‘My kids think I work in an adult toy store’

Image: Getty Images

Evertine Magerman (41), single mother of Emma (9) and Eva (7), has a boyfriend and is a PR and Communications advisor for EasyToys.

“Ten years ago I took care of the marketing for a wholesaler of erotic products. That was the time when toys had a completely different look than they do now. When you think of dildos and vibrators, you think of dirty sex shops and shady shops. There were provocative porn stars on the packages and the boxes were hidden behind curtains in the warehouse. Pleasure and pleasure was then more focused on the man.

I often had to defend myself when I told them in which sector I was active. People looked at me like I was walking around on a porn set. At that time, I preferred telling my birthday parties that I worked in the lingerie industry, especially to grandmothers and great-aunts. How different is that now.

Sexual wellness

I have been employed by EDC, which includes EasyToys, for six years. The focus has shifted from something dirty to ‘sexual wellness’. No one is surprised anymore when you tell them that you like toys as a woman. Especially since our company started sponsoring football club FC Emmen, there has been a lot of brand awareness.

In the first instance, this caused hassle at the KNVB. According to the national football association, a football association was not allowed to conform to the sex industry. We fought hard against that. We don’t sell sex, just tools to promote intimacy at home. My boss said very clearly: my employees are not sex workers, but marketing people.

“We don’t sell sex, just tools to promote intimacy at home”

I, too, was interviewed a few times during that time to explain what was going on and to dispel the wrong impression. When you come to our office, you notice how normal we are. First FC Emmen was not allowed to play football with our sponsor logo on the shirt, later that was reversed. It was an immediate success. The supporters now wear the shirt with pride. Only the youth teams bear the WildLands animal park name on the shirt. We don’t want them to be linked to sex toys in any way.

Also read – ‘A vibrator from the disposal bin gave my sex life a huge boost’ >

Normalize

The nice thing is that since those appearances in the media I have been recognized a few times. Parents in the schoolyard also spoke to me because they had seen me in the newspaper or on TV. Most people just thought it was funny. I also noticed from them that the subject has been normalized.

Even the Jeugdjournaal paid attention to the riot, in an accessible way. Handy for me: this way I could show my daughters Emma and Eva the broadcast and I didn’t have to think about how best to explain exactly where Mommy worked. They actually thought I belonged to FC Emmen, because they both have a WildLands football shirt themselves. But apparently I worked in an adult toy store. Fine anyway. For them there is not much difference between Intertoys and EasyToys.

sex toys

Now that the girls are getting bigger, I sometimes take them to events, such as Pink Friday, or recently we went to a cycling time trial. I was allowed to hand over the winner’s jersey to cyclist Ellen van Dijk, with a nice pampering package. Emma and Eva especially like all the pink stuff from EasyToys. The balloons, packaging, the special van. They only see the outside – luckily they don’t notice that there is a vibrator on the roof. But hey, there are also toys at eye level in the compartments at Etos and Kruidvat. Nowadays, those toys no longer look like skin-colored genitals. Rather, they are pastel-colored, beautifully designed attributes.

“Now that the girls are getting bigger, I sometimes take them to events”

I also notice a huge shift among friends. They are more curious and open. Not that we discuss the pros and cons of what we use in the bedroom, but I did give them all a Satisfyer, the most beloved toy among women right now. And if I once have something nice left over from a Christmas gift or from a goody bag, there are always plenty of enthusiasts who are happy to try something out.”

Extra nice: now get a 10 euro discount on the entire EasyToys range with a minimum spend of 60 euros. Use the code: KEKMAMA2022

This article is in the Kek Mama Love Special 2022.

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