Montreal’s annual sex salon was all about broadening your sexual horizons
Le Salon de l’Amour et de la Séduction or, under its slightly less romantic moniker, the “Everything to do with Sex Show,” came of age with its 21st edition January 16-18 at Montreal’s Place Bonaventure. Needless to say it was a hot and steamy affair. Over the course of three days the Sex Show offered art, spectacle, performance, educational seminars from renowned “sexologists” and a wide array of products more or less related to sex.
The advertised goal of the organizers is to “enhance your sex life, relationships and general well being.”
Over 100 exhibitors from Canada and the U.S. presented their wares at the Sex Show, offering the thousands of attendees special discounts and package deals on anything and everything: a whole spectrum of wood, steel and glass dildos, innovative and stimulating sex toys, beauty products, vacation packages, swinger cruises, erotic chocolate, bamboo pillows, massages, haircuts, tattoos, piercings, lingerie and smoking paraphernalia.
A few “exhibitionists” chuckled at the tenuous links to sexuality being claimed by some of the companies posted up in the show room. For instance, the art area boasted tattoo and piercing artists, fire-eaters and an exhibit selling furs, skulls, rodent skeletons and embalmed snakes. A psychic offered palm readings and a table in the well-being section featured a line of cooking products.
“I guess they say a way to a man’s heart is through his belly,” laughed Cherilyn Sperling, a reservations specialist promoting the all-inclusive nudist resort “Hedonism II” in Negril, Jamaica.
Wandering through the dimly lit aisles of the Salon de l’Amour, it was clear that the organizers catered to all types of sexual preference, taste and proclivity. It was also an opportunity to venture outside one’s comfort zone and try something new.
Aside from the main stage hosting a cycle of live shows, there was the kink corner with demonstrations of bondage, domination and sadomasochism (BDSM). The erotic art area featured ongoing and completed works while massages, nutritional advice and a cuddle corner were available in the well-being zone. A burlesque stage was busy with regular performances. The intellectually inclined, meanwhile, crowded the seminar room for a program of renowned speakers on sexuality.
The most refreshing aspect of the event was the friendly and playful open-mindedness demonstrated by attendees. It’s not very often one has the chance to interact with porn stars, sexologists, burlesque dancers, erotic artists, massage therapists, male and female models, dominatrices, travel agents and party planners – all in the same room. While the sheer amount of sex toys, cracking whips and graphic pornography could render some people uncomfortable, the overall vibe was one of curiosity, sensuality and excitement.
On the main stage, three rotating shows attracted throngs of people with elements of audience participation. Les Garçons Sculpteurs, who offered haircuts and styling services, put on a fashion show twice a day lead by Yannick Daigle and his teams of hair stylists promising a universe of “Sex, Hair and Burlesque.”
The Canadian Sexy Males troupe displayed a series of masculine dance routines that put a handful of audience members brave enough to take the stage in some seriously compromising positions – much to the laughter and delight of onlookers. Quick to doff their police uniforms, cowboy vests and ripped jeans – even coming close to removing their boxer briefs – the Sexy Males had chiseled bodies, handsome faces and loads of confidence. Their writhing and grinding, combined with humour, audience participation and pounding music was especially appreciated by the female demographic and amplified the already thick sexual tension.
The pièce de résistance was an erotic circus featuring trapeze artist Mélodie Couture, pole dancer Eloise Star and locally renowned burlesque dancer Lady Josephine.
Couture performed an impressive array of stunts – swinging, flipping and delicately balancing on the trapeze while managing to remove most of her clothes in the process. Eloise Star, Quebec’s champion pole dancer in 2013, graced the stage with her skill and physical prowess, twirling at dizzying speeds, swinging her body up, down and around, and balancing in all sorts of difficult positions.
Each version of the erotic circus ended with Lady Josephine’s provocative burlesque number. It’s a blend of refined sexuality, tantalizing choreography and the sudden removal of various parts of her costume. As a burlesque master, Lady Josephine exudes mystery, sensuality, confidence and class.
By far the most interesting element of the Salon de l’Amour was the sexual education seminars presented each day by four accomplished speakers and sexologists: Dr. Laurie Betitio, Carlyle Jansen, Dr. Jessica O’Reilly and Frank Mondeose. Informal and informative, these conferences covered a range of topics, including a guide to providing proper fellatio and cunnilingus, the secrets to finding the G spot and achieving female ejaculation, the pleasures of anal sex and a crash course on how to bridge the gap between sexuality and spirituality.
Psychologist Laurie Betito is a specialist in sexual therapy and a well-known Montreal radio personality (check her out at www.drlaurie.com). She focused on the older crowd with her presentation, insisting sex doesn’t come with an expiration date. She discussed the research, methods and experiences in her book, Better Sex After 50. According to Betito, you can have your best sex in the second half of your life, so long as you are willing to make time for proper foreplay and experiment with certain erogenous zones that may have been neglected in younger years. She also recommends trying new toys and forms of stimulation.
Toronto-based Carlyle Jansen and Jessica O’Reilly had engaging speaking styles, interacting well with the crowd while relating their tips and tricks to leading a healthy sex life. Jansen’s two seminars targeted the G spot, female ejaculation and unlocking the hidden pleasures of anal intercourse. Her most important advice to get to the G-sport during intercourse is to “pull before pushing and always aim for the belly button.”
“Dr. Jess” gave two sessions – one entitled Oral Sex for Him and the other, naturally, Oral Sex for Her. O’Reilly recommends starting foreplay slowly and gradually ramping up, practicing things like “breath kisses” where you move your lips as close to your partner’s body as you can without actually touching their skin. She also stressed that it is crucial to “really show your partner that you mean it” and suggested exploring certain sensitive areas of the body that many people are unaware of, like the collarbone, the philthrum (above the upper lip), lower back and inner thighs. The two speakers also shared specific finger and mouth movement such as the “come hither”, the “windshield wiper”, the “cross your fingers” and the “lip lock”, all gleaned over years of sexual consultation and therapy. Check out their online advice at www.carlylejansen.com and www.sexwithdrjess.com.
Le Salon de l’Amour et de la Séduction returns to Montreal around the same time next year, but don’t wait until then to start broadening your sexual horizons. Express your desires, communicate with your partner(s), practice safe sex and most importantly, says Jansen, “Have fun!”