Gathered in a University of Maryland at College Park campus apartment Friday night, seven junior women sampled various lotions, powders and creams as an in-home representative showed them her line of products, allowing them to smell, feel and taste what they were buying.

Instead of the latest Bath & Body Works products, however, the wares were more along the lines of Bosom Buddy nipple cream and Lickity Stiff lubricant.

“It’s not your mother’s Tupperware party,” human sexuality professor Robin Sawyer said.

As our generation turns more in the way of “Sex and the City” than “7th Heaven,” a growing number of female students are gathering for these sex-toy parties in their apartments and homes. And the once-taboo industry is helping students not only get off, but also open up, encouraging them to become increasingly open about their sexual needs, habits and practices.

“These parties give the idea that sex is OK,” one student who wished to remain anonymous said. “It’s OK to be sexual, and a lot of it is promoting safe sex, and it’s just a fun way to get together with your friends.”