Taslim Parsons' passion 'There shouldn't be any shame around sex'
When Taslim Parsons and her parents arrived in the United Kingdom from Uganda as asylum seekers just over 50 years ago, with nothing but a few suitcases between them, not everyone embraced their Indian heritage.
As a young female of colour growing up in North London during the 1970s, Taslim often experienced racism and sexism, which quickly taught the self-proclaimed feminist how to stand up for herself.
Today, the Wellington mum and entrepreneur credits her upbringing for shaping her passion for equality – whether that's on the streets, in business or in the bedroom! – and helping her to become the mastermind behind a successful luxury sex-toy brand.
Taslim (left) with her mother Sugra and father Abdul, plus sister Sukaina and brother Salim. "Mum and Dad were really liberal for Indian-heritage parents," she says.
Having launched Share Satisfaction in 2020, Taslim says, "I'm of a generation of women where our parents didn't talk to us a lot about sex and instead it was, 'Don't get pregnant or Aids!' My mum and dad were really liberal for Indian-heritage parents and there was no real stigma around sex, but there was nothing about pleasure.
"Back then, if you derived pleasure from your own body, you were seen as weird or dirty and that's not the case. It can be really damaging."
After working in advertising, media and telecommunications, then launching a nightclub in the UK, Taslim moved to Aotearoa with her investment manager husband Jeremy in 2004.
When the mum of daughter Layla, 16, and son Kiaran, 14, left a charity job to work with a Wellington distribution company that brings sex toys and products into the country, she fell in love with the concept of helping women find pleasure. And the more she talked to friends about her job, the greater her passion grew.
"If I'm at a party, it only takes about 10 minutes before someone asks me what I do for a living, and then the conversation turns to sex toys and wellbeing," tells the 54-year-old. "I've had so many friends with bad or mediocre sex lives who were suffering in silence.
"When women open up and realise they actually have terrible sex lives or have never orgasmed, the conversation changes."
After speaking to her managers at work, Taslim decided to have a go at creating a unique range of luxury sex products, using her own experiences shopping for adult toys and the conversations with friends as inspiration.
As well as being affordable and made from quality silicone, Taslim wanted toys that were presented in a similar way to a perfume advertisement.
"As a woman, if I was going into a shop and looking at buying a toy, one called 'Shegasm' isn't really for me," laughs Taslim, whose signature vibrator "Kama" became the second-best-selling adult toy in New Zealand within three months of launching.
"We wanted them to look beautiful, so the colours are gorgeous and they've got beautiful embellishments on them. I don't want anyone to be embarrassed about having one of these products."
Buzzing about her products, Taslim says, "They can bring a whole new level to sex."
As New Zealand's fastest- growing sexual wellness brand, Share Satisfaction includes a men's range and its products have been picked up by around 200 local retailers, including pharmacies that stock their condoms and lubricants.
Taslim quips, "I get people who say they have a husband, so they don't need adult toys, but my response is, 'Well, does he vibrate?' Then there are the people who open up about not being able to orgasm, their partner having erectile dysfunction or their intimacy having gone out the window since having kids.
"Our products can bring a whole new level to sex and my advice is to start off small."
Part of Taslim's success is the pelvic wellness range called Eyden, which was co-designed with a physiotherapist to alleviate common issues.
The products help to train and strengthen pelvic floor muscles, which can become weaker over time, especially after illness and childbirth.
For Taslim, who works in a team of five from an unassuming office in Wellington City, it's important for her to be open about her role with her children, who understand what she does for work.
"We talk about masturbation and sex because, in my view, if young women know what feels good and how to achieve pleasure, the chances of them being coerced in a relationship is a lot less likely," she tells.
"As a teenager exploring sex, I'd get guys saying it was meant to feel like that and it clearly wasn't. I'm a huge advocate of young women exploring on their own because then they can stand up for themselves and say, 'That doesn't feel good – I don't like the way that feels.'"
Taslim is currently focused on growing awareness of her brand in Australia and admits the past few years have been rather hectic.
"But I absolutely love this job and I have a real passion for it," she enthuses.
"I 100% believe in what we're doing. Sexual wellness is integral to our wellbeing and your body is capable of this amazing thing. There shouldn't be any shame around it."
