Somewhere between the vibrators, personal lubricants, blowjob demonstrations and cock rings, I got to thinking: I haven’t been showered with so many free things since New Student Week.

And also, how had I ended up at Nevin’s, stuck in a throng of a hundred or so young Northwestern women, waving their hands as wildly as the tool in my Psych class? They were clamoring noisily for “My Boo,” a purple gnome of a vibrator struggling in the hands of Patty Brisben, CEO and founder of Pure Romance.

In case you didn’t see the fliers taped to the pavement before last week’s derangedly unseasonal snow, Sex Week (“It’s coming!”), sponsored by College Feminists, was responsible for several events last week. There were movies to watch, lectures to attend and musicals to see. And somehow I chose to cover the 18+ Pleasure Party at Nevin’s Pub on Thursday night at 9 p.m.

Inspired by the Sex & the City images on the fliers, I convinced four of my favorite hallmates to cough up the $5 entrance fee and trekked to Nevin’s, where we were greeted with free sex toys at the door. (It’s always good for a group of friends to have matching Silver Bullets, don’t you think?)

Pure Romance sponsors in-house parties to demonstrate and sell their array of heighteners, lubricants and bedroom toys. Their college version of a “pleasure party,” called The Naked Truth, was more of a product free-for-all.

“We provide a very safe environment for women to explore their own sexuality and ask questions they wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable asking their gynecologists,” said Erin Hoschouer, director of the company’s Health Education Department.

With these words of encouragement, I took my seat with my would-be Carries, Charlottes, Mirandas and Samanthas, and sat back as Brisben transformed the stage into a laugh-a-minute, provocative, informational free-for-all of vibrators and massages. From the raunchy question “If you’ve ever taken an antihistamine, do you really think it just dries up your nose?” to the no-holds-bar description of silicone-based lubricants as “kind of like the Energizer bunny: it just keeps going and going…”, Brisben demonstrated not only her products but the charisma that allowed her to become the CEO of an incredibly lucrative company.

“It was important to have Pure Romance here,” said Weinberg sophomore Stella Fayman, the founder and organizer of Sex Week, and co-director of College Feminists. “Women need to learn about their bodies and not have unrealistic standards imposed on them by the porn industry. They can learn about their bodies and what feels good.”

She was right: Being at the party did feel liberating. My “let’s blame Lisa for dragging us into a sex den” friends soon gave up their snarkiness and threw their arms up to beg Hoschouer for lubes, creams and dildos. Corinne and Alicia even fought over a t-shirt the bartender threw into the fanatical crowd. Hell, I felt like I was on Oprah (minus getting gypped on taxes). Everybody left with free samples—and of course, the Silver Bullet.

“This was our first time doing this. Hopefully next year it will be bigger and better,” Fayman said. “This is the beginning of women empowering themselves.”

Granted, I have not felt empowered enough just yet to try the Silver Bullet, much to the chagrin of my amused male hallmates, but it’s there. And that’s something. I had a great time, I was intrigued and I learned a few things about my body, my friends and Jessica Simpson. Read on for my favorite highlights:

• Regis gave Kelly a Pure Romance edible bra.
• “Women are like crock pots: It takes us 20 minutes to get into the game, right? And men are like microwaves,” Brisben said.
• Pure Romance sells little gold balls. Regularly holding them in your vagina and walking across a room will help you have more frequent and more intense orgasms.
• Petal Pleaser is Jessica Simpson’s favorite bedroom toy. Brisben said, “Do you ever see them driving in their car in California? The Petal Pleaser is why they’re so happy.”