By Lyba Mansoor
In a series called The Dildo Trilogies, we tell the story of the dildos who were forcibly removed from their manufacturing facilities to study at Ryerson. We’ll explore their struggles and experiences as they discover life in their new home.
Weeks after anonymously receiving dozens of dildos and sex toys, the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) finally set up an Etsy dildo shop. The shop, they said, will dedicate all proceeds earned to paying for any remaining 6 Fest refunds.
The Etsy dildo shop is the brainchild of Harman Singh, former RSU vice-president student life & events. Singh, who was at the heart of the 6 Fest debacle in 2017, heard about the dildos and knew exactly how they could be repurposed.
“The dildos were non-refundable, and I heard the RSU was struggling to understand what they should do with them,” said Singh. “Of course re-gifting is tacky, but I thought in this case the RSU had a wonderful opportunity to take a generous gift and use it to give back to Ryerson.”
In an interview, Singh told The Eye that he believes nothing encompasses RSU spirit better than a dildo shop, and brought the idea to current RSU president Susanne Nyaga.
“It’s not about what your student population can do for you, but what you can do for your student population,” said Nyaga. “The RSU is here for you—and your sex life.”
Newly resigned RSU vice-president student life & events, Lauren Emberson said it was heartwarming to see Harman finally taking responsibility for the non-issued 6 Fest refunds.
“His idea of how to repurpose these dildos show that he really cares about the students,” she said.
Nyaga, along with several other RSU executives like vice-president operations Ali Yousaf, has agreed to dedicate part of the RSU office to Singh’s dildo shop station to help him bring his vision to life.
“We definitely understand that he’ll need the space,” said Yousaf. “This is a big, hard undertaking, and we couldn’t be happier to lend him our office.”
According to Nyaga, the RSU has been looking for a way to rebrand themselves as more sex-positive, “One dildo sale at a time.”
The dildos sent to the RSU have ranged in size and colour, from mint green to pastel pink. Other sex toys will also be for sale, but Singh said that the shop will focus mainly on selling the phallic, synthetic pleasure poles.
“The variety of dildos makes me feel like we really have something special here,” Singh said. “There will be a dildo that caters to pretty much everyone. Who knows, if this goes well, maybe Ryerson will consider making the dildos a part of the official school merchandise!”
For the time being, all proceeds earned from the dildo shop will be transferred directly into Singh’s bank account, but Singh assured the RSU he will transfer the profits to the accounts of students who are still waiting on their refunds.
“I learned my lesson last time and just want this refunding process to be as efficient as possible,” said Singh. “Collecting the profits and temporarily holding onto them in my personal bank account, transferring them to the RSU’s bank account, and then transferring them to the account of students? I can’t imagine a simpler process.”
Nyaga said the shop, called “Dildos for Rye students, by Rye students” (DFRSBRS) will officially start selling products this week.
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