside soap and shampoo.

Vibrators were a surprise hit at Watson's group - controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing - and sex education bosses were delighted, saying it could help the sexually repressed city come out of its shell.

"Some people need them, for entertainment or for improvement of sexual problems," Ng Man-lun of the Hong Kong Sex Education Association told AFP.

"To emphasise the health image and role of the products, such gadgets are better sold in established dispensaries than in 'sex shops' which give an image more on the entertainment side," the doctor added.

The open sale of sex aids surprised many in this conservative Chinese city, where eroticism is a taboo subject confined usually to tabloid magazines or seedy nightclubs.

Intercourse is also something of a no-no for many people, according to a survey by condom manufacturer Durex, which found Hong Kong's couples lagged far behind almost every other nation when it came to the frequency of sex.

In a separate survey, the city's hard-working men said they preferred going to the office to getting in the sack with their loved ones.

A Watson's spokesperson said the vibrators had been a surprise hit.

"We are promoting them as a lifestyle choice and the response has been very positive, there have been no complaints," she said.

Ng said the toys could help ease the city's sexual hang-ups, which according to a study of some of the association's clients, are mostly rooted in ignorance of what to do during sex.

- AFP