It’s spring and romance is in the air. It seems to be the perfect time for Johannesburg to host South Africa’s first Sexpo. And it’s all happening this weekend.
But what can South Africans expect from such an event?
Hosted by Miss Nude Australia Arianna Starr and featuring international female porn stars Claudia Rossi and Jessica Sanchez, as well as penile artist Tim Patch (also known as Pricasso), this health, sexuality and lifestyle expo is certainly no run-of-the-mill exhibition.
Sexpo South Africa director Silas Howarth says the main focus of the expo is to promote an openness among South Africans that would encourage talk about sex. ‘We want people to come, feel comfortable and then feel that they can talk about sexuality and get advice on all things sexual.”
Sexpo has been running in Australia for more than 10 years and has attracted about 1,5-million visitors. It has become one of the most popular of exhibitions around the world, with shows in the United States, Europe and Singapore. In Australia, the Sexpo was initiated to make women feel free to talk about and explore sexuality.
With 30 000 people expected to pour into Gallagher Estate at the weekend, the Sexpo promises to cater to a diverse audience with a range of attractions in store for visitors, including the Odyssey Male Revu dancers, chocolate licking competitions, wine tasting and many shopping booths for ‘sexy items ranging from the romantic to the super saucy,” says Howarth.
For those concerned with health and fitness, there will be lessons on pole and lap dancing, a phallus-shaped amusement rodeo ride and tantric workshops on offer. There will be speed dating and dating workshops.
‘The Sexpo is a little bit of everything — mainly for visitors to have fun — but health and sexuality are an important part of the expo.”
Organisations such as loveLife, The Aids Consortium and the South African Sexual Health Association will be represented. ‘We’ve put a lot of emphasis on our SHE section, which is our sexual health exhibition,” says Howarth. ‘We will provide condoms in goody bags and exhibitors will be supplied with free condoms. Visitors can get condoms at the door.”
Refilwe Africa, media director for loveLife, says: ‘As loveLife we do not shy away from areas that might be considered risqué — the expo is there to deal with adult sexuality; we want to be there to reinforce the message that whatever you do, you need to protect yourself.”
Asked if he thought the Sexpo would be met with scepticism from certain groups, Howarth says the reaction has been positive. ‘There will be no live sex on stage or sex videos; this is clean, fun and tasteful. We do not want to offend South Africans — the typical Teazers visitor is not your typical Sexpo visitor.”
He says extensive research has gone into assessing the viability of a Sexpo for South Africa. ‘South Africa is said to be a very conservative country, but through our research we found that South Africans are ready to talk about their sexuality.”
Research conducted by Expo Works showed that out of 1 000 respondents, 65% had sex once a week and one in four owned a vibrator.
The exhibitors list reflects a cross-section of lifestyle elements. Women’s magazines, book stores, health spas and luxury vehicles will be part of the exhibition. ‘Everyone has sex, so Sexpo is for everyone.”
The expo will be running at Gallagher Estate this weekend until midnight on Friday and Saturday and until 9pm on Sunday. With three more booked countrywide next year, Sexpo looks set to stay.