#vibrators

If you ever searched for sex toys, and vibrators (and you shouldn’t you?) you might have stumbled upon a fun little one called “rabbit vibrator”. It’s designed to help women have orgasm stimulating the clitoris while feeling a penetration too. 
Whell.. why rabbits? it’s true that there is the story about rabbits having lots and lots of sex and they are the symbol of playboy too, but really the story behind the rabbit vibrators is much more fun.. 
Enter Japan!! Aaah what a wonderful country and culture… but soooo strange sometimes.. For example, for a long time, penis shaped realistic vibrators were immoral and sometimes illegal, in an attempt to make all dildos illegal, so sex toys producers invented a rabbit vibrator (and other shaped ones) to get around the law. So yaay! hurra for vibrators and rabbits. :D 

If you are in Japan or going there, don’t worry thou, you can find lots of sex toys anyway without much problem, even thou there still exists a stigma about the use of one. 

But don’t listen to them and have fun using them (yes, even if you are a man! there are lots of prostate vibrators, but that is for another story..bye!)

okay, so i was using my vibrator again strictly on my clit and it was feeling wonderful per usual, and then i started to get a weird jerking in my legs that i had never felt before and i began to actually leak. it felt like i was peeing so i stopped immediately, but it’s definitely not urine. ruined my sheets. probably an ounce came out. i supposed it was my first ~real orgasm?! i always thought i had one before, but everyone always says, “oh, you’ll know.” and maybe that was it. god bless this vibrator, seriously…

i was using my vibrator just now on my clit. not even moving it around, just keeping it in one place. and it started like PULSATING and grabbing on to the vibrator…. it was the weirdest feeling. i can’t wait to use it when no one else is at home…

i didn’t plan on buying it today, but i was at the mall and just walked into Spencer’s. all types of things are on the back wall there and i figured i might as well look. this guy popped out at me immediately! there were 5 different colors to choose from and i chose on green. only $9.99!!! requires 2 AA batteries, and also has adjustable vibrating intensities. it seems quite loud, which i’m nervous about while my dad is in the next room, but i have to try it right now!!! 

EDIT: 13 minutes later - holy shiiiiit. that was intense…

When vibrators are mentioned in pop culture, they’re usually discussed as masturbation aides—something people (particularly women) use to pleasure themselves. You don’t typically see people whipping them out during couple’s sex scenes. 

In reality, though, vibrators are often used during partnered sex—and they have the potential to provide more satisfying sexual experiences for everyone involved. And as sex toy technology has advanced, it has become easier than ever to incorporate vibrators into partnered activities.

However, among heterosexual couples, men in particular are sometimes very reluctant to incorporate vibrators and other sex toys. For example, some men see vibrators as threatening or intimidating because they think their penises alone should be capable of satisfying their partners—but research suggests that men who think like this may be missing out. 

In a study of 49 heterosexual men in committed relationships published in the journal Men and Masculinities, participants were given a couple’s vibrator to try out with their partner. Over a two-month period, participants were asked to have sex with and without the vibrator a certain number of times—and they were given detailed instructions on how to use this toy (note that this was a wearable couple’s vibrator designed to provide sensation and stimulation to both partners during penetrative intercourse).

Participants were surveyed several times about their feelings on the vibrator, and the researchers found that most (71%) said it enhanced pleasure and, further, the vast majority (88%) planned to keep using the toy even after the study was over.

The main benefits of using the couple’s vibrator were as follows: 

1.) Physical pleasure

Most men said that using the device felt good. For example, many enjoyed the extra sensation caused by vibration, while others liked being able to have their hands free so that they could explore other types of stimulation.

2.) Appreciation of partner pleasure 

Most men said the vibrator enhanced their partner’s pleasure—for instance, it was easier for their partners to reach orgasm and, sometimes, to have more intense orgasms. Seeing their partner satisfied boosted men’s own pleasure, as evidenced by comments from participants such as “I enjoy sex more when my partner does.”

3.) Novelty and variety

A lot of the men felt that using the vibrator itself was fun and that it increased excitement by adding a novel element to sex. Many also said that using the vibrator offered an easy opportunity for foreplay to go on longer than usual. 

4.) Intimacy

Lastly, most men said that vibrator use enhanced intimacy and made them feel closer to their partners. For example, some said that it made sex a more “couple-focused” experience, in part, because it helped allow both partners to reach orgasm simultaneously.

