#WHYSHYINDIA – A SEXUAL RE-AWAKENING IN THE LAND OF KAMASUTRA

A recent survey campaign #WhyShyIndia by itsPleazure, an online store for sexual wellness products and the brain-child of Divya Chauhan, the pioneer woman entrepreneur in the sector, reveals some startling insights indeed, indicating a fast & favorably changing societal attitude towards sex, active participation of women in conversations on sexual wellness, both as consumers of the products & as business owners, a growing awareness & acceptance of sex as an integral part of one’s being & personal relationships, and, most importantly – the realization that sexual pleasure is different from porn!
Despite knowing the importance of a healthy, loving, and sexually satisfying relationship (read safe, consensual, and healthy sex), the industry that promotes love is yet to become mainstream in India, and be treated like any other industry that endorses physical, mental, and emotional wellness.
itspleaZure decided to do put up a contest to encourage people to share their views, and the #WhyShyIndia campaign was born! It let people speak about their fantasies, their definition of love, and, in the larger perspective, get open about just talking on the subject! Conducted across India’s metros, Tier I & Tier II cities, with 3 Crore+ impressions & a reach of 1.8 million, the survey was answered candidly by 3000 people.
#WhyShyIndia campaign’s main motive was to inspire and encourage people to speak up for sexual wellness and the importance of intimacy in one’s life. It came down to the psychology of the common people to promote this campaign by asking questions which were very practical yet modest.
While 75% of Indians across genders, geographies & demographics think they are die-hard romantics, a surprisingly large 15% label themselves as ‘Dangerously Wild’! Over 50% of participants candidly revealed that they would like to hear some naughty sex-related talk from their partners in their bedroom as compared to about 30% who still went for that magical “I love you”. Gone are the days when strawberry struck a chord for an ice cream flavor - 21% participants thought of a condom when ‘Strawberry’ was mentioned. Gift choices too, seem to be getting influenced where more than two-thirds would rather give their best friends lingerie, sex-toys or condoms as a wedding-night gift! And, believe it or not, more than half have never hesitated to buy a sex-toy! The sexual wellness business is a multi-billion dollar industry globally, but it is in a fairly nascent growth stage in India – and while the internet-startups ecosystem has been undergoing upheavals in the last few months, with the news full of shut-downs, lay-offs, drop in funding, etc., the start-ups in this one counterintuitive sunrise sector seem to be smiling all the way to the banks off late! Online sexual wellness stores like itspleaZure, riding the e-commerce boom and their willingness to sell products ranging from condoms, lubricants, gels, erotic lingerie, massagers to adult toys, role play costumes, board games, bondage, etc, has been the biggest facilitator to these changing attitudes, with convenience, privacy and availability of international brands being their USP.
itspleaZure founder, Divya believes that safe, consensual & pleasurable sex is the backbone of healthy and loving couple relationships. "We don’t just sell but educate people as well, we realize that sex and relationship is just as important to any human being as food and socialization. We want to bring down the walls of taboo surrounding the subject, and make people not feel ashamed or awkward when they talk about it. Marriages can be saved if couples work on their sex life," Divya says.
Over 50% of participants candidly revealed that they would like to hear some naughty sex-related talk from their partners in their bedroom as compared to about 30% who still went for that magical “I love you”. Gone are the days when strawberry struck a chord for an ice cream flavor - 21% participants thought of a condom when ‘Strawberry’ was mentioned. Gift choices too, seem to be getting influenced where more than two-thirds would rather give their best friends lingerie, sex-toys or condoms as a wedding-night gift! And, believe it or not, more than half have never hesitated to buy a sex-toy! The sexual wellness business is a multi-billion dollar industry globally, but it is in a fairly nascent growth stage in India – and while the internet-startups ecosystem has been undergoing upheavals in the last few months, with the news full of shut-downs, lay-offs, drop in funding, etc., the start-ups in this one counterintuitive sunrise sector seem to be smiling all the way to the banks off late! Online sexual wellness stores like itspleaZure, riding the e-commerce boom and their willingness to sell products ranging from condoms, lubricants, gels, erotic lingerie, massagers to adult toys, role play costumes, board games, bondage, etc, has been the biggest facilitator to these changing attitudes, with convenience, privacy and availability of international brands being their USP.
itspleaZure founder, Divya believes that safe, consensual & pleasurable sex is the backbone of healthy and loving couple relationships. "We don’t just sell but educate people as well, we realize that sex and relationship is just as important to any human being as food and socialization. We want to bring down the walls of taboo surrounding the subject, and make people not feel ashamed or awkward when they talk about it. Marriages can be saved if couples work on their sex life," Divya says. What served as a trigger for Divya to start her own venture was the marital discord of one of her close friends. The reason: work stress, which took a toll on the couple's love life. There was no excitement in their relationship, she recalls. If the lack of a spark in the bedroom was a common problem among Indian couples, it was also a huge opportunity. That's when Karnal-born Chauhan, who shifted to Mumbai in 2013 to work in Citigroup's strategic research team, decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge by investing 8 lakhs of her personal savings and launching itspleaZure. “In the beginning, the reactions from close family and friends when we announced our decision to launch itspleaZure, actually made me feel like there’s something wrong with us…and at times the conversation got so awkward that I prayed with all my heart that ‘yeh dharti phat jaye aur mein is mein sama jaon’, sounds dramatic? It was, trust me”, she recalls, “When we introduced our ‘business’ or told people what we are ‘into’….all we got were weird looks, uncomfortable silences.”