Girls Get Off co-founders Jo Cummins and Viv Conway. Photo / Jason Malouin
Girls Get Off co-founders Jo Cummins and Viv Conway. Photo / Jason Malouin
Opinion by Viv Conway
Viv Conway is the co-founder of Girls Get Off
THE FACTS
Viv Conway’s proposal to offer SuperGold Card holders a sex toy discount was declined by the Ministry of Social Development.
Conway argues the decision is offensive to seniors with healthy sex lives.
The ministry stated they avoid partnering with businesses offering products that could make cardholders uncomfortable.
There comes a time in every business owner’s life when they think: “This is the greatest idea anyone’s ever had.”
For myself and my Girls Get Off co-founder Jo Cummins, we thought we’d had that moment earlier this year when we approached the SuperGold Card team about offeringNew Zealand seniors a cheeky discount on our bestselling sex toys.
After all, what says “golden years” better than good old-fashioned pleasure?
As a company specialising in behind-closed-doors activities, we didn’t go into this bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We’re used to holding a boom box outside the window of our beloved with big hopes and dreams, only to leave deflated and alone.
So, I guess you could say we approached this idea cautiously and with the hopes of a miracle. Surprisingly, that’s what we got, at least we thought we did.
When the Ministry of Social Development said yes to our proposal, we rushed to upload our listing before they changed their mind. Unfortunately, we were a hot minute too late and soon received an email saying our offer was being declined.
The exact words were: “As part of our programme, we have specific criteria for participating businesses to ensure alignment with the expectations and interests of the wider senior community and so unfortunately we must decline your application.”
Translation? “Sorry, but we think pensioners would be offended by your vibrators.”
We get it; sex toys make some people blush. They’re not exactly a topic that’s screamed from the rooftops unless you’re Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones, but I think even the Charlotte Yorks of us can agree that the only thing offensive here is the assumption that older people are asexual, fragile little flowers who need protecting from their own desire.
While it is tough to find exact figures on how many people over 65 are having sex or masturbating, it’s no secret that if it weren’t for the baby boomer generation challenging norms around sex and age, we wouldn’t be half as sexually advanced as we are now, and their progressive nature is showing no signs of slowing down as they age.
There's a societal belief that our sex lives dwindle as we get older, but Girls Get Off co-founder Viv Conway believes that's untrue. Photo / Getty Images
Just a decade ago, in 2015, there was a dramatic rise in the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among New Zealand and Australian people aged 60 years and older. More recently, WebMD reported that “mature couples have better love lives than they did in their more youthful days” because they have less to worry about, and MayoClinic reported that “many seniors still enjoy their sexuality into their 80s and beyond.”
Then again, maybe the SuperGold team were right. They are supposedly the experts in all things 65+. So, we did what any recently rejected company would do and took it to the people.
Our inbox exploded. Women and men in their 60s, 70s and even 80s, all echoing the same sentiment: “We’re not dead yet, and neither are our libidos.”
Seventy-eight-year-old Helen told us she takes her vibrator on holidays. Claire asked, “Don’t they know who we are? We got sexual in the 1970s!” And Alan proudly told us that “Out of Trousers Experiences” are still very much part of the programme.
One woman even wrote to tell us she lost her soulmate five years ago, and Missy (our bestselling toy) helped her rediscover joy again. She said the only thing that disappointed her about it was that she won’t be around to see the look on her kids’ faces when they eventually find it in her bedside drawer.
That mentality is reflected in our sales figures as well. We get more uptake from the 50 to 60 plus age demographic than any other demographic, and each time we are featured in a publication targeting the saucy senior demographic, they outweigh any other age group shopping on our website for weeks at a time.
That, along with the responses, has been enough to know, we’re on the right track in challenging the stigma surrounding pleasure – especially the belief that pleasure has an age limit.
So we’ll leave you and SuperGold Card with this sentiment: Kiwis might retire in their mid-60s, but their sexuality doesn’t, and if it’s meant to, someone should really tell the 65+ crowd. They’re having a ball.
Ministry of Social Development responds
The Herald asked the Ministry of Social Development to respond to Viv Conway’s claims.
Karen Hocking, group general manager for enablement, told the Herald: “The SuperGold programme is administered through the Ministry of Social Development and partners with more than 5000 businesses to provide discounts for SuperGold card holders. The discount is provided by the partnering business and their offer is promoted through the SuperGold website and mobile phone app.
“SuperGold card holders are a diverse group, and include people with many different attitudes and views. However, we don’t partner with any business where cardholders could be uncomfortable or offended by the products provided.
“Given that Girls Get Off promotes products of an adult nature, we declined to accept their listing on the directory. We remain comfortable with this decision. The initial listing was accepted in error. A wider review of the company’s information reflected that it was not appropriate for the company to be listed on the directory. They are however free to independently provide the discount to people who would like to purchase these products.”
