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April 19th, 2012
01:09 PM ET
Good vibrations: Sex toys go mainstreamIan Kerner, a sexuality counselor and New York Times best-selling author, blogs about sex weekly on The Chart. Read more from him on his website, GoodInBed.
But today’s sex toys are more innovative than ever and not just for women. Brands like Trojan now sell their line of vibrators alongside condoms at your local drugstore. And sex shops report being inundated by shoppers who have read the erotic novel “50 Shades of Grey” and now want to spice things up in their own bedrooms. In the past decade, vibrator use has become a lot less taboo among women, and there has been an explosion of new toy designs for the discerning lady looking to engage in self-pleasuring. Yet for the most part, that same variety of product has not existed for men. Yet slowly but surely toy designers are acknowledging the fact that vibrators and the like don’t have to be relegated to solo use; for adventurous and open-minded couples, they can be invaluable tools for reigniting intimacy, and for achieving even more pleasurable sex. “It's also something that most women and men in the U.S. feel positively about - there really isn't the same stigma that, decades ago, people may have associated with sex toy use.” Because of this shift in perception, Herbenick reports, most women in the U.S. - and nearly half of all men - have used vibrators. And while there are many who are still shy about purchasing a sex toy from their local drugstore or other retail chain, it’s easy to order these products online, or to take advantage of an in-home sex toy party in a fun, group setting with companies like Pure Romance or Passion Parties. So how are toy designers and distributors responding to this new demand for their wares? In addition to expanding outside of adult bookstores and sex-specific shops, sex toy purveyors are offering their products in a variety of price ranges, for every type of consumer. Some of the simplest toys can be had for as little as $10. Others veer into the hundreds and can now be found at mainstream retailers like Brookstone. And as a sign that toys are no longer something to be ashamed of, some product lines are considered luxury items... beautiful, artsy, and - in some cases - costing thousands of dollars, like the luxury toys at Kiki de Montparnasse. Many vibrators have also strayed from the classic, phallic design, expanding what’s available in terms of both form and function. Today’s sex toys are often beautifully designed, and fit in well with the quirky aesthetics of, say, Apple Computers or Volkswagen. Tenga, for example, has made some interesting toys for men, such as disposable "eggs" for self-pleasure or partnered sex play. The We-Vibe, meanwhile, is proving to be a bestseller in many sex shops, which, in the shape of a funky horse-shoe, is designed for couples to use to enhance love-making and stimulates both partners simultaneously. And then there’s the trend in remote control toys. Some designers are adapting gaming technology for sex toys with an emphasis on play. The SenseMotion toys from Lelo use motion-control remotes similar to the Wii, and the upcoming Mojowijo (not yet available in the U.S.) makes use of the actual Wii controller. Men and women can use the remote to manipulate the sex toy their partner is using. It even works over Skype! And if music is your thing, then you can get in sync with your playlist via the Ohmibod, a wireless music driven vibrator that, when connected to an iPod /iPhone (or any mp3 player), will pulsate to the music. But aren’t men intimidated by vibrators? you ask. Herbenick believes that’s a myth. “Fortunately, most men are not intimidated by vibrators,” she says. “Some men worry that their partner will prefer a vibrator over them, but most men don't feel this way. Hopefully, we will continue to see more toys available for men and also more toys made specifically with couples in mind.”
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From Victorian times - when vibrators were invented to treat “female hysteria" - to "Sex and the City" times - when Charlotte discovered The Rabbit - generations of women have used vibrators to go from no-go to the Big O.
A horseshoe?
Sure, for when you get lucky..
Stimulates inside and out at the same time (cli- and gspo-), yet small enough that the male can still enter at the same time.
BUBBA2 – You are so funny........LOL.....love your comments!!!
i'll keep my sybian and hitachi wand and the man that makes it all so much FUN thank you... the attachments and the works.. (need a new toy box)
im guessing the woman "sits" on one end and the man "sits" on the other. ?? :S
Does the horse come attached to the shoe for the truly adventurous
I am bald so my hair won't blow back.
No, but your ears will flap wildly.
Forget about your hair...It's imtimacy that you want...The right woman can rub your bald head and you will both love it....
They sell them in the famous Vermont Country Store catalog,how mainstream is that!!!
I wanted a pony ...
Literally LOL!
My Mee-maw has one................ she showed it to me the other day.............
Mee-maw Dot?
I'd like the three foot long double headed blue one please. Yes, I know this is the third one in three weeks.
A human is becoming more and more just a sex machine.
I guess its the age of Obama.
Yes,we are trying to move out of the archaic,primitive ages of GWB.
Cha-CHING! And the AEI pays lex another 50 Cents for mentioning Obama in an intertube post!
Way to go, Bro!
Yes because the president has total, godlike control over the nation's microeconomics and is directly responsible for increased sex toy demand.
The ironic truth is that the more "sexual" a nation become the less offspring that nation produces. A notable scholar of ancient Roman anthropology, archaeology, Politics, and succession was once asked "what was the main reason the Roman Empire fell?" His answer; The population had become overly sexual. They weren't having kids anymore. As portrayed in a number of historical texts Old men would have disturbing relationships with young boys had gained complete societal acceptance, causing major issues in society.. We like to think we're "progressive" but this is all old news. Human beings are some evolved race, No, we're the same as we were back then. If Rome's fall is any indication, we're heading for some rougher roads ahead.
No, the age of the Sex Machine is directly attributed to James Brown, not Obama.
