Jennifer seniorjuly 4,4 since she won the Car Awards for the employer's passion party, Linda Brewer has been buzzing South with a silver Cadillac, kailade, and the license plate says "funlady ".
On the road, men often notice this and honk before passing by, but are confused to realize that a woman, nearly 60, is driving.
"Hey girl," she shouted the first time we met, and she waved with a smile from the window. ''Climb in.
"The Passion Party is direct --
Sales agency based in Brisbane, California
, Specializing in sex toys, Brewer has been a high school in the past seven years.
Drop-out students living in a dry county in the Bible Belt Center have always been the best seller in 5,000 of the sales team.
About a Thursday, she drove to the homes of friends and strangers, using edible lotions, sex manuals, porn games, underwear, and, most importantly, kai "electric tools" stuffed on the raf: 10-speed vibrator and 1-speed vibrator;
Hula's vibrator
Luminous hoops and vibrators;
Vibrator for underwater operation and vibrator for remote control operation--
In short, the vibrator can do anything but tidy up clothes and submit tax returns.
Last year, she recorded about 50,000 miles and sold nearly $140,000 worth of goods.
"Tonight should be a younger crowd," Brewer said while scanning the road mark . ".
Her speech was relaxed and pure Arkansas, a song about you and your loved one, missing g.
"Their attitude is much more open.
They want to learn.
They don't want to miss the climax they can enjoy.
"30 minutes later, she stopped in the hostess's driveway, and in the evening, a woman named Julia lived about 10 miles northwest of Little Rock in the planned community, Maumelle.
Julia asked not to use her last name, and she greeted Brewer warmly, leading her through the garage into a spacious living area where about 20 women were hanging out and drinking wine, put the cookies in cheese balls and chipsMex.
Almost all of them are married, starting early or mid-term20's;
Most people have children.
Most people go to church every Sunday, even though they don't know it this way: a core group plays Bunco, dice once a month.
AD Brewer always starts her talk from the more harmless parts of her inventory, like eating cream, before turning to more powerful hardware.
Because she's neither threatening nor fearless. -
A minute ago, she was talking about dollar shopping, and the next minute she was describing which vibrators "can afford the greatest wealth "---
In the evening, I quickly walked out of an elegant performance, telling about the noisy chaos, and finally a pile of electronic killings occurred at the scene. room floor.
But somewhere in the process, between the alternative uses of a woman asking about cervical tightening cream (
Can it also help with drooping jowls? )
Bravura was presented with a pink silicone sleeve and a model penis, which struck a strong chord with women.
She did not when Brewer raised a small bottle of pure satisfaction. 1 seller.
"Basically, ladies," she declares, "It makes you feel when you're not in the mood.
It makes you feel itchy.
She invited some volunteers back to the bathroom to apply it to their genitals.
One of the 31-year-old blonde beautiesyear-
The old mother of the two children came back soon and her face turned red. She sat down.
Dear, how do you want to stand up and tell everyone what it feels like? Asked Brewer.
"Well, I don't want to," she said with a smile.
But I'm taking a case.
She looked at the price list sitting in front of her.
A little steep--$39. 50 for a 2. 5-ounce bottle.
"I will tell you," she decided.
"I 've been married for almost 11 years, so any little thing is helpful at this point.
She looked down at the list again and nodded.
"I will buy Mother's Day allowance as much as I can.
"On November, The Passion Party unexpectedly surfaced in the news when one of its delegates, Joanne Webb, was arrested for selling two vibrators to Burleson, Texas undercover.
On the face of it, the reason is that she violated the mysterious state law prohibiting the sale of any equipment to stimulate the genitals.
But the real reason, soon became clear, was related to Weber herself, who stood in the ear of a small town in short skirts, frivolous nature and non-blushing sex.
A lawyer named Beyan sissomore defended her;
Today, Webb's trial is still not on schedule.
There's a lot of news in Weber's episode. -
Especially in the world, as one of the interesting metaphors of American hypocrisy and contradiction, the values of the Gospel and the Playboy Channel are in a state of war.
But in fact, the passion party is one of the country's gentlest and closest parties.
Domestic vendors of sex products.
The company has launched an active business in the Bible zone. -
Last year, sales in Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee ranked third, fourth and ninth respectively. -
It is because it positions itself as an organization dedicated to strengthening relationships, not to expanding the happiness of single girls.
