We've completed a major overhaul of the web site, making it easier to use and more informative all at once. Some of the changes include much-expanded advice and information about sex toys, including how to choose them and answers to frequently asked questions.

We've also improved the look and feel of the catalogue, and made it much easier to find related and similar items, so exploring all the cool stuff isn't as much work. Plus, it's a lot more stylish and fun to use, and all of our products are now accompanied with photos rather than drawings so you can see exactly what you're getting.

Orders over $100 get free shipping anywhere in Canada!

Getting married? Having a birthday? Now all your friends can buy you exactly what you want at venus envy! Drop by and let us know what you'd like to have on your wish list and we'll keep it on file for your friends and family to pick up for you! Available in both Halifax and Ottawa.

The Venus Envy Bursary Society will be raising funds in 2006 to award to women studying in the Ottawa area in 2007. Every September, the bursary society will donate two $1000 bursaries to women in any degree, diploma, or certificate program in the Ottawa-Carleton region. Keep an eye on our website for more info and application information.

Our first fund-raising event is "Certain Sort" on May 27 (see events section below).

This is a great kit for couples to use together. A one touch wireless vibrator and a super-stretchy cock ring together make a vibrating ring that fits the bast of a penis or dildo for penetration and clit stimulation all at once! If using with a man, he also gets vibration on his sensitive bits making the Come Together Kit a great toy for couples. Recently reccomended by Chatelaine Magazine! (Cock ring information sheet included.)
$24.95

Looking for a little more of a good thing? The feeldoe stout has a fat shaft, a vibe and a nicely shaped bulb for vaginal use. Works great with our without a harness! A great addition to the Feeldoe line, now available in slim, regular and stout!
$119.95. 100% silicone dildo. Black only

Judith Frank has a way with words. Not to mention characters and plot. Crybaby Butch is actually a story of two butches. Anna, a "soft-cheeked Kevin Costner butch" is a literacy teacher. Chris, the "working-class he-she with a D-A," is a student learning how to read in Anna's class. They meet, they clash, they come to a truce, they clash, they make some sort of peace. Loves are lost, loves are gained. It is a well-paced story that deals well with the mighty triumvirate of gender, sexuality and class. That Frank manages to do this without becoming overtly pedantic or preachy, that she manages to do this while building believable and nuanced characters is a testament to her aforementioned skill with the English language. Her characters aren't "types" of lesbians – Frank has written past the point where characters have to do the work of representing "Lesbian." And alongside that, she also manages to work in some butch-femme history fairly seamlessly, drawing heavily on Stone Butch Blues for the middle part of the novel.

I loved reading a book about lesbians and lesbian community by someone who obviously has a personal stake in what's said. But even more, I loved reading a book about lesbians that was good simply because it was good.

I read Crybaby Butch much too late into the night because the characters and story were interesting, thoughtful, surprising and provocative.

- Review by Megan Butcher

The Roadshow is an indie press touring circuit, an unholy combination of a vaudevillian variety show and a punk rock tour. Each month, three new lively indie performers pile in a car and do seven cities in eight days, doing shows with the bold guarantee: NO BORING READINGS OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

Featuring:
...classy dame ROBYN JEFFREY from Ottawa!
...ephemera artist DANIEL TRESE from Miami!
...puppet-packing satirist JEFF COTTRILL from Toronto!

Robyn Jeffrey is a classy dame who lives, writes, works and runs in Ottawa. She studied dead painters at Carleton University and creative writing at Humber College. Some of her work has appeared in Bywords Quarterly Journal. Robyn devours art and poetry whole-heartedly, the aftertaste be damned.

Daniel Trese is a self-taught American artist based out of Miami, Florida. He makes books from pictures, text, and ephemera that document periods and places in his life. His latest book, Walking Backwards, is published by Adolescent (a small company that is making work from a distinctly queer perspective). The book covers a period of eight months most of which was spent in Detroit, Michigan. Visit www.adolescentbooks.com

Jeff Cottrill is a fiction writer and spoken-word performer whose stage act uses elements of performance poetry, comedy, theatre, storytelling... even the occasional puppet. With a satirical, often darkly comic flavour, he likes to make his audiences laugh, cringe, or (preferably) both. He has also written film reviews, arts articles, and even (gasp!) relationship self-help. Jeff has featured in many Toronto literary shows as well as in several U.S. cities and even in London, England. In 2005, he released his first CD, Cracktastic!, and he has also had two chapbooks published. Jeff likes movies, travel, and puppies. jeffcottrill.coffeehouse.ca

Thurs. June 22, doors at 8:30 pm.
Venus Envy (320 Lisgar St.)

