Smitten Kitten

Many of you may have heard that The Smitten Kitten, a sex toy-education shop in Minneapolis, became one of the most energized hubs of mutual aid and resistance during the ICE Metro Surge. Intimately familiar with life at the margins themselves, the shop was quick to respond when the immigrant communities around them were targeted and terrorized—and when fascism set foot on Minnesota streets. 

The Smitten Kitten collected roomfuls of material goods for those impacted by the Surge, raised hundreds of thousands(!) of dollars for mortgage-rent-utility assistance, and used their social media presence to inform, encourage, and inspire others. But the Surge also hurt their sales, and, honestly, they put community care ahead of fiscal prudence for several months, sparking a cash flow crisis at the store. 

During our regular service (1-2pm), we’ll hear directly from JP Pritchett, founder and owner of The Smitten Kitten, about how and why their small shop threw all-in to support marginalized communities not their own. This will include reflections on the perhaps unexpected intersections between selling sex toys, seeking justice for those targeted by ICE, and pursuing the full flourishing of Minnesota’s diverse communities. JP will also share some thoughts about their recent trip to Germany, where they were honored—alongside Unidos MN—to receive the Aachen Peace Prize for exemplifying “solidarity from below.” 

Besides paying JP a stipend to be with us, after the service (not as part of our regular offering), we’ll have a basket available for direct monetary support to The Smitten Kitten to recognize their witness and help stabilize their business. As UU’s, we affirm the life-giving goodness of consensual sexual pleasure, so we are excited to hear from The Smitten Kitten about the bridge from sex toys and education to solidarity in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

We warmly invite you to join us, Merging Waters Unitarian Universalist Congregation, on September 20 at 1pm. (This is our regular gathering time for service as we share space at the United Church of Christ in New Brighton: 1000 Long Lake Rd, New Brighton, at the NW corner of I-694 & Long Lake Rd.)