Its home page features a pleasant slide for young straight couples;
The company label line it scrawled on many products is "Valentine's Day ".
Passion Party training videos sent to all new delegates start with board recognition-
Certified therapists and Licensed Marriage, Family and Child Consultants, an executive director of the company, a woman in a bright indigo suit, declared before the presentation section began: "Now, ladies, you will be very disappointed if you really come here tonight to look for anything vulgar or pornographic.
I don't have it.
But if you're here for a fun night, plus some tips to keep your relationship excited, plus the part to work together, you're definitely in the right place.
"In this way, Brewer is a Baptist, her first daughter is 18 years old and is more or less typical in the southern rural areas of the Passion Party sales force.
Although she does hold quite a few parties for lesbian and unmarried women, the subtext of her speech is often a challenge for marriage and family life.
She joked that washing dishes by men was a foreplay;
Sex, she admits, can sometimes be a chore.
Part of her speech that always laughs the most is her advice on when to tell your husband that you overcharged your credit card (
This involves diverting his attention with a feather and a product called fireworks)
Her second one.
The best-selling pink silicone sleeve (known as Gigi)
, Not even female toys, but toys used by women in men.
There are also countless references about children: when she introduced the company's whipped cream, she warned women to store it in places that children could not reach, and when she promoted the company's local anesthetic-
To delay ejaculation. -
She also pointed out how good it is for soothing the gums of teething babies.
Before Patricia Davis, the company's current president, took over the company three and a half years ago, the image of the Passion Party was a bit immature.
Its products are named more clearly, and the company itself is called the Future attractions, which is a double
The unpleasant Endon Ray Davis found
"I don't think it's a good brand for us," she said the first time we spoke . ".
"This is not what we want.
I want women to know that we're actually talking about feelings.
"For anyone who has been to truck stops or seen the famous episode of Sex And The City vibrator, sex toys are sold as relationship aids in some parts of the country, this seems to be counter-intuitive.
In most urban areas, of course, in the public's imagination, sex toys and pornography (
Although it can be said to be marriage aid, it is rarely sold like this)or female self-
Determination in the bedroom
The best in many countries-
Well-known sex store-
It's like Eve's garden or a good shake. -
At the age of 70, when the women's movement was booming, the women themselves began.
"When we promote our products, we have to remind our employees to include couples --
"Enhanced the potential of our toys," said Anne Semans, another director of Toy Marketing at well-Babeland. known, women-
Because our customer base is used to using sex toys.
But as Rachel P.
Mainz pointed out in her elaborate study of "climax technology: hysteria, vibrator and sexual satisfaction of women" that sexual toys have an interesting business history in the United States, often enter the market in an unusual way.
At the end of the 19 th century, doctors used feet, steam and (eventually)
Use electricity to treat hysteria and other neurological diseases in female patients.
Sears and other emails
The order catalogue sold dozens of varieties under the title of "household appliances;
The ads claim that they promote "health, vitality and beauty ".
Maines said that at the age of 60 and 70, some women who sell cosmetics and kitchen supplies in people's homes sometimes bring sex toys and underwear ---
Not for health, but for marriage. -
Hope to add spice to their married customers' medicine boxes and cabinets.
Advertising, to some extent, has always been a passion party in this particular business tradition. Party-
Planned sales have been popular in the south, and Brewer can talk about a large number of companies with local delegates (
"Tahitenoni juice, Tupperware, pampered chefs, Mary Kay, Avon, the south of the House, Pat Wright, and Herbalife. . . '');
The most obvious example is Amway, who didn't even get into the top 10.
According to the Direct Selling Association, the South dominates direct selling
Compared to the next market, the sales market is 36%
The largest area in the West, 26 years old.
The main competitor of the Passion Party, Pure Romance, also has a solid business in the South.
Nicole Woolsey Bigart, author of charismatic capitalism, said: "There is a real affinity between the organization of community life in the south and direct selling :": direct sales organization in the United States and dean of the School of Management at the University of California, Davis.
"It's based on people getting together ---
There is a blur between work and family, work and church.
Life is more comprehensive.
Biggart also noted that direct selling, as it happens at home, is a non-intimidating way for women to earn extra income, and that the idea may fit in more traditional places in the country.
