A
sex toy
is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate
sexual pleasure
, such as a
dildo
,
artificial vagina
or
vibrator
.
[1]
Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating. The term
sex toy
can also include
BDSM
apparatus and
sex furniture
such as
sex swings
; however, it is not applied to items such as
birth control
,
pornography
, or
condoms
. Alternative terms for
sex toy
include
adult toy
and the dated euphemism
marital aid
.
Marital aid
also has a broader meaning and is applied to
drugs and herbs marketed to enhance or prolong sex
.
Collection of sex toys, Germany, 2005
Vending machine
selling a range of sex toys, England, 2005
Sex toys are most commonly sold at
sex shops
or
online
, but they may also be sold in a pharmacy or chemist store, a pornographic store, a
head shop
, or a department store. Sex toys are available in almost all countries for males and females.
Types
Erotic electrostimulation
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Another form of sex toys for both men and women are those for erotic electrostimulation. Erotic electrostimulation refers to the act of using electricity for sexual stimulation. By the mid-1970s, medical
transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
(TENS) machines were widely available. The machines work by stimulating nerve endings with electricity, sending signals of stimulation to the brain. Electrostimulation works off this same principle, when the brain received a signal of stimulation from the genitals, pleasure hormones are released.
Erotic furniture
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.
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Erotic furniture is furniture specially shaped for comfort, penetration levels, and stimulation. Also known as
sex furniture
, it is any form of
furniture
that can act as an aid to
sexual activity
. While almost anything can be used for this purpose, the most common form of furniture employed for sexual activity is the
bed
, but couches and sofas come a close second.
[
citation needed
]
These are not strictly
erotic
furniture, as their primary use is not erotic.
A spanking bench
Specifically designed furniture for erotic purposes can include:
General penetrative toys
A type of Ben Wa balls
- Ben Wa balls
are hollow metal balls inserted vaginally which can be worn inside the vagina for extended periods of time. The internal rolling is claimed to enhance orgasms.
- A
dildo
is a non-vibrating device which is used for sexual stimulation of the vagina or anus. Dildos are generally made of silicone rubber, but can be made of other materials such as body safe metals such as titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, or glass. They are often made to resemble a penis, although some are C-shaped or S-shaped for
G-spot
or
P-spot
stimulation.
- A
double penetration dildo
is a long, usually flexible dildo with both ends designed for penetration. It allows for mutual penetration between two persons (or for double penetration of a single female, both anally and vaginally).
- A
strap-on dildo
is a dildo worn in a harness, used to penetrate another person.
- A horseshoe is a non-vibrating sex toy, shaped similar to a
horseshoe
, which is put into the vagina and anus at the same time. It is made with softer plastics.
- Kegel exerciser
, also known as vaginal barbells, eggs, or jugglers, are designed to improve muscle tone in the
pelvic floor
, and can be used for sexual pleasure as well as enhancing vaginal response.
- A
sex machine
is a motor-driven device that combines penetration with rotational or reciprocal movement, or both.
[2]
Anal toys
Two butt plugs
- Anal beads
- Butt plugs
are often shorter dildos intended for anal insertion. They tend to have a flared base to prevent the device from becoming sucked into the rectum.
- Prostate massagers
are devices designed to stimulate a
prostate
for health and pleasure.
Glass sex toys
Glass
dildo
Glass sex toys are commonly made from clear medical grade
borosilicate glass
("hard glass"). This particular type of safety toughened glass is non-toxic and will withstand extreme temperatures as well as physical shock without compromising its structural integrity.
The choice of this high-grade material provides safety in use and the option to heat or chill the toys. Borosilicate glass is also non-porous and can be sterilized to help prevent infection with reuse. The highest quality glass toys can even be put in the dishwasher making them easier to keep clean. As well as their practical qualities, a main selling point of glass sex toys is their visual appeal.
Some glass sex toys vibrate. There are two main ways this can be achieved. Either the toy may have a hole into which a small bullet vibrator can be inserted, or the core of the glass design can be modified to form a standard vibrator. The latter option usually has a plastic cap covering the battery compartment, which will also house any control buttons or switches.
Vibrators
Two vibrators in a
sex shop
Vibrator for couples: love ring
Vibrators are electric motor-powered devices intended to stimulate the body by creating a pulsating or buzzing sensation. Vibrators come in a range of shapes and sizes, for internal or external use. Some vibrators intended for internal use are
phallic
in shape. Small vibrators may have a stretchy loop attachment for use as a finger toy or
cock ring
. Penetrative vibrators usually measure twelve to eighteen cm (five to seven inches) in length and two to five cm (one to two inches) wide often to mimic the size of the average
human penis
.
