Priape (meaning

Priapus In Greek mythology, Priapus (; grc, Πρίαπος, ) is a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his oversized, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term ...

in French) is a privately held Canadian company, headquartered in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Priape owned and operated several retail stores specializing in DVDs, books, clothing, leather,

sex toys A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

, and other products that appeal to the gay consumer. The company was founded in

, Quebec in 1974 by Robert Duchaîne and Claude Leblanc, originally at 1111

De Maisonneuve Boulevard De Maisonneuve Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard De Maisonneuve) is a major westbound boulevard located in Downtown Montreal, downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is named after the founder of Montreal, Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve. It ...

."Restructuration et rationalisation en vue pour la chaîne de commerce de détail"
''

Fugues In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

'', 25 July 2013. The flagship store moved to 1661 Rue Sainte-Catherine East in 1975, and then to 1311 rue Sainte-Catherine in 1987. Additional Priape stores opened in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, in 1998,

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta, in 2004, and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, in 2005. In 2001, the chain's then-owner, Bernard Rousseau, purchased Montreal's

Librairie L'Androgyne Librairie L'Androgyne was an LGBT-oriented bookstore in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, active from 1973 to 2002."L'Androgyne closing: Move to Gay Village wasn't enough to save bookstore specializing in materials now sold online or at Indigo". ''Montreal ...

bookstore,"L'Androgyne settles in: Bookstore moves to Gay Village after 16 years on the Main". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', 3 August 2001. although he closed that store within a year due to declining sales."L'Androgyne closing: Move to Gay Village wasn't enough to save bookstore specializing in materials now sold online or at Indigo". ''

'', 20 July 2002. In 2011, the store briefly became an international news story when Greg Davis, the then-mayor of Southaven, Mississippi, came out as gay after a forensic audit of his expense claims revealed that he had made a purchase at the store during a business trip to Toronto.Kirsten Boyd Johnson
Mississippi Mayor Outed After Visiting Gay Sex Shop With City Credit Card
''Wonkette'', 16 December 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011. The company also operated ManWear, which designed and sold

t-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are generall ...

, tank tops,

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and paten ...

, and accessories. Priape was also a minority investor in

Maleflixxx Television Maleflixxx Television is a Canadian exempt English language specialty channel. It is a premium adult entertainment television channel, with programming consisting of gay male pornography. It is also noted as the first 24-hour channel of its kind in ...

, a Canadian subscription cable channel offering gay porn programming. The company filed for bankruptcy protection on 27 June 2013."Gay retailer Priape closes all four Canadian stores"
''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', 21 October 2013. All four of its stores across Canada were closed the morning of 21 October. On 30 October, a

Quebec Superior Court The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Qu ...

hearing approved a purchase offer by former general manager Denis Leblanc and theatre producer Stephen Pevner;"Priape saved from extinction by new owners"
''

'', 30 October 2013. under its new ownership, the flagship store in Montreal and the website, Priape.com, have reopened while the Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary stores remain closed; however, other stores in those cities carry selections of Priape-branded merchandise.

References

External links

Priape WebsitePriape.tv
{{Portal bar, Canada, Companies, LGBT Clothing retailers of Canada Companies based in Montreal Gay culture in Canada LGBT culture in Montreal LGBT culture in Toronto LGBT culture in Vancouver Sex shops Shops in Montreal Shops in Toronto Shops in Vancouver