The division of gender is very complete, Bigart said.
This may be the case.
But the passion party and its competitors have also grown out of the women's movement in their own way.
They give women without higher education a chance to gain economic independence. -
Brewer made six dollars. figure income --
They serve as an ongoing form of sex education for women who may have grown up in too stressful circumstances (
Or, it's really the wrong generation)
Understand their bodies.
Born in Memphis and raised in Arkansas, Davis explained, "Many of these women have no other place to learn.
She added that many of her rural customers also had no place to buy the products.
"They were behind the truck stop," she sighed . "
"Would you go and ask a big guy behind the truck stop? spot is?
"The second night we were together, we sat in a comfortable double seat.
The wide mobile house of the population of Alexandria 600, I suddenly thought that I had never heard of brewer using the word "masturbation" when describing her merchandise. I asked why.
The hostess, a plain and charming brunette woman named Tuttie criwell, jumped in to explain before Brewer responded.
"Linda will never say that," she said . ".
"She's too professional.
"Despite the obvious courage of Brewer, she still carries a certain generation of residual discomfort and taboos, and this recognition of customer embarrassment may explain to some extent what makes her so-
And, of course, the fact that she couldn't have liked it.
Brewer says she's comfortable with bawdy talk, she's at 47-year-
The old woman in the Chippendale vest showed how the product highlighted her tattoo. (
In fact, she did so the next night. )
But Brewer is also a bit like an actress: respectful, eager to please, and a little shy even after her speech.
She will not hold a party for the couple. (
"I don't like to talk in front of men," she explained . ".
"It's hard enough to say 'vagina 'in front of you. '')
Instead of saying the word "clit", she used a euphemism: "The little man on board.
She has only seen one episode of Sex and the city, which makes her both excited and shocked.
"Samantha's hair is gray. . . pubic . . .
Later that evening, as she sat in a local biscuit bucket trying to describe it, she stammered.
"She was trying to dye it, and she was bubbling herself.
Funny but talk about your own private body parts on TV!
I can't believe it!
The waitress came over.
Brewer gave her a business card: "The Passion Party that Linda had. What is this?
"We sell fun things," Brewer said . "
Edible lotion and oil.
The waitress grinned.
"Now, I tell you, you don't need a man.
"Advertising," says Brewer, "Oh, yes, you know.
Take out the garbage.
Brewer was born and raised and still lives in Sheridan of the Ark.
Population, 3,800, a town with more than 20 churches, of which at least 12 are Baptist churches, one of which is only a few yards away from her home.
The median value of Sheridan's house was lower than the state average, where gas stations seemed to be more than places to eat, which Brewer pointed out when we first met.
She said: "What I can tell you is that Sheridan has nothing to do.
Brewer ran away with her.
Just a few days before her 16 th birthday, the school's sweetheart never went back to her junior year. at the age of 25, all three of her daughters had it.
At the age of 40, she has been married for nearly 25 years and divorced her husband, an engineer in Missouri.
Pacific Railway Corporation(
He died soon after. )
"I may have had two orgasms in 25 years," she said . "
"I'm not very clear.
In Sheridan, the Ark, where do you get such information. ?
You can't get the TV on.
No HBO.
Nothing.
The Vietnam War was a big deal in my marriage. -
They kill babies there, we're here, trying to raise babies.
You know, that's basically the case.
I sleep on the couch.
Sex is nothing.
I will walk down the hall wondering what I can do and then burst into tears.
"About a year after the divorce, in a small bar 25 miles from home, she met Ernest Brewer, who dug wells for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
For the first time in her life, she understood what experiential gratification meant.
In the same year, she and her two daughters attended a party sponsored by a local entertainment party representative, the pioneer of the Passion Party, who bought products worth $180.
The coincidence of these two events amounts to a huge sexual awakening and pushes what she calls "a task ".
She borrowed money from one of her sons. in-
The law purchased a sales kit for $1,600 and decided to sell the products on its own.
In those days, the fun party hardly trained its sales staff.
So Brewer reads, consults other sales people and listens to the customer.
To a large extent, she decided that the goal was just for women to speak.
Second in Arkansas
The highest divorce rate in the country.
In public-
School system, sex education is based on abstinence.
"Sex education here is myth, wrong message or no message," said Dr.