[
citation needed
]
- Anal vibrators
are designed to be inserted into the rectum, which may stimulate the
prostate
in men. The safest ones have a flared base which remains outside the body, that prevents the toy from becoming irretrievable.
- Bullet vibrators are small, bullet-shaped vibrators that can be used for direct stimulation or inserted into other sex toys to increase stimulation. Some are sold with stretchy loops for attachment as a finger toy or cock ring.
- G-spot vibrators
are curved at one end to facilitate stimulation of the female
G-spot
.
- P-spot vibrators
are curved at one end to facilitate stimulation of the male
P-spot
.
- Luxury vibrators have an increased focus on design and the use of expensive materials that appeal to a more upscale fashion market.
- The
rabbit vibrator
, of which there are several variations, is a popular female sex toy popularized by the television series
Sex and the City
.
[3]
It comprises an insertable shaft which often has additional functionality, such as rotation and internal beads or a thrusting action. Attached to the shaft is a vibrating clitoral stimulator. For most rabbit vibrators this comes in the form of "bunny ears" which sit each side of the
clitoris
.
- Sybians
are dual-area vibrators in the form of a clitoral stimulator and vaginal stimulator, designed to stimulate the two erogenous zones simultaneously and independently.
Nipple toys
- Nipple clamps
are clamps used to stimulate the nipples by applying varying degrees of pressure.
- Suction devices are generally either rubber or glass.
Penile toys
A penis sleeve
- Artificial vaginas
, also known as "pocket pussies", "male masturbators", or "strokers",
[4]
are tubes made of soft material to simulate
sexual intercourse
. The material and often textured inner canal are designed to stimulate the
penis
and induce
orgasm
. The male masturbators come in many shapes and styles; they can be shaped like
vulvas
, anuses, mouths, or as non-descriptive holes. Some male masturbators are
disposable
and some can be washed and used repeatedly. Some are equipped with
sex machine
options that work similar to
milking machines
.
[5]
- A cock harness is a more elaborate harness designed to be worn around the penis and scrotum. Its function is similar to that of a cock ring. These devices are often associated with
BDSM
activities such as
cock and ball torture
. An
Arab strap
is one such form of harness, purported to be a device used for maintaining an erection.
- Cock rings
prolong male erection by holding blood inside the penis. A man may wear a cock ring to combat erectile difficulties, or for the sensation of tightness and engorgement that wearing one provides. Some models include a protruding
clitoral
stimulator, designed to stimulate the clitoris during sex. Others vibrate, either vibrating the ring itself, or in a popular 'Dolphin' variant by using two removable bullet vibrators to provide stimulation to both the testicles and clitoris. Some cock rings also have
vibrators
attached which can be worn to stimulate a partner during
sexual intercourse
, especially in the
scrotum
or
perineum
.
[6]
Yet other cock rings have arms that rub and apply pressure to the perineum of the wearer.
[7]
- A triple crown is a special cock ring that has additional rings for restraining the testicles. In orgasm, the testicles usually retract toward the body before
ejaculation
. A triple crown changes and intensifies the sensation of orgasm by forcing the testicles to stay away from the body.
- A docking sleeve is a cylindrical device similar to a penis sleeve, but is open at both ends, so that two men can
dock
.
- An FTM stroker is a pocket-pussy-style toy designed "for [the] t-cock/enlarged clitoris" of a
transgender
man on
hormone replacement therapy
. In 2016,
Buck Angel
released the first such device, the Buck-Off.
[8]
- A penis extension is a partially hollow device like a very short dildo, with the hollow end placed on the end of the penis, intended to increase the effective length of the penis, again for the benefit of the person being penetrated. These are generally worn with condoms to prevent them from falling off during use.
- A penis sleeve is a cylindrical device that is placed on the shaft of the penis, with the aim of increasing stimulation for the person being penetrated. They often have soft bumps intended to provide further stimulation.
- Urethral sounds
are rods, known after the nautical "
sounding rods
" that measure water depth, ? usually silicone or metal, often with a ball at one end ? inserted into the urethra for sexual stimulation.
[9]
There are sounding rods for women, but they are used far less.