The first Certain Sort of 2006 is booked for Saturday May 27th at SAW Gallery. Certain Sort is a dance party for queer girls, trans people, and their pals. Tickets will be available at the door for $8, and there will be a cash bar. Proceeds to the new Venus Envy Ottawa Bursary Fund! DJs and door prizes, girly drinks, and cute girls, all for a great cause.

The Roadshow is an indie press touring circuit, an unholy combination of a vaudevillian variety show and a punk rock tour. Each month, three new lively indie performers pile in a car and do seven cities in eight days, doing shows with the bold guarantee: NO BORING READINGS OR YOUR MONEY BACK!

Featuring:
...low-fallutin' scribe EMERSON DAMERON from Chicago!
...poetic super-vixen TANIS RIDEOUT from Toronto!
...guitar slinging romantic SNOOVY from Toronto!

Emerson Dameron serves as editor and sole contributor for the zine Wherewithal. He also contributes to the2ndhand, Zine World: A Reader's Guide to the Underground Press, Dusted Magazine, The Machine and other magazines and websites. On Wednesday nights, he hosts a show on WLUW-FM. With the rest of the Diatribe Media family, he organizes small-press events in Chicago. With Nell Taylor, he co-founded the Chicago Underground Library, which you should ask him about. He fancies himself a comedian, though accounts vary. He is an ordained minister and performs weddings at reasonable rates. He maintains a skeletal online presence at loudwire.net/~emerson.

Tanis Rideout's first appearance was in a foreign story line (Unclear Origins, issue #8), which took her through Tai Chi Ch'uan poetry training around the globe. Never a master of secret identity, she took refuge from the world to master control of language and rhythm (see The Lost Years, issue #4). During that time she learned to wield words with ninja-like precision. She emerged from seclusion to join the Justice League of Poets (Northern Stories, issues #63-on). Current plotlines leave our hero seeking to balance her search for poetic justice with daily existence (The Continuing Adventures of Po' It Girl). www.geocities.com/tanis_rideout

What do hippie parents and too many Zeppelin albums make? Snoovy — Toronto's veteran grrl rocker gives you the flower child experience in a blend of her own jumpy rock hits and moody ballads. Her sweet and sultry vocals and heavy-handed acoustic rhythm guitar will make you go groovy all over, baby. She's the Montreal Fringe Fest's battle-of-the-bands winner, the Toronto pride stage chick rocker, University of Manitoba's flute choir diva, and California's speed metal folkie. A true tour baby at heart, Snoovy joins the Roadshow to spread more peace, love, and rock and roll. www.snoovy.com

Thurs. May 25, 8:00pm
Chateau Lafayette (42 York St.)

This monthly event is hosted by the Ottawa-Bi-Town yahoo group, and is intended for any bisexuals: male, female or transgendered. Attendees should be bisexual, bi-curious or bi-friendly/supportive and willing to learn from the group.

Discussion starts officially at 7:30 but there will be a social time prior to the formal discussion. The social will be at the community centre (club) as well... come anytime after 6:30 and bring your own dinner if you wish to eat. Feel free to simply socialize as well.

Thursday April 27, 2006 7:30pm—9:30pm; social: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Thursday May 25, 2006 7:30pm—9:30pm; social: 6:30pm-7:30pm
Thursday June 22, 2006 7:30pm—9:30pm; social: 6:30pm- 7:30pm

April's topic: Bisexuality in the Media: We'll talk about bisexual scenes in movies and books and how they are portrayed. If everyone has a title to discuss, the topic will go farther, but it is not necessary.

Breathless Club, 318 Lisgar Street
Open event (not just for members). Any adult may attend (19+, ID required)
Free

"Paintings from Drawings": Vibrant, monochromatic paintings display her affinity for the female figure and celebrate its aesthetic form. Her works echo classic luminaries such as Egon Schiele as well as modern-day groundbreakers such as Fafi, all precisely crafted with her own signature and unique style.

Hovey's work has been dispayed at wurm gallery, Shanghai Restaurant, Norml clothing, Character salon, and the University of Ottawa; she was selected for inclusion in the Coachella Valley Music Festival 2005 touring exhibit entitled "TRASHed".