Exxxotica Chicago Expects Increased Female Attendance

CHICAGO—The Exxxotica Expo in Chicago reports that it expects female attendees to outnumber men at the convention this weekend.  Organizers report that "ever since the Fifty Shades phenomenon hit, the openness and attitude towards the sexuality of women is more front and center than ever before. Boudoir photo and novelty parties are commonplace in the suburbs, adult movie viewing by women has increased exponentially, and sales in general of adult entertainment materials has picked up steam thanks to the purchasing habits of females everywhere." “Female attendees have long been the holy grail for adult events,” said J. Handy, director of Exxxotica. “When we started our Ladies Free Friday promotion a few years back we quickly knew we were on to something, but we certainly could never have predicted this.” Starting in 2011, Exxxotica reports that it began seeing an increase in its female attendance. For the first five years of the event the percentage of women hovered right around 20-25 percent. At the end of 2011, with the launch of the Ladies Free Friday promotion, that number had risen to just over 35 percent. “We realized the importance of the Fifty Shades movement very early,” Handy said. Exxxotica immediately implemented a Fifty Shades approach to its events with new features including stage and seminars devoted to the BDSM, fetish and kink lifestyles. Also created was Exxxotica’s interactive dungeon experience, a massive space on the show floor filled with specialty furniture and lighting with doms, submissives, and open education on the various lifestyles all overseen by Mistress C, one of the most well known personalities in the community. To further accommodate and appeal to its growing female audience, Exxxotica also added more female-friendly seminars to its schedule, as well as bringing in several male stars to sign at the show such as James Deen, Evan Stone, Ryan Driller, Sean Michaels and others. Even Ron Jeremy, the anti-sex symbol enjoys long lines of women waiting to meet him. The show also secures renowned male dance troupes from as far away as Australia to entertain women for each day of every show, and even introduced a Mr. Exxxotica contest in synergy with their longtime Ms. Exxxotica pageant at its South Florida event. By the end of 2012, and with three of the most successful Exxxotica events during the calendar year, female attendance had risen to 40-45 percent. “Our production office for the Chicago expo overlooks the street and parking areas for the convention center, and we sat for hours watching a constant stream of women enter the building,” said Handy. “At one point we had to triple the number of people working the Ladies Free check-In booths. I had never seen anything like it.” At the Fort Lauderdale show a few weeks ago, Exxxotica saw a record set with the number of women attending Friday night for the show’s opening. In fact, overall attendance by women over the three days passed the mark for the previous 17 other shows in the history of Exxxotica. This increase in female attendance has had a ripple effect on many aspects of the show, but the most noticeable has been the drastic increase in the onsite sales for exhibitors and sponsors of Exxxotica. But it’s not just the companies that are thriving, so are the adult stars on hand to meet and greet fans. “The overall vibe of Exxxotica is unique because of so many women attending,” said award-winning adult film star Allie Haze. “It makes it so much more than just an adult convention. It’s like a party with 20,000 of your closest friends.” Gianna Michaels, the popular adult star and Exxxotica Fan Choice Award winner, agrees, adding, “I have lines all day of women and couples. It’s awesome to meet people who are open with their sexuality and not afraid of it.” “We have definitely noticed a huge increase in not only a female audience at Exxxotica, but at the Club Spotlight booth where a lot of the stars sign during the shows,” commented Dan Davis, editor of Club Magazine. “We have also noticed higher sales of the magazine to women, in large part to the branding and exposure we receive from participating and sponsoring Exxxotica.” There are also more women viewing adult movies—at least those who will now admit to it as the genre becomes more mainstreamed. Dr. Kat Van Kirk, Adam & Eve’s resident sex expert, says, “We're all visual creatures and utilizing erotic movies can be a great way to explore our sexualities individually and as couples. It can be a fantastic way to break the monotony in a relationship and even learn a few new tricks. Plus there are many full length DVD movies that have stellar production values, plot lines and acting, which generally have a wider appeal to a female audience.” “One thing is for sure,” Handy said in closing. “Sex needs to be a topic that can be discussed in and open and honest way and Exxxotica will continue to be the perfect forum for that conversation.” The Exxxotica Expo takes place July 12-14 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.