Voting Station

Joani Blank

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (July 4, 1937-August 6, 2016)
    Raised in the Boston area
    Resides in Oakland, CA
    Earned B.A. at Oberlin College, M.A. at University of Hawaii and M.P.H. at University of North Carolina
    Former volunteer for Planned Parenthood and sex counselor for San Francisco Sex Information and UCSF
    Founded Down There Press, a publisher of sex-related books (1975)
    Founder and operator of Good Vibrations, a woman-oriented sex toy business (1977)
    Co-founder of Titattoos (now Intimate Art Tattoos), temporary tattoos for breasts (1997)
    Wrote the books 'The Playbook for Women About Sex (1975),' 'The Playbook for Men About Sex (1976),' 'The Playbook for Kids About Sex (1978)' and 'A Kid's First Book About Sex (1993)'
    Produced the videos 'Faces of Ecstasy (1995)' and 'Orgasm! The Faces of Ecstasy (2004)'

Why she might be annoying:

    She divorced after 17 years of marriage, though there was no legal documentation, only a ceremony.
    She named her only daughter Amika and her poodle Bapu-ji.
    She stated her biggest regret in life is not knowing how it feels to be pregnant (her daughter is adopted).
    She titled a 1976 book 'Good Vibrations: Being a Treatise on the Use of Machines in the Indolent Indulgence of Erotic Pleasure-Seeking Together with Important Hints on the Acquisition, Care, and Utilization of Said Machines and Much More about the Art and Science of Buzzing Off.'
    She claims some men are intimidated dating her, believing her to be some kind of 'sexual athlete.'
    She debated Eve Ensler over the term 'vagina' vs. 'vulva,' claiming 'We're really cheating our daughters by teaching them that their genitals are their vaginas.'
    If any artist drew her picture they'd be drawing a Blank.

Why she might not be annoying:

    She invented the Butterfly Vibrator.
    She's taught countless women how to masturbate.
    Believing there should be a non-sleazy place for people to buy vibrators, Good Vibrations opened as only the second woman-oriented sex toy business in the U.S.
    She sold her store in 1992 in a co-op deal making 14 employees worker-owners, turning down corporations that would have given her more money.
    She is an owner of and huge advocate for cohousing, the ownership of separate houses that share common area facilities, such as a large dining room, kitchen, a lounge, a kid's playroom and a laundry.
    She donates 50% of her income to non-profit organizations.
    In 2008 she received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree for her 30+ years of work in the sex field from the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.

Credit: Scar Tactics


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 92.31% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 19 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 15 Votes: 73.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 18 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 55 Votes: 65.45% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 38 Votes: 57.89% Annoying