Erotica eh?

Strippers, spas, strippers, dirty videos, strip-pers, B&D, strippers, massage, strippers... get the message? Well, for many Aucklanders, that remained the underlying thrusting force behind their interest in Erotica 2000 and the Sexpo at the Greenlane Expo Centre. But that's not what it was all about.

Organisers Fiona Gibb, partner Steve Crow, Matthew Sollis and tracey Evington envisaged an expo which would allow us to see "adult life" in broader terms than the mere red-light, see-through, vibrating, back-room video way we have traditionally done. Sure, the deshabillees were there... along with herbal pillows, leather jackets, gardeners, Orgazmatron head-massagers, T-shirts vendors, satin specialists, spa tubs, essences, tattooists and (how they fit in, I don't know) murderous hatchet-knives and bird-whistlers! The expo also included an erotic, though not prurient, art gallery.

And the punters came in their droves... 16,000 of them, in fact.

New Zealanders' desire for a more adventurous adult life may not be greater than what we think but it is greater than what we acknowledge. There were many pitfalls in presenting any first. When compared with the well-established Sydney counter-part, the Sexpo may have seemed somewhat tame lone of the tall-runners, however, described it as "wholesome"). There were many businesses which were reticent, and some quarters, such as the gay and lesbian community, who were downright noticeably absent. The NZ urban conservative attitude of "let others test the waters and then I might jump on the hand-wagon" was clear.

The event was launched on thursday, 3 August, with the Miss Erotica finals at the Powerstation. Amid a mosh-pit and swelling balcony of testosterone, the invited celebrity; Hungarian 'adult actress' Vivienne, opened up with her own erotic dance numbers, dragging an unsuspecting (and very cute) member - so to speak - of the audience on stage to aid her... even if he didn't rise to the occasion!

Each of the shows from the finalists was slick and very much a stage-performance, including the use of dance, gymnastics, yogaish body-origami, acrobatics, fire and... the inevitable phallic front-and-centre pole. Some were good performances, some were sheer show-pieces.

The Erotica Expo itself was chock-a-Hock almost all the time. A constant Stream of Aucklanders poured in, crammed and squeezed around and left with a variety of opinions. Most found it a positive experience.

Those who found it disappointing had all too rapidly forgotten the small but identifiable variety of divergent stalls and felt that "the shows weren't as good as some of the strip-clubs I've been to." It was public venue - they weren't supposed (or allowed) to be! They had gone with the aim of seeing the traditional 'seedier' side of the concept of 'adult life' and that's what they saw. Another stall runner, who has been to many of the Sydney expos, claimed that the lack of excessive nudity made the expo better. Still, since, according to an exit poll, only 1% of attendees said that they would never come back, this expo certainly ended up with presenting a positive image.

Fiona mentioned that the expo was so successful that virtually all of this year's contributors have booked up for next year. Matthew's comment was that the final couple of months flowed rennarkably easily.

The event was, capped with Innuendo, tile Erotica afterparty, also at the Powerstation, on Sunday night. Again Vivienne entertained the crowd (this time her audience member not only 'rose to the occasion' but rather flattering so!), along with Destiny, the winner of the Miss Erotica 2000 finals for the women some athletic guys from Showboys (who were even appreciated by the at first stand-offish guys in the audience); an unintentionally hilarious sexagenarian 'musician', Killer Ray quite a talented women's band, Growler; the Australian Penthouse May 2000 Pet of the Month, Bree Maddox; and numerous others.

Like it or not, approve of it or not, the evolving BIZ social and cosmopolitan climate is leading more people to look for a more adventurous adult life and this fledgling exhibition has done a lot to draw these desires out of the closets and into the limelight. Till next year!