| April 2000: San Francisco, CA - So an "Erotica (fill in
city or year)" convention finally made its way to San Francisco during the second
week of April. These conventions have appeared multiple times in cities such as Los
Angeles, London, and New York City. The big question was how would this event be
received in San Francisco? It's not like the city needed another sex positive
festival - it already has the Gay Pride Parade, the Folsom Street Fair, and the Exotic,
Erotic Halloween and New Year's Eve parties. Popular speculation was it would be
welcomed with a big yawn. San Francisco's first erotica expo was neither a success nor a
failure. Certainly the event was not a major success - there were no lines of people
waiting to buy tickets. In fact, the event was sparsely attended - a major
disappointment to most of the exhibitors. The event was almost completely ignored by
all the local newspapers - in fact I only saw one printed advertisement, and one listing
for it under 'upcoming events'. The organizer's plan was to advertise on cable TV,
but at the last minute AT&T (owner of most cable systems in the Bay Area as a result
of their TCI buyout) refused to advertise the event due to 'subject matter'.
Bill Margold, adult industry activist and convention attendee, called the event
"Boredom by the Bay".
Bill Margold and Anita Cannibal
The number of exhibitors at the event was respectable considering it was its first year
in San Francisco. About 75 booths were setup and selling a wide variety of wares.
DVDs and video tapes were for sale, as were plenty of sex toys. Being held in San
Francisco, there were places to get pierced and tattooed, and witness or experience
demonstrations of sex toys (like the popular bungee sex swing). Several erotic
entertainers were in attendance: Nina Hartley was there for Adam & Eve, Doria from
Playboy's first season of
Nightcalls, several former Playboy Playmates, and a few Penthouse Pets. Erotic art
was prominently displayed - Jennifer Jenaesko was there selling her art, and galleries
represented several well known artists such as Olivia and Sayanora(?). Add a few
lingerie/fetish dealers and erotic vacation travel agencies, top with Bill Margold and
Anita Cannibal (representing Free Speech Coalition), and there were enough sexual
opportunities to cater to almost everyone.
Each day started with 2 hours of guest speakers lecturing on various aspects of sex,
followed by 9 hours to converse with vendors and seek photo opportunities with the stars
of adult entertainment. At the beginning of each hour the main stage came to life
with some form of entertainment which varied from fashion shows to erotic dancers.
Sadly no nudity was allowed at this event, despite this being in SF, and a requirement to
be 21 or over to attend. This is particularly ironic since the strip shows in SF are
among the finest (read nastiest) in the nation, and admission to those events is limited
to those 18 years or older.
Each night after the expo closed parties were held which expo attendees could be part
of (for a slight additional fee) at various San Francisco nightclubs. I wasn't able
to attend any of these - but there was an implied atmosphere of spicier entertainment.
Aunt Peg and Annie Sprinkle
Retailers may have been disappointed, but as an attendee I enjoyed myself. The
floor was never too crowded, and it was easy to speak with all of the vendors and erotic
entertainers. The sparse attendance was no doubt do to lack of public awareness of
the event. One hopes to see this expo continue in San Francisco in the years to
come.
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