Vulvar toys
- Vibrator wands, such as the
Hitachi Magic Wand
, are large vibrators that generally plug into an electrical outlet (versus operating on battery power) and are often marketed as back massagers.
[10]
They are able to produce far more powerful vibration than most battery-powered vibrators.
[10]
Various attachments made of silicone or a rubber material allow the toy to be used penetratively, or give the toy more interesting texture.
[10]
[11]
- Clitoral vibrators
are designed to stimulate the clitoris by direct contact.
[12]
- The Womanizer is a clitoral stimulator that uses air vibrations and suction.
[13]
[14]
- Clitoral clamps are used to stimulate the clitoris by applying pressure and restricting blood flow.
[15]
- Pussy pumps and
clitoral pumps
are used to sensitize the genital area prior to masturbation or sex with a partner.
[16]
- Clitoral suction toys consist mainly of a small tunnel that when placed around the clitoris and powered on, creates a feeling of suction.
[17]
History
Dildos in one form or another have existed widely in history.
Artifacts
from the
Upper Paleolithic
of a type called
baton de commandement
have been speculated to have been used for sexual purposes.
[18]
Few archaeologists consider these items as sex toys, but archaeologist
Timothy Taylor
put it, "Looking at the size, shape, and?some cases?explicit symbolism of the ice age batons, it seems disingenuous to avoid the most obvious and straightforward interpretation. But it has been avoided."
[19]
[20]
The first dildos were made of stone, tar, wood, bone, ivory, limestone, teeth,
[21]
and other materials that could be shaped as penises and that were firm enough to be used as penetrative sex toys. Scientists believe that a 20-centimeter siltstone
phallus
from the Upper Palaeolithic period 30,000 years ago, found in
Hohle Fels
Cave near Ulm,
Germany
, may have been used as a dildo.
[22]
Prehistoric double-headed dildos have been found which date anywhere from 13 to 19,000 years ago. Various paintings from ancient Egypt around 3000 BCE feature dildos being used in a variety of ways. In medieval times, a plant called the "cantonese groin" was soaked in hot water to enlarge and harden for women to use as dildos.
[21]
Dildo-like
breadsticks
, known as
olisbokollikes
(sing.
olisbokollix
),
[23]
were known in Ancient Greece prior to the 5th century BC.
[24]
In Italy during the 1400s, dildos were made of leather, wood, or stone.
[25]
Chinese
women in the 15th century used dildos made of lacquered wood with textured surfaces, and were sometimes buried with them.
[21]
Nashe's early-1590s work
The Choise of Valentines
mentions a dildo made from glass.
[26]
Dildos also appeared in 17th and 18th century Japan, in
shunga
. In these erotic novels, women are shown enthusiastically buying dildos, some made out of water buffalo horns.
[21]
Dildos were not just used for sexual pleasure. Examples from the Eurasia Ice Age (40,000-10,000 BCE) and Roman era are speculated to have been used for
defloration
rituals.
[21]
Many references to dildos exist in the
historical
and
ethnographic
literature. Haberlandt,
[27]
for example, illustrates single and
double-ended wooden dildos
from late 19th century
Zanzibar
. With the invention of modern materials, making dildos of different shapes, sizes, colors and textures became more practical.
[28]
Ancient Greece
A woman with a dildo.
Red figure
amphora attributed to the
Flying-Angel Painter
c.
?490 BC
;
City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts
A
strap-on dildo
being used by two women. Lithograph from
De Figuris Veneris
(1906) by
Edouard-Henri Avril
Greek dildos were often made out of leather stuffed with wool in order to give it varying degrees of thickness and firmness. They were often lubricated with olive oil, and used for sexual practice and other activities. The Greeks were also one of the first groups to use the term "toy" in reference to a dildo.
[21]
Dildos may be seen in some examples of
ancient Greek vase art
. Some pieces show their use in group sex or in solitary female masturbation.
[29]
One vessel, of about the sixth century BCE, depicts a scene in which a woman bends over to perform
oral sex
on a man, while another man is about to thrust a dildo into her
anus
.
[30]
Page DuBois
, a classicist and feminist theorist, suggests that dildos were present in Greek art because the ancient Greek male imagination found it difficult to conceive of sex taking place without penetration. Therefore, female masturbation or sex between women required an artificial phallus to be used.
[29]
In literature
Dildoes are mentioned several times in
Aristophanes
' comedy of 411 BCE,
Lysistrata
.
