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When a female sex shop owner tells you she loves her rabbit, she’s probably not talking about her pet bunny.


Photo by Sofia Carvajal

Welcome to Japi Jane, where a girl’s best friend isn’t a diamond ring but a multi-speed vibrator with bunny ears that reaches the places many men can’t find, let alone stimulate.

Photo by Sofia Carvajal

The first adult store of its kind in Chile, Japi Jane (pronounced Happy Jane) opened for business in November 2006. Starting life in the back room of a house and until recently dealing mainly with internet sales and Tuppersex house parties, Japi Jane now has an unassuming showroom in Los Leones where you can go and inspect the merchandise before you buy and speak to knowledgeable female staff. With 99% of products aimed at women and their playmates, it’s a world away from the harshly-lit downtown sex emporiums that sell grubby porn flicks and blow-up dolls to business men during their lunch-hour.

Owned and run by Jane Morgan, a happily-married American, the company opened to a blaze of publicity, with Chilean journalists and TV stations chomping at the bit to speak to the “sex-mad gringa”. Now considered a Santiago sexpert, it’s all a far cry from her deeply conservative upbringing in the American Mid-West where she was taught by nuns.

Photo by Sofia Carvajal

After a stint at business school and a year abroad here in Chile, where she met her husband, she still didn’t have much of a career plan. It was only after visiting a traditional Santiago sex shop and seeing the ugly fake plastic penises on display, that she had the idea of bringing quality adult toys to Chile. “If only the nuns at school could see me now” she smiles mischievously, holding up a waterproof vibrating penguin.

Her parents may have taken a while to get used to the idea (they still to this day tell strangers that their daughter owns a lingerie shop), but Morgan says they couldn’t be more supportive. “It’s not everyone that gets to see their dad stuffing suitcases with edible underwear and anal beads” she laughs.

In a country where many women would die of shame to be seen entering a sex shop, Japi Jane is the answer to their prayers. Their tiny showroom is hidden away in an office block and all internet purchases are innocently parcelled up in plain wrapping. However, it’s their house calls that have proved most popular. A chance for women to see and hear about the products in the comfort of their own homes and talk about sex with their friends, Morgan’s Tuppersex parties have taken the city by storm.

Photo by Sofia Carvajal

Here at Revolver, we decided that the only way to really know what these infamous parties were like was to host one and find out.

So, imagine, if you will, a Santiago living-room full of girls swigging wine and a woman with a very large suitcase handing out vibrators, creams and unguents. “Now then ladies”, begins the running commentary. “This one is called Magic Spot. It has 7 speeds, it’s easy to clean and it’s one of our best sellers.” Each item is passed round and tried on wrists, noses and necks to murmurs of approval. As the sales rep fends off questions like “How much are the handcuffs?”, “What flavours does this come in?” and “Have you got one with more speeds?”, women hold vibrators aloft to compare flexibility, girth and texture. Cackles of “Ooh that one just has to be painful” and “This one looks like my ex” fill the air as experts sagely agree that if it’s bendy, it’s worth paying a little more.

Photo by Sofia Carvajal

When the credit card reader comes out, panic buying ensues. Only deep-sea fishermen in lap-dancing clubs part with their hard-earned cash this happily. Working like a professional drug dealer, the rep discreetly slides wrapped purchases under the table while buyers invent excuses for why they suddenly need to return home.

As she packs up her half empty suitcase and friends wave their goodbyes, it’s quietly agreed that no-one will be venturing out for a while. At least not until the batteries need replacing.

Japi Jane
Providencia 2250, Oficina 1
(between the bank and the jewellers and close to Casa de Ideas)
Metro: Los Leones
Showroom open:
Monday to Friday from 11am–8pm
Saturdays from 11am–3pm
Tuppersex parties are usually for between 6 and 15 people (women only) with a minimum of four. Check to see if there is a minimum purchase amount required when you book.
If you want a party in English, just ask for Jane.
To organise a Tuppersex party:
Tel: 02 234 4917
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.japijane.cl

Natasha studied theatre at Manchester University where she discovered she loved theatre but hated drama students and ended up working in the music industry. After many years of going on tour with bands and organizing gigs, itchy feet got the better of her and she headed to Barcelona to teach English to burly dockers and bored business men. She now speaks Spanish with a lispy Z, throws in the odd word of Catalan now and then and knows rather too much about shipping. When not teaching English in Santiago, studying Journalism and writing for a magazine in Barcelona, she sometimes finds time to write for Revolver. The sound of the rain makes her homesick. She blogs at http://www.natashayoung.wordpress.com/