Former surgeon, Joycelyn Elders, was forced to resign from the Clinton administration after public discussion of pornography.
"It's no wonder that we have the highest birth rate in Arkansas ---
In industrialized countries, the birth rate of teenagers in the United States is the highest. '' (
The states with the highest contact rates are Mississippi and Texas. )
Please click on the box to verify that you are not a robot.
The email address is invalid. Please re-enter.
You must select the newsletter you want to subscribe.
View all New York Times newsletters.
"I can't tell you how many parties I will attend, and the women will say, 'Linda, tell us about our bodies.
We just want to know.
"Not all Linda's clients, of course, are eager to be educated.
On the first night of Maumelle, these women were young, college-
A professional with some kind of education;
In most cases, the night is the night when the girl is out.
On our third night together, Brewer spoke at Wendy Emerson's new home, 33year-old real-
The realtor was very angry because her old house was robbed and her sex toys were among the stolen goods as well.
"They took groceries, rifles, clothes I bought that were still in their bags, my jewelry from my fridge," she was surprised to find that she was again around another cheese ball''But my toys?
But she often finds herself explaining something basic, says Brewer.
"So many women come to these parties and think that women are born to know how to reach orgasm," she said . ".
"You have to learn.
I have a vibrator where you can learn how to have these three ---
With Kegel muscle, clit, G-spot.
I call it "cloud ".
But your partner has to work with you and find your hot spot ---you know?
That's what I think.
Open communication lines.
Let them talk. ''She paused.
"Of course, I also told my ladies that there was a fourth climax. The fake one.
"Criswell, first of all, she has done a lot of sex education on Brewer.
She got married when she was very young;
At least three women at her party gave birth to their first child in their teens.
"I don't know what cl is. . . .
"I don't know who the man on board is," she said . ".
"I learned it from Linda.
Did Criswell's mother discuss these growth processes?
"I am a Pentecost.
My mom didn't discuss anything.
What about a girlfriend?
"My girlfriend said, but the problem is that you don't know the details.
"That night, when we left the home of Chris well, Brewer sighed with longing.
"Sometimes I really want to go back to school," she said . ".
"I hear people speak so eloquently in all the big words that I feel so inadequate.
She started the ignition.
"But the problem is," she said, "I bet I know you as well as some people who have been in college for seven or eight years.
I mean, it's about women and their sexiness.
I may not have the vast vocabulary they have, but I know that I have the same knowledge in my heart.
"On our third day together, Brewer took me and her friend Helen bonds for lunch at Brew Heaven, a cafe in downtown Sheridan. Curly-
Hair and Apple
Chee is Curves, the local owner and manager of the fitness chain, and a franchise member of the Red Hat Club, in Brewer's words, a group that all women must attend, dressed in bold, greedy clotheskooky hats.
"Do you really think someone here has evaded you?
She asked Brewer that they were eating sandwiches.
Brewer nodded and gave a name to a woman in town. ''Oh.
The line paused and then waved in the dismissal.
"That's what she is. Brewer nodded.
"Well, I can think of another person who scoffed at what I did.
She frowned and then nodded.
Brewer added, "Of course, there is no problem with her coming to my house to pick the product for the boss.
The two women laughed.
It is recommended to sell sex toys on the Bible belt as an instant recipe
The status of being abandoned is a serious exaggeration.
In all communities, no matter how small, no matter how conservative, there has been opposition to the convention, and in the last 30 years the evangelists themselves have praised the merits of the strong sexual bond, at least in the context of marriage.
In 1976, Tim Lahai, author of the left-behind Children series, published "The act of marriage: the beauty of sex" with his wife Beverly, after which it has sold 2
5 million copies;
Ed and Gaye Wheat's "for entertainment" also caused a stir when they made their debut in 1977. (
The title also echoes what passion party chairman Davis said to me: "I don't know why everyone is so upset about it when God puts sex there for us to enjoy. '')
Perhaps the most memorable book of this type is total woman, a 1973 milestone for Marabel Morgan, which famously recommends that women meet their husbands in a comfortable Saran package at the door.
Brewer did not hide her career in Sheridan.
A paper sign on her house read "choose underwear 40% off" in bold red ink ";
When you walk into the room, you will find that the entire front hall has become an outpost for erotic entertainment.
