Women-only sex club makes its Asian debut in Shanghai, doing its bit to reduce gender inequality
Skirt Club’s Hong Kong-raised founder says city is too small and ‘safe’ for her sex parties, and confesses she’s been blown away by how open women in Shanghai are about their sex lives
Hong Kong may like to think of itself as more liberated than China, but Shanghai is way ahead when it comes to open-mindedness about sex, says Genevieve LeJeune, the founder of Skirt Club, a series of women-only parties where guests are invited to explore their sexuality.
Tonight, to mark International Women’s Day, Skirt Club will hold its inaugural Asian event in China’s biggest city.
“Hong Kong tries its hardest to be safe; I don’t believe it’s a place where sex is on the agenda, whereas Shanghai has that grit, an underbelly; it’s got an edge to it,” says LeJeune.
Since launching in London in 2014, Hong Kong-raised LeJeune, 36, has expanded Skirt Club to venues in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Berlin, Vienna and Sydney, and is now venturing into Asia for the first time, having seen a growing interest in, and openness about, sex in China.
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“I never expected what I’m encountering here, I’ve been absolutely blown away,” she says over the phone from Shanghai. “Women openly talk about their sex lives with me on WeChat. They just want to talk to somebody and understand that the way they’re feeling is normal.