- LYSISTRATA
- And so, girls, when fucking time comes […] not the faintest whiff of it anywhere, right? From the time those Milesians betrayed us, we can't even find our eight-fingered leather dildos. At least they'd serve as a sort of flesh-replacement for our poor cunts […] So, then! Would you like me to find some mechanism by which we could end this war?
[31]
Herodas
' short comic play,
Mime VI
, written in the 3rd century BCE, is about a woman called Metro, anxious to discover from a friend where she recently acquired a dildo.
- METRO
- I beg you, don't lie,
- dear Corrioto: who was the man who stitched for you this bright red dildo?
[32]
She eventually discovers the maker to be a man called Kerdon, who hides his trade by the front of being a cobbler, and leaves to seek him out. Metro and Kerdon are main characters in the next play in the sequence,
Mime VII
, when she visits his shop.
Talmud
The Talmud's
Avodah Zarah
Tractate records the interpretation which
Rav Yosef bar Hiyya
gave to the Biblical reference of King
Asa of Judah
having "deposed his grandmother
Maakah
from her position as Queen Mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of
Asherah
. Asa cut it down and burned it in the
Kidron Valley
" ( Kings 15:13, 2 Chronicles 15:16). According to Rav Yosef, Maakah had installed "the likeness of a male organ" on her Asherah image "and she would engage in sexual activity with it daily".
[33]
Early modern period
In the early 1590s, the English playwright
Thomas Nashe
wrote a poem known as
The Choise of Valentines
,
Nashe's Dildo
or
The Merrie Ballad of Nashe his Dildo
. This was not printed at the time, due to its obscenity
[34]
but it was still widely circulated and made Nashe's name notorious.
[26]
The poem describes a visit to a brothel by a man called "Tomalin"; he is searching for his sweetheart, Francis, who has become a prostitute. The only way he can see her is to hire her. However, she resorts to using a glass dildo as he finds himself unable to perform sexually to her satisfaction.
[35]
Dildos are humorously mentioned in Act IV, scene iv of Shakespeare's
The Winter's Tale
. This play and
Ben Jonson
's play
The Alchemist
(1610) are typically cited as the first use of the word in publication (Nashe's
Merrie Ballad
was not published until 1899).
[34]
In 1673, the parliament of the United-Kingdom refused the marriage between the presumed heir of the
throne
,
James of York
, and the
Catholic
Maria d'Este of Modena
. The same year,
John Wilmot
, the seventeenth-century English
libertine
, published the poem
Signor Dildo
parodying the situation, stating the coming of Maria d'Este would provoke a great import of dildoes; the poem among other things states:
[36]
[37]
- You ladies all of merry England
- Who have been to kiss the Duchess's hand,
- Pray, did you not lately observe in the show
- A noble Italian called Signor Dildo?
This ballad was subsequently added to by other authors, and became so popular that
Signor
became a term for a dildo.
[38]
In the epilogue to
The Mistaken Husband
(1674), by
John Dryden
, an actress complains:
- To act with young boys is loving without men.
- What will not poor forsaken women try?
- When man's not near, the Signior must supply.
[38]
Many other works of bawdy and satirical English literature of the period deal with the subject.
Dildoides: A Burlesque Poem
(London, 1706), attributed to
Samuel Butler
, is a mock lament to a collection of dildos that had been seized and publicly burnt by the authorities. Examples of anonymous works include
The Bauble, a tale
(London, 1721) and
Monsieur Thing's Origin: or Seignor D---o's Adventures in London
(London, 1722).
[39]
In 1746,
Henry Fielding
wrote
The Female Husband: or the surprising history of Mrs Mary, alias Mr. George Hamilton
, in which a woman posing as a man uses a dildo. This was a fictionalized account of the story of
Mary Hamilton
.
[40]
Dildos are obliquely referred to in
Saul Bellow
's novel
The Adventures of Augie March
(1953): "he had brought me along to a bachelor's stag where two naked acrobatic girls did stunts with false tools".
[41]
A dildo called
Steely Dan III from Yokohama
appears in the
William S. Burroughs
novel
The Naked Lunch
(1959).
[42]
[43]
The rock band
Steely Dan
took their name from it.
Health, safety, and privacy concerns
Standards set for sex toys are set in
ISO 3533
:2021. The sex toys are sold as novelty items so they do not need to adhere to certain regulations such as reporting the chemicals and materials used in a product. Due to this status, manufacturers are not responsible if their toys are used for any other purpose than being a novelty.