Of course, it would have been nice to have data from both partners here, which is an important limitation of this research. Although men clearly seemed to think that using vibrators benefitted their partners (e.g., by facilitating orgasm), it would have been useful to see if women reported unique benefits that men did not. It would also be worth exploring the benefits of vibrator use among sexual and gender minorities.

With all of that said, the results of this research tell us that couple’s vibrators can potentially enhance sex in several ways and, further, that the taboo surrounding men’s sex toy use may be holding men back from unlocking more pleasure for both themselves and their partners. 

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click herefor more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and PsychologyonFacebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTubeandInstagram.

To learn more about this research, see: Watson, E. D., Séguin, L. J., Milhausen, R. R., & Murray, S. H. (2016). The impact of a couple’s vibrator on men’s perceptions of their own and their partner’s sexual pleasure and satisfaction. Men and Masculinities, 19(4), 370-383.

Image Source: 123RF/bespalyi

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What is the oldest sex toy in existence? Why were butt plugs once marketed as a cure for asthma? Why is it still illegal to sell sex toys in some parts of the United States?

I recently interviewed sex historian and journalist Hallie Lieberman for the Sex and Psychology Podcast to dive into the fascinating history of sex toys (listen to the full episode here). Hallie is author of the incredibly entertaining book, Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.

In this excerpt from our conversation, we discuss the history of sex toys, unusual ways they have been marketed, and the ever-changing legal status of selling sex toys in the United States. Note that this transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Justin Lehmiller: Your book, Buzz, is all about the history of sex toys. Why did you want to dive into this subject? 

Hallie Lieberman: It came from my own experience selling them—and my experience in Texas walking into a sex toy store and seeing black bars covering up words like “dildo” and “vibrator,” just like you’d see in a redacted FBI document. That kind of stuff made me think, “where did this come from? Is this recent? Have we always been like this?” And that really led me to dive into the history. I just wanted to know where the story began. That was my question, and no one had that answer. 

Justin Lehmiller: So where does the story begin? How long have humans been using sex toys? What is the earliest known sex toy in existence that you were able to discover?

Hallie Lieberman: So the earliest sex toy is 30,000 years old—at least it’s the earliest thing that looks like a sex toy. These are stone tools from 30,000 years ago that were found in Germany, and these were phallic. And, of course, we don’t know how they were used. Some archeologists say they were used as spear sharpeners because they have little marks on the side, but they look like dicks. There’s no reason in my mind for why we need to sharpen spears on dicks. Like, we don’t sharpen knives on dildos in the 21st century, so it was hard for me to believe that’s what they were doing. And some people say that they were actually dildos as well. So that’s the oldest thing that some people are claiming is a sex toy.

Justin Lehmiller: So, maybe they were multi-purpose? 

Hallie Lieberman: Well, a vibrator today is sold as a back massager, and you can use it like that. My boyfriend will use my Hitachi Magic Wand on his legs. I’m like, “what are you doing? That’s for my clitoris.” But yeah, they could have been multi-purpose.

Justin Lehmiller: So sex toys, seemingly, have been around for a long time. Of course, as you mentioned, there’s a lot we don’t know about exactly what people were doing with some of these artifacts. 

But something else I’m curious about, in terms of you taking this deep dive into the history of sex toys, was there anything that really surprised you over the course of your research? For example, were there any older toys or advertisements for toys that you came across where you were just like, “what the fuck is that?” I say this because when I look at some things in the history of sexual health and wellness products, I have those WTF moments. 

For example, Lysol used to be marketed as a feminine hygiene product. They were literally telling women to put Lysol inside of their vaginas—which is a terrible idea. And no one should ever do that. But that’s one of those things that makes me go, what the fuck? So, did you have any moments like that as you were studying and diving into this? 

Hallie Lieberman: Oh my God, I had so many of those! So I was in the archives looking at this rectal dilator—they were not called butt plugs—from around 1905 and the advertisement said it would cure your asthma! That was one of those screaming-in-the-archives moments where I was like, “oh my God, people believed this?” I don’t know if people actually believed it, but it looks exactly like a butt plug today—and they would say it would cure asthma and all of your other ails. I also saw an ad that said vibrators cure deafness. 

Justin Lehmiller: Wow. I’m pretty confident that butt plugs don’t cure asthma, but fascinating. Part of my sense of this is that there were prohibitions against sexual aids and pornography and all of these other things throughout history. So marketers had to come up with creative ways of getting their products into the hands of consumers, and they would do something along the lines of what you said, where maybe they would tout some type of potential health benefit associated with it so that it was more of a medical product rather than a sexual product.

