Monday’s breast cancer fundraiser was one of those sweet, feel-good parties with socialites dressed in pink, specialty cocktails, cotton candy, pink macaroons … and sex toys.
The party was going strong — with VIP guests such as Race for the Cure founder Nancy Brinker and Michelle Fenty — when cancer survivors were handed two goody bags prepared for them: The first had a framed inspiration quote (“Friends are like bras. Close to your heart and all about support”).
The second held a small pink vibrator and creams.
Sex toys? This was news to the “Newsbabes,” a group of D.C. television personalities (Andrea Rowan, Lindsay Czarniak, Pamela Brown, Laura Evans, Eun Yang) who hosted their second annual benefit for 500 guests at the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton. “The Newsbabes were kind of mortified,” said WUSA’s Angie Goff. “There’s a time and place for everything.”
Turns out organizers never saw the bags or knew what was inside them. Last year, Old Town bra shop Full Cup donated a goody bag and offered to supply them again this year. Owners of another shop nearby, Lotus Blooms, donated lotions to the bag last year — and sent along their own bag of treats this time.
The upscale adult boutique, run by two nurses, caters primarily to women, including breast cancer survivors looking to reclaim their sexuality, said co-owner Analena Graham, who is a survivor. “Our toys look nothing like a body part, let’s put it that way,” she told us. The manufacturer made the vibrator (which recharges via a computer’s USB port — who knew?) in pink and sent them for the fundraiser.
The reaction was mixed: Some guests thought it was great fun; others were embarrassed. And one was blissfully unaware. “What’s this?” she asked her daughter.
“Something for your computer, Mom.”
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