[44]
Regulations such as
REACH
[45]
do exist, and some sex toys may be compliant to this though, despite that there is no obligation for manufacturers on attaining compliance. A 2006 study conducted by the
Greenpeace
Netherlands office found high level of
phthalates
in seven out of eight plastic sex toys tested.
[46]
Phthalates are chemical plasticizers that are added as softeners, to create the malleable and soft effect that many look for in sex toys.
[47]
Sex toys are classified as novelties in the United States because the
Food and Drug Administration
has extensive testing and financial requirements in order for sex toys to be classified as medical devices. Therefore, sex toy manufacturers more often choose less complex production by labeling them a novelty, where their listed ingredients do not have to be accurate in chemical composition or percentage of ingredients. Due to the novelty classification, sex toys may contain toxins such as phthalates, which have been banned in children's toys by the
CPSC
.
[47]
[48]
Before using a sex toy, owners should take precautions. One should check for tears, rough seams or cracks that could harm the inside of the vagina or anus. Condoms should also be used on porous sex toys and sex toys that are being shared between two or more partners. They should also use appropriate lubricants; silicone lube will break down silicone toys, and oil-based lubes will break down latex condoms.
[49]
Care
Cleaning sex toys is also very important for sexual health and sex toy safety. Cleaning them will avoid the potential of
bacterial infection
, transmission of STIs (if shared), or pregnancy (if sperm is present on the toy). Porous sex toys (ridged, flexible, soft and squishy) are difficult to clean and can hide bacteria that multiply and harm the human body. Non-porous toys are easier to clean, making them less potentially harmful.
[47]
When cleaning sex toys, always use warm water and unscented anti-bacterial soap.
[49]
- Anal toys (butt plugs, small dildos, etc.)
- When used in the anus, sex toys can easily get lost as rectal muscles contract and can suck an object upward, potentially obstructing the
colon
; to prevent this serious problem, it is recommended that individuals use sex toys with a flared base or a string.
[50]
- Non-porous toys
[49]
- Glass toys: some can be put in the dishwasher, but it is recommended not to expose them to extreme temperatures and to wash them with soap and water.
- Hard plastic toys: do not boil the toy, and wash with soap and water.
- Silicone
toys: put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher, boil for 5?10 minutes, or wash with water and soap.
- Stainless steel
toys: boil or soak them in 1:10 bleach-water solution for ten minutes, put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher, or use soap and water (if there are electrical components to the toy).
- Porous toys
[49]
- Cyberskin and vinyl toys: clean with warm water, air dry, and sprinkle it with a small amount of cornstarch (to keep them dry and not sticky).
- Nylon
toys: put it in the top rack of the dishwasher or wash with soap and water.
- Rubber toys: cannot be properly cleaned because bacteria is absorbed into the material, so it is recommended to always use a condom.
In 2016, the
security software
company
Trend Micro
demonstrated that some Internet-connected electronic sex toys are vulnerable to
cyberattacks
,
[51]
thus creating the field of
onion dildonics
.
[52]
The ethical, legal, and
privacy
concerns are an area of active research by
Sarah Jamie Lewis
, amongst others.
Legal issues
India
Sex toys are illegal in India.
[53]
Selling sex toys is a punishable offense under section 292 of Indian penal code, as sex toys are considered an "obscene" product. Besides sex toys, any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure or any other object, is also considered obscene by section 292 if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest.
[54]
The punishment for the offense is up to two years in prison.
[55]
[56]
Japan
In
Japan
, many
dildos
are created to resemble animals or cartoon characters, such as
Hello Kitty
, rabbits or dolphins, so that they may be sold as toys, thus avoiding
obscenity laws
.
[
citation needed
]
Malaysia
In
Malaysia
, the sale and importation of sex toys is illegal.
[57]
South Africa
Section 18A of the
Sexual Offenses Act, 1957
, inserted by the
Immorality Amendment Act, 1969
, prohibited the manufacture or sale of any item "intended to be used to perform an unnatural sexual act". The term "unnatural sexual act" referred to any sex other than vaginal heterosexual sex, and this prohibition was ostensibly aimed at preventing the use of dildos by
lesbians
.
[58]
No longer enforced, the section was repealed by the
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007
.