We saw something similar with pornography, where if it could be argued that it had artistic value, then it wasn’t really porn. When you look at the history of porn, you see a lot of things that were distributed as pornography that were designed and created to give them some artistic elements so it could be argued that it was art and not porn. For example, photos of naked women posing with fishing poles and other things like that. Why would they be posing with a fishing pole when they weren’t really fishing?

Hallie Lieberman: It totally makes sense.

Anthony Comstock, who was working with the postal service, he would look through advertisements all over the country and look to see if he thought something was a sex toy or a contraceptive. And he would raid the offices and shut down the businesses. You had to be super careful. So, yeah, that’s one of the reasons why butt plugs were marketed in this pseudo-medical way. Vibrators, too, absolutely. 

And the guy who was doing this, marketing butt plugs this way, he had this theory of the orifice—the orifical theory of health—that everything was connected through our anus, like all of our health problems. But other doctors were like, this is bogus; he’s just using it to sell his rectal dilators. And some people said, oh, he’s trying to promote sodomy. So, there were a few people during his time who were like, wait a second, this is weird. But that was one of the main reasons that they were marketed in a non-sexual way.

Justin Lehmiller: Since you mentioned laws regarding sex toys, let’s dive into that a little bit. I don’t think a lot of people realize that throughout much of history—and even today—that the sale, possession, and use of sex toys has been regulated by law in many places.

I actually didn’t realize this myself until I started teaching human sexuality courses in colleges. Back in the day, I used to have a representative from a company called Pure Romance, which is one of those sex-toy-Tupperware party kind of companies, who would visit my class to talk about sex toys and the reps would tell us how they would have to do totally different presentations in different states in order to avoid being arrested—and it’s not like they were putting on explicit shows or anything. 

They’re literally just putting sex toys on display and talking about how they work. It’s not a live sex demo. But in some places, they said they could only have all-female audiences—no men allowed—or they could only have a certain number of toys with them, or they had to talk about the toys as novelty products instead of sex toys.

Can you tell us a little bit more about those laws and whether you can still get in legal trouble today for selling sex toys? 

Hallie Lieberman: Today, there’s only one state that has anti-sex toy laws, and that’s Alabama. You can still get in trouble, not for possessing them, but for selling them.

And where I live in Atlanta, three years ago it was still illegal in an Atlanta suburb to possess a sex toy. This woman with multiple sclerosis, who used sex toys and was open about it, actually had to sue the city to get that law overturned. I mean, this is three fucking years ago. 

So, it’s very, very recent that we’ve gotten rid of these laws. The time you were teaching, I’m guessing, was this mid-2000s? 

Justin Lehmiller: Yes, right around then.

Hallie Lieberman: In that time period, 8 to 10 states had these laws and every law was different. Like in Texas, if you had six or more dildos on you, it was considered intent to sell. And it’s like, haven’t you ever heard of kink? 

So there were all of these different laws. And when companies like Trojan, around that time, came out with vibrating cock rings, there were certain states where they just couldn’t sell them, like Colorado and Mississippi. A lot of them were Southern— in Texas, of course, and Alabama. It was really crazy, this patchwork of laws. I mean, this is the 21st century. What were we afraid of?

It’s really disturbing how it’s that recent. And even today there’s still one state where selling sex toys is illegal.

Justin Lehmiller: And there were some people, I believe I read in your book, who even in the 21st century were arrested for violating these sex toy laws, right? 

Hallie Lieberman : Yeah, like the woman who worked for my company! I mean, this was 2004, and I read all of these articles—Joanne Webb, I believe was her name—that said, “oh, it was because she wore miniskirts to church and so that’s why she was targeted.” That’s stupid. But whatever. She shouldn’t have been arrested. So, yeah, this was happening. And even if people weren’t arrested—which some were, but not a ton of them—it had such a chilling effect.

I mean, you saw in your classroom, the Pure Romance representative changing presentations for everything. It had that kind of effect. And what it did was lead to poor sex education, more euphemisms, more shame. So even if no one gets arrested from the laws, it affects sexual knowledge and sexual education in a really bad way.

Justin Lehmiller: That is such a brilliant point and beautifully put—the way those laws contribute further to all of this sexual shame that we already have. And when you’ve got these perceived taboos or prohibitions against talking about sex toys openly, that just makes talking about sex in general even more taboo and shameful.

