My Experience Working at a Sex Shop in Amsterdam
In November 2019, my partner and I moved to Amsterdam on the Working Holiday Visa from Canada. We had wanted to live and work abroad for a while before further settling down in Edmonton and we ended up choosing Amsterdam for my Dutch family ties, the ample amount of English-speaking jobs, and it’s reputation for sexuality so I could continue my education and professional development in the field. And wow did I experience everything I bargained for and more.
With my experience in sexual health and the multicultural nature of Amsterdam, it was not hard to find a job as an individual with a mediocre (at best) grasp of the Dutch language, however my struggle came with finding that perfect role that would help me gain the eye-opening sexuality experience I was hoping for when we moved.
I applied at essentially all the sex shops in the city, worked one shift at a extremely busy cafe in the museum quarter (where I spilled hot chocolate on a baby), volunteered at an non-profit in the Red Light District which works to improve labor conditions and elevate the agency of sex workers, and I initially settled in as a Content Creator for a sex shop near Dam Square. At this job I was contracted to write blog posts about sexuality on topics ranging from choosing your first sex toy, to spanking, to a beginner’s guide to kink, however my time in this role ended quite quickly once the owner stopped communicating with me and refused to pay me for my agreed upon work.
Although that was a very frustrating experience, I received a loud and clear sign from the universe when on the day I decided to stop chasing the owner for my owed money, I received a text from a woman named Ceciel asking if I would still be interested in working at her sex shop which I had applied for over a month and a half prior.
I met with Ceciel the next day for my interview at the Dunkin’ Donuts across from the Amsterdam location of her chain of sex shops - B1. She told me how her father and uncle started the company over 50 years ago when they had the idea to sell condoms and pamphlets at their farmer’s market stand alongside their cucumbers. Their interesting backstory, Ceciel’s warmth, and the fact that she reminded me of a perfect mix of my manager at my golf course job back home and my Dutch oma served as another sign from the universe that B1 would be the right place for me to work.
Learning my role in the shop portion was not necessarily a huge learning curve because my education and work experience have gained me practice in talking openly and factually about sexuality. However, I did need to brush up my knowledge on some of the products such as poppers - which are chemicals you inhale prior to sexual activity to get a slight rush (never taken any before, did not initially know if you can or cannot bring it in your suitcase on the flight home from a wild weekend in Amsterdam) and penis pumps (not my anatomy, was not initially familiar with which one is the better model). I also had wonderful, open, helpful, and fun coworkers that made my transition to working there quite smooth and enjoyable! Working in the shop became second nature quite quickly, however the aspect of my new role that took the longest to get used to were the porn cinemas on the upper levels.
The Amsterdam location of B1 is set up in an old jewelry store, and with plans to renovate in the coming years, not much has been changed since the shop was initially opened. The ground floor contains the sex shop and the upper 3 floors contain cinemas that show pornographic films from 10 a.m. -10 p.m. every day. During my interview I was told that staff members are responsible for making sure everything is going alright on the upper levels - the phrases “you may need to clean up a couple tissues here and there” and “always bring up the flashlight and mace for safety” were only slightly intimidating.
At the start of my first shift I was given a thorough tour of the upper levels and I truly hope that everyone has the opportunity to visit B1 and explore the cinema to witness how each floor becomes more and more interesting and complex as you ascend (to put it softly - you really need to see it for yourself).
The first floor contains a couple rows of old cinema seating, a couch, and a bathroom and shows “straight films” (hetrozaal). The second floor has a similar set-up, but also contains a few private rooms, and plays “gay films”. The third floor consists of multiple private rooms of varying group sizes, a maze/tunnel-like narrow hallway, gloryholes, eyeholes, small TVs showing the same film as on the second level, and a large bed tucked away in a corner. Our staff bathroom/storage room was also super conveniently on this level. My favorite parts of the cinema floors were the presence of old jewelry cases from way back in the day and the fact that even when you turned on the lights that it was still essentially completely dark besides the light glowing from the projector screens playing erotic films.
The cinema was the part of the job I was most nervous for since I did not really know how much I would have to look after it because typically there was only one employee working at a time, the cinema levels were essentially a sexual free-for-all, and if there were trouble upstairs it was our role to intervene. My coworkers were also pretty eager to share their wild stories of the goings on upstairs.
However, I was fortunate and did not need to deal with any trouble during my short time employed at B1, except for constantly changing the temperature because one cinema customer always wanted it warmer stating that “nothing ruins the mood like a cold room” and another always demanded it be a bit colder because “all the heat rises to the 3rd floor where all the fun is had.”
There were also little screens behind the counter showing what movies were playing, so it was my role to change the DVD once one was over - if I ever failed to notice immediately, the cinema customers would be sure to come down and let me know. My feeling of safety and comfortability grew the longer I worked there with the more I understood - while this description may sound unbelievable coming from our more repressed and sex-negative western world, and it was a new experience to me, there are actually many “cruising spots” and similar sexuality services like this in Amsterdam.