[
citation needed
]
United States
Sex toys and lubricants have become increasingly available in major commercial outlets in the United States. On-shelf displays tend to be more discreet than the offerings on web sites. These items tend to be displayed in the "sexual health" sections of stores.
[59]
Until recently, many
Southern
and some
Great Plains states
banned the sale of sex toys completely, either directly or through laws regulating "obscene devices".
[60]
In 1999,
William H. Pryor, Jr.
, an assistant attorney general in
Alabama
commenting on a case involving sex toys and discussing to what end the devices are used, was quoted as saying there is no "fundamental right for a person to buy a device to produce
orgasm
". A federal appeals court upheld Alabama's law prohibiting the sale of sex toys on Valentine's Day, 2007.
[61]
In February 2008, a federal appeals court overturned a
Texas
statute banning the sales of sex toys, deeming such a statute as violating the Constitution's 14th Amendment on the right to privacy.
[62]
The appeals court cited
Lawrence v. Texas
, where the
U.S. Supreme Court
in 2003 struck down bans on consensual sex between gay couples, as unconstitutionally aiming at "enforcing a public moral code by restricting private intimate conduct". Similar statutes have been struck down in
Kansas
and
Colorado
.
Marty Klein
, author of
America's War on Sex
and an advocate for the moral value of sex toys, has described the sex toy bans as a form of
erotophobia
and
genophobia
, claiming the "extraordinary erosion of personal liberty, coupled with the massive disrespect of and fear of sexuality is no joke" and that the "Supreme Court [of the United States] has declared our orgasms a battlefield, and sex toys another casualty."
[63]
Industry
As of 2008, the sex toys industry was valued at US$15 billion worldwide, with a growth rate of 30%.
[
when?
]
[64]
Seventy percent of sex toys are manufactured in China.
[64]
[65]
[66]
Sex toys are sold in various types of local and online
sex shops
,
[67]
at conventions associated with the adult industry,
[68]
[69]
and at
parties
. However, some items, such as "hand-held massagers", are sold in mainstream retail outlets such as drugstores.
[68]
In popular culture
Research
Sex toys have been the subject of scientific research in different disciplines (e.g.,
medicine
,
clinical psychology
,
sexology
,
queer studies
) for decades.
[72]
However, in comparison to other sexual aids such as pornography they are regarded as relatively under-researched.
[73]
Prevalence and types of sex toy use
Some questionnaire and interview studies on the prevalence of sex toy use are available. They show that people of all genders and all sexual identities use sex toys during solo sex (masturbation) and - somewhat less frequently - during partner sex. In various countries (e.g., Australia, China, Germany, USA) sex toys are normalized according to empirical studies, i.e. they are already used by large sections of the population, sometimes by the majority of the population.
[74]
[75]
[76]
[77]
The Internet has made an important contribution to the popularization of sex toys, since information searches about and the purchase of sex toys can now be carried out discreetly online.
[78]
[79]
[80]
Studies demonstrate that sex toy uses are very diverse. For example, many women do not insert vibrators, but use them externally for direct clitoral stimulation, either during masturbation or during intercourse.
[81]
Homosexual identified men, on the other hand, report much more frequently that they use vibrators for anal insertion.
[77]
Negative and positive effects of sex toy use
The meanings and implications of sex toys are controversially discussed in academia. Some authors criticize sex toys for pushing the commercialization of sex, others endorse them for fostering sexual empowerment.
[82]
Empirical research has demonstrated negative effects of sex toy use such as sexually transmitted infections (when sex toys are shared without proper cleaning or without barrier methods such as condoms), injuries (e.g., from anal insertion of toys unsuitable for anal use), or allergies.
[83]
Some women also report that they are urged by their partners to use sex toys even though they do not want to. The literature also discusses whether sex toys contribute to performance pressure.
[84]
Most empirical studies show that people of all genders and sexual identities experience the use of sex toys predominantly positively. In questionnaires and interviews, they report an increase in sexual arousal and satisfaction, the facilitation of orgasms (especially for women), the exploration of new preferences, a playful approach to sex and the fun of something new during sex.
[81]
[85]
There are decidedly feminist or women-oriented sex toy stores and sex toy party organizations that link the sale of sex toys with sexual education and aim to support women's sexual empowerment.
[86]
[87]
[88]
Further positive effects are reported from clinical settings: Sex toys are used therapeutically, for example, in the context of therapy for orgasm disorders.
[89]
They can also enable people with disabilities to have more sexual self-determination.
[90]
See also
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Further reading
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