The culture in which we’re embedded plays a really big role in how willing and open we are to communicate about sex and how easy it is to communicate about sex with our partners. So I’m glad to see that the laws have changed, and that for the most part, we can talk about sex toys more openly in 49 states today.

For more on the history of sex toys, check out my full conversation with Hallie here and be sure to check out her book, Buzz.

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click herefor more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and PsychologyonFacebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTubeandInstagram.

Image Source: 123RF

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You all know that I’m an advocate for sex toys. The data are clear that most people who use them report benefits and overwhelmingly positive effects. For example, sex toys are an easy way of interjecting novelty into a relationship and keeping the spark alive (which is why sex toy use is one of the biggest things that differentiates the most from the least sexually satisfied couples!).

Sex toys can also help you to explore your body and to discover new sources of pleasure. They can help you to live out your fantasies. They can help to facilitate orgasm—and close the orgasm gap. They can even potentially help people to deal with sexual difficulties (for example, masturbation devices can help some men to develop better ejaculatory control). 

However, it’s important to use your toys correctly—and to understand how to use them safely—in order to avoid risk of injury because some people wind up in emergency rooms every year due to misuse of toys. 

A recent study published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy sought to quantify how often sex toy-related injuries occur. Drawing upon data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, researchers tabulated information on dildo and vibrator injuries that led to emergency room visits between the years 2000 and 2019 in the United States.

Extrapolating from the data, they estimated 18,547 vibrator injuries and 6,468 dildo injuries in total during that time period. On average, that translates to about 1,250 sex toys injuries per year; however, it’s important to note that rates of injuries increased over time, going from a few hundred per year around 2000 to a few thousand per year by 2019. 

For both vibrators and dildos, men were more likely than women to show up in the ER with an injury. Injuries were also more common among younger adults (injuries were highest among those in their 20s) and they became less common with age. 

The vast majority of injuries (71% for vibrators and 84% for dildos) were due to the device being lodged in the rectum and irretrievable. The next most common type of injury was due to the device being stuck in the vagina (18% of vibrator injuries, 4% of dildo injuries). 

While patients were often able to be treated and released, a fair number (35% of vibrator cases and 48% of dildo cases) necessitated hospitalization. 

This study is, of course, limited in that it wasn’t able to assess injuries for every single type of sex toy. It is also possible to injure oneself with other toys that weren’t included in this analysis, such as improper use of bondage gear, wearing cock rings for too long, and so forth. Thus, the numbers presented here are probably an underestimate because they don’t speak to all possible sex toy injuries.

That said, what these results tell us is that, while certainly not common, sex toys injuries can and do occur—and they seem to have increased as more people have begun using them.

This points to a need for sex educators and therapists to provide more education around proper sex toy use, for consumers to do their due diligence before playing with their toys, and for manufacturers to produce devices in ways that minimize risk of injury.  

Given that the single most common type of injury that emerged was the toy being stuck in a body cavity, some practical recommendations from this research are to (1) look for insertable toys that have a safety ring or flared base that will prevent it from going all of the way inside the body, and (2) to take care when using insertable toys (whether alone or with a partner) to ensure that they are not inserted completely to the point where they become irretrievable.

Again, let me reiterate that sex toy injuries aren’t common and you certainly shouldn’t be afraid of sex toys, throw them away, or start panicking about them—research points to far more benefits of sex toys than risks! The takeaway from all of this is that, as with any sexual activity or practice, a little bit of education can go a long way toward ensuring a safe, pleasurable, and healthy experience for everyone involved.

Want to learn more about Sex and Psychology? Click herefor more from the blog or here to listen to the podcast. Follow Sex and PsychologyonFacebook, Twitter (@JustinLehmiller), or Reddit to receive updates. You can also follow Dr. Lehmiller on YouTubeandInstagram.

Image Source: 123RF

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Diapered, restrained in a straight jacket and chastity belt on top of that. Plus a little 1 liter enema from panda boy and 4 (yes bunny girl was so wet that there’s 4 vibrating eggs in her vagina). I wonder how long she can hold that enema in? And how long before panda boy releases her

Ps . Panda boy says if bunny girl can’t hold in the enema for a whole 10 min, panda boy will give a 2 liter enema for bunny girl’s tiny butt next week

To those of you with large sex toy collections:

Where do you keep your toys? Strategies? Tips?

I can’t figure out a way to efficiently store phallic shaped playthings. And how do you keep everything clean and sanitary??? (Not to mention all the other toys currently residing on my bathroom counter!!!)

Looking for discrete, but convenient solutions.