Except no amount of time working there would absolve my fear of the backroom which led to a cement basement room that EXACTLY resembled the basement room from the Best Picture Winner, “Parasite” which we had the pleasure of viewing at the EYE Filmmuseum during our time in the city. Otherwise, my feelings of safety and comfortability grew with each shift, giving me the chance to better lean into the experience of working at a well-known sex shop in Amsterdam.
In my brief time working at B1, I had the privilege of further learning about sexuality by conversing with the customers and cinema clients, and witnessing how people interacted in the shop and went about their business upstairs and I have many stories that are unlike anything I could have experienced working elsewhere. In sharing my stories it is my intention to help normalize the wide range of sexuality, journal my experiences, and perhaps excite others to visit Amsterdam and B1 especially.
With the setting outlined (which is incredibly important for visualization) and with that disclaimer, I would love to share some of the moments I witnessed while employed at B1:
The cinema cost €10 for a day pass for men and couples and women were free to go up. This was slightly confusing at first but then made sense when day after day we would solely sell cinema tickets to men (averaging around €500 each day). Many couples who were shopping in the store noticed men paying and then going through a mysterious door to upstairs - we urged them to go check it out with respect and to stay for a while if they wanted. Not many (or any) people stayed longer than a couple minutes.
One day a customer super excitedly bought an item that had not received any attention prior (besides tourists’ shock) - a butt plug with a 3-feet long tail attached to it. That same day 2 other people came in the store looking for that EXACT item - it must have been featured in a popular porno recently?
A favorite memory is helping a group of Dutch women buy a vibrator for their friend’s 60th birthday - they said she owned almost everything I recommended.
Customers who would be returning to India and countries with similar border laws, were not allowed to bring sex toys that looked like a penis into the country. They could, however, bring something that was less phallic/more discreet.
B1 is located on Reguliersbreestraat at the end of the floating flower market on the way to Rembrandt Square, right next to McDonald’s - so there is a lot of tourist traffic, especially on Saturdays. Unfortunately on Saturdays I would have to spend most of my time enforcing rules like “no food, no drinks, no pictures, no groups”, rather than helping people shop for toys. I had to stop people from smoking weed inside and disrupt an “influencer” who was starting a vlog in the middle of the store?! Working on a Saturday was also tiresome because mainly tourists (and some younger dutch people) would scream and laugh at the larger dildos and hit their friends with them and make shaming comments about some (most) of the items in the store.
Many people would buy a toy or an outfit in the shop to try out upstairs.
B1 Amsterdam has a hilarious and helpful employee who cleans the cinema (with A LOT of bleach) every morning expect Sunday. He has been there for over 17 years!
Cannabis lube was a hot-selling item (it is Amsterdam after all) and so were the vibrating eggs, still riding the high that “50 Shades of Grey” gave them. We also had many people ask if we had a cream that could make them “virgin tight” which has its own societal implications. A hot-selling product that shocked me was tubs of Crisco - the shortening that is usually used for baking, because it is has an additional use: lubrication for fisting, which I did not previously know!
Pre-COVID (we had to flee the country when cases spiked and borders closed), we were allowed and even encouraged to take items out of the boxes to test them and so we could see how they worked to better inform customers. I loved showing people that they could test if they liked the vibration pattern of a particular toy by placing it against the tip of their nose.
One cinema customer (that I was aware of) was a “money boy” and would get paid to get his dick sucked. He was admittedly straight and would rush upstairs when there were very rarely women up there.
A group of middle-aged women from Spain were helping their friend purchase her first sex toy. She wanted a dildo that had a realistic feel and was no less than 8 inches, and she wanted it to vibrate and/or thrust. It was hilarious holding up 5 different dildos at the same time so she could compare them and make her pick. She ended up choosing one that spun around in circles.
A lot of people asked me if I was embarrassed to work there or would talk as if I couldn’t hear and say things like, “I can’t believe that girl has a straight face and looks so chill, I would be so embarrassed to do that job”
The cinema regulars reminded me of the regulars from the golf course I work at (although possessing a different pastime), and it was so nice to chat with them daily and build a friendly relationship.
Overall my time in Amsterdam was amazing and although I did not live there long enough to become aware of all the cultural nuances, I am very lucky to have been able to take away some very meaningful lessons from their more sex-positive lifestyle. To me, Amsterdam and the Netherlands as a whole are very open and non-judgemental about many things but particularly what they are known best for - sex and drugs. While the city has an international reputation for being crazy and wild, I observed it to be just the opposite - a place of acceptance, where aspects of life such as sexuality are viewed as normal, natural, and something to create services and support around.
Sexuality should not be taboo, although I suppose if that were the case, I would not have been drawn to Amsterdam and I would not have had the opportunity to experientially learn so much from a different culture. I am incredibly grateful for my time in the Netherlands, for absolutely everything I can take away from living there, but mainly for my memories from B1 that will influence my work in the field of sexuality!