“Pamper, Provoke, and Please.”
This is not your typical Tupperware party. Instead of selling plastic containers to keep left-over pasta, Passion Parties are parties geared to sell products for women to make them feel confident, comfortable and sexy.
Products will vary from perfumes, lotions and lingerie to many different shaped, colored and sized toys for women to explore their sexuality.
Clients of Passion Parties run the parties, and any woman can host and or attend.
Ashley Engelbrecht, owner of Her Satisfaction Passion Parties (her own branch of Passion Parties), spoke of her mission in the business.
“My goal is to teach you about yourself, get you more comfortable in your own skin so you can go forth in your own love life. Be direct with yourself, be direct with your partner,” Engelbrecht said.
Jill Tague / Equinox Staff
Engelbrecht graduated from Keene State College with an independent major in Psychology of Health and Sexuality.
Her main inspiration for starting Her Satisfaction Passion Parties is “using my education,” Engelbrecht said.
With the credentials to teach health and sex education classes, Engelbrecht also brings an educational point of view to her Satisfaction Passion Parties.
“I’m very passionate about sex education and this is just sex education directed towards women, really. And it’s a fun way to do it,” Engelbrech said.
“We’ve got products that pamper, provoke and please. So we don’t just sell sex toys. We’ve got products that are going to enhance sensuality for both you and your partner,” Engelbrech said.
Passion Parties have become extremely popular with college-aged women. In addition to the sex education aspect and pampering or pleasing products offered for women, there is another aspect that keeps some women wanting to attend.
The activities and bonding experience that the clients lead have become a favorite with women due to the openness it creates. KSC student and a member of Feminist Collective, Kayleen Reardon, spoke of her first time attending a Passion Party.
“She had us do a ring toss on a strap-on dildo,” Reardon giggled about the game one of the clients at Slumber Parties (a similar branch to Passion Parties) made girls at the party play.
Feeling shy before attending her first party, Reardon spoke of how the openness of others helped her ease into the party.
“I feel like it helps you to open up. I definitely feel like it’s a good bonding experience for girls. I didn’t know a couple of the girls there and we all opened up to each other immediately because you are talking about stuff that makes you open up,” Reardon said.
“If you feel comfortable talking about this stuff it makes you more confident,” she continued.
In addition to a way to relax, parties like these could become a stress reliever for college women who are bombarded by stress when exams approach.
“Around finals time, I was thinking of throwing a party a week or two before [finals began] because you don’t realize how much fun you’re having,” Reardon said.
These parties have developed the reputation of the ultimate girls night for some.
Another possible appealing aspect for college women could be that it does not cost anything to host or attend a party.
However, this is without purchases of any pleasing products women may be tempted to buy.
A KSC student who wished to remain anonymous explained how she became inspired to host her own party after attending a friend’s party.
“I think it’s hard for girls now to be comfortable with this sort of thing. Having them in your home, it kind of opens doors. No girls are really comfortable walking into Phat Stuff downtown and going in the back and grabbing something they need. It’s fun for everyone to loosen up about sex and not make it such a big serious topic,” the student said.
A bonding girls night with friends, purchasing new toys or products and learning more about sex are all popular aspects of Passion Parties.
However, the most popular aspect seems to be the empowerment and confidence these parties bring to women.
As Engelbrecht said, “You definitely don’t have to be a Victoria’s Secret model to feel sexy or be sexy.”
Annelise Kloster can be contacted at akloster@keene-equinox.com