There are two complete edible lotions and lubricant shelves on the wall-
Fireworks and firecrackers, cremation--
Nine plastic drawers with all sorts of goodies ranging from vibrating bathtub loofah to edible underwear go along the perimeter of the room.
However, this does not mean that it is entirely comfortable for brewer to sell the pulse orbiter and Nubby G in her hometown.
Sheridan is reminiscent of the disappearing United States in many ways.
In the city square, you can still see stores like Scooter's General Mercantile (
"The best country shop in town ")
Fabric and fashion of Olga (
"Where is the Singer Sewing Product ").
Brewer has been teaching women's softball for 20 years and has been running a sports store for 8 years.
Her father is a logging worker who owns a gas station and her mother still lives in the woods
Behind is the paneled home.
But just two months ago, Brewer's mother thought her daughter only sold products that were clearly visible in her office. -
Water and underwear.
Brewer once had a perfect attendance record at Sunday school, he often evokes God in conversation, and his husband received the Baptist faith about ten years ago, and since she began selling sex toys, there was no one involved in the church.
In fact, on the day Ernest was baptized, she was doing a show of her in the hot springs.
"I don't need to go through the church door every Sunday to know who my superiors are," Brewer said . ". ''If I go now. . . .
She is behind.
"I will go to places where people who don't want to talk to me and don't approve of what I do feel obligated to talk to me.
Is she sure about it?
Did her peers say anything directly to her?
"That's not what they said," she hesitated . ".
"That's what they didn't say.
Or it's just action. You know.
It was a basketball game when I went with my granddaughter and I thought people would pick me out.
So I try to keep a low profile. key.
I don't know where we can have such a situation and I have to address what people think of me.
"Brewer may feel some discomfort among her peers, but she has also converted in town.
A priest sought advice and products from her struggling couple;
Missy Kellebrew, a friend of Brewer, estimates that nearly half of her Bible study group had a passion party.
Brewer saw many teachers, barbers and nurses from her area.
In the past three years, she has held Valentine's Day sales activities directly from her home, only through word-of-mouth, e-
Local Weekly Post and Sheridan Headlight.
In a season when the weather is good, she is a $2200 billion business in a month-day period.
More than two hours later, women came here from the remote village of Selsey Lake.
"One night I had a party in Magnolia," Brewer said . ".
Magnolia is like two, two. and-a-half-
One hour ride from here.
When I arrived, two people from Sheridan came in!
I think, 'What are you doing here?
They said, 'Well, Linda, we never dreamed you 'd be here!
She shook her head.
"They drove so far away from me!
There is a moral in the story, she said.
"One of the girls called me later and had a party or two," she said . ".
"If I could bring them here one time, they would find it's not like they heard it. . . .
The job has also had unspeakable consequences for Brewer.
The 15-year modeling vibrator relaxed her self-confidence and she might not be a ham.
In her direct-
For sale, Brewer has only been out of the state three times--
Go to Homer once, go to Texas twice.
Since then, she has traveled to San Francisco, Las Vegas, Australia, the Caribbean and Mexico.
But her real goal is Chicago.
"I want to see Oprah so much," she said . "
"I just wanted to see her, touch her and tell her how much she did for American women about the silent epidemic "---
43% of American women have developed some sexual dysfunction, including difficulties in reaching orgasm.
After lunch, we went back to Brewer's house, which is at the end of a broad, sunny street.
Ernest wore cosumel T.
A shirt with the words "the greatest grandpa in the world" and a baseball cap greeted us at the front door with a green parrot on his shoulder.
"This is my husband," he said loudly.
He proudly showed me where the drawer of the vibrator was hidden and hidden at the door so that the grandchildren could not find them, even though the oldest grandchildren knew.
"We also have several vibrators under the bed," he added . ".
Brewer looked up and pushed him in shame.
"You have never seen this girl in your life! '' she scolded.
He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed her arm.
"Grab the cloud, baby," he told her . ".
"Grab the cloud.
"We are constantly improving the quality of text archives.
Please send feedback, error reports, and suggestions to archid_feedback @ nytimes. com.
A version of the article was printed on page 6006032 of the National edition on July 4, 2004, with the title: a happy married Bible with women always wanting to know everything about sex, but afraid to ask.