Due to a couple of amazing sales at Tantus & Pink Cherry, I’ve recently gone on a bit of a sex toy binge. It only seems fitting that this week’s post shares my current obsession. (Needless to say, I also wanted some quick & easy subject matter as my focus has been on “testing” these new arrivals and not so much on researching/writing.)
Enjoy!
Dildos have been around forever. Seriously.
It doesn’t really seem too absurd that for as long as humans have been walking the earth, they have been finding ways to satisfy their libido. In 2010, a 30,000 year old stone dildo (or what some believe to be a dildo) was found in Germany. In ancient Greece, “olisbos” commonly made from leather or wood and lubricated with olive oil adorn many erotic vase paintings.
Vibrators were invented to more effortlessly cure “hysteria.”
A disease that was only diagnosable in women, “hysteria” was believed to be the result of insufficient amounts of sex. (Despite the fact that many people throughout history believed that women had no sexual desire.) During the 19th century, doctors were manually masturbating their female patients in order to reduce hysteria’s rather vague symptoms. Vibrators were a good way to give the good doctors’ hands a break.
The vibrator was the 5th consumer appliance to be electrified.
What were the other four, you ask? The sewing machine, fan, teakettle, and toaster. Before that, many of the first vibrators were powered by steam or a simple hand-crank. For photos and more information about antique vibrators, visit Good Vibration’s Antique Vibrator Museum website. (You really start to get the sense that the people behind Wahl Massagers have simply decided “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”)
The use of vibrators in 1920’s porn made many retailers pull back.
Prior to their appearance in porn, vibrator ads could be seen in the Sears catalog as well as magazines aimed at a female audience. Similar to how Lelo products are referred to as “personal massagers” in Brookstone stores today, their true use was always veiled. However, as they increasingly became explicitly sexual, many retail stores decided that they were too risqué.
Although it is not strictly enforced, Alabama’s Anti-Obscenity Enforcement Act still makes it illegal to sell sex toys.
You may be thinking that this is simply an outdated law that everyone forgot about, but is still somehow on the books. Unfortunately, it was put into effect in 1998 and upheld in 2009. You know what’s even more crazy? If this is your first offense, you could still be punished with a $10,000 fine and a year in prison. This hasn’t stopped people yet. Sellers market their items as “educational” or “novelty” to get around the law.
The use of sex toys is more common than you might think.
I’ve seen estimates on how much money Americans spend on sex toys that range anywhere from $500 million to $15 billion annually, but either way — that’s quite a large industry. (According to sex toy company, Adam & Eve, 8/10 of the leading states are largely Republican. Interesting…) In 2009, researchers at Indiana University [IU] studied the use of vibrators in particular. They found that 52.5% of women and 44.8% of men report having used a vibrator either alone or with a partner.1,2
Using a vibrator may be tied to other sexual health benefits.
The same pair of IU studies also found that those who report using a vibrator also report higher scores on tests of sexual function. Women were more likely to report that they had a gynecological exam within the last year, and men were more likely to report testicular self-exams when compared to their non-vibrator-using cohorts. It makes sense that if you’re more comfortable with your genitals, you’ll probably take better care of them.
Sex toys are not regulated by the US government.
Sex toy manufacturers are currently not obligated to follow any standards or even disclose what materials they use. Because they are allowed to hide in secrecy, many of the chemicals found in cheap sex toys are ones that have been banned from children’s toys due to possible toxicity. They also degrade at an alarming and disgusting rate, as can be seen at Bad Vibes.
- Reece et al. Prevalence and Characteristics of Vibrator Use by Men in the United States. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009; 6 (7): 1867 DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01290.x
- Herbenick et al. Prevalence and Characteristics of Vibrator Use by Women in the United States: Results from a Nationally Representative Study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2009; 6 (7): 1857 DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01318.