I love the way people like Tyler try to pretend that they have historical knowledge when they make up utter nonsense about Rome falling because it was too sexual. In reality, Rome fell long after converting to Christianity. Its pagan sexualized era was actually its period of greatest growth, under the early Caesars.
"""His answer; The population had become overly sexual. They weren't having kids anymore. """
He was a roman scholar who never got laid, methinks. If you think America is a sexual nation you obviously don't get out much.
I feel better now. I feel better than James Brown.
Lex, you're a master baiter
Really lex? you sound just like the type of prude that supports the religous right....stay out of our bedrooms!
bluebery pancakes. i agree with you. Men and women should have an open mind about sex toys. It's healthy mind , body and soul and very good for a long term relationship. The toys can do what no men or women can do. Just relax, let youself go and enjoy it. Don't be so close minded. It's your mate or your friend taking you to a new sex high...I get very stressed when i have to hide my sexual desiires. Very frustrating and I'm old enough to know I want my wife and my fantasies fulfilled..Bob
Perhaps lex thinks of Dick Cheney as a virile,super "sexy fella"
I just Need Some.
When is the us going to relax enough to have a sexpo like they do in sydney and other international cities? Maybe right down the street from the republican convention?
What ever happened to "Lady fist and her five daughters?"
we got old and arthritic, now we old ladies use electricity
The ironic truth is that the more "sexual" a nation become the less offspring that nation produces. A notable scholar of ancient Roman anthropology, archaeology, Politics, and succession was once asked "what was the main reason the Roman Empire fell?" His answer; The population had become overly sexual. They weren't having kids anymore. As portrayed in a number of historical texts Old men would have disturbing relationships with young boys had gained complete societal acceptance, causing major issues in society.. We like to think we're "progressive" but this is all old news. Human beings are some evolved race, No, we're the same as we were back then. If Rome's fall is any indication, we're heading for some rougher roads ahead.
And who was this "notable scholar", Tyler? What "notable scholar" would be somehow ignorant of the fact that Rome didn't fall until longer after it converted to Christianity under Constantine, or that its sexualized Pagan era was centuries earlier, during its period of greatest growth?
Stop pretending to be an educated person. You're obviously just making it up as you go.
Moron.
Tyler.....you're posting bull chips. Obviously you didn't learn much history, did you? What "scholar" are YOU referring to? Rome fell because it converted to Christianity (under Constantine) and that messed EVERYTHING up! Hmmmm....maybe that's the reason the US is in such a mess - those damn christians and their hypocritical bible beating!
Completely wrong, Tyler, you're obviously lying. Rome's fall had NOTHING to do with sex, or people not having enough. Your nameless "scholar" was either wrong, or you're lying and made him up. Either way, read some actual history, and stop trying to rewrite it to make sex the bad-guy. Anyone with any brains can see right though you. It had much more to do with an empire that reached too far, spread itself too thin.
BTW: old men having sex with young boys does NOTHING to the population, or its rate of growth, since it was young men (in between those two groups) who were in charge of making babies and raising families. This is after they were boys, and before they were old men. Also, let's say you're an old Roman man, and you prefer young boys... you knock your wife up, and spend about a year or two boffing boys bottoms. Then once your wife has given birth, and recovered, when the kid is a few years old, you knock her up again. Repeat. The population increase continues unabated, you have more than done your share to help populate the empire, and you spend the vast majority of your time banging young boys. A Roman man would only have to do this duty once every few years. I'm pretty sure they managed.
Your Judeo/Christian bias against sex is really obvious, and sad. Perhaps if you learned history from actual history books, and not that book of fairy-tale BS called "the bible" you would know this.
If you mean Gibbons, his account was superseded by further research. FAIL.
Complete rubbish.
Yeah, Christianity is always at fault for your miserable lives. The (christian) East Roman Empire lived on for another 1100 years. Ooops, that ruins your bigoted theories.
Tyler, I don't think that's the only reason Rome fell (if indeed it is a reason). Overstretching, invasions by nomadic tribes, wrong decisions by the leadership and others played a significant role.
Another analysis posits that the roman female had had enough of producing sons so the males could invigorate their armies with. "What do the men think we women are, anyway? Baby-making machines?" Many of the women refused to have more than one child and many more refused to have even one. So the roman armies began to get older and older because there were few younger men to replace them. In time, the romans had to concede the inevitabilities: no births, no armies. Russia, by the way, is also experiencing the same trend: the russian women refuse to be 'baby-making machines just so the males can build their armies.
You're right, balance is destroyed when man cannot be satisfied naturally, either they under produce or over produce. Do not worry, as over use of chemicals in agriculture made man realize he's not getting healthier but more sickly, these sex toys will not satisfy them and will bring more woes than fun in the long run.
To Tyler: ...and I say the fewer the offspring, the better off this planet will be ecologically – guaranteeing a sustainable future for those children who ARE procreated.
I knew there was an app for that!...
There are tons of toys out there. Be careful however, those cheap toys for $10 are not going to be good for you. Pay attention to the material qualities and safety. I usually go to edenfantasys.com for the information. The product reviews and opinions seem to be credible.
Thanks for that unsolicited product placement. I'll be sure not to visit your virus/trojan encrusted website.
@fireundkrash, actually it's a secured site and very good. Lots of products and several reviewers.
ok, this is how clueless and innocent I was growing up. I was a teen and helping my neighbor move to their new house. I was taking a box from the master bedroom downstairs when it started humming and vibrating, so I in all innocence told his wife about it cuz whatever it was I didn't want her batteries to go dead. She just smiled, thanked me and took the box, but the other guys there laughed at me later. Oh boy, life's little lessons
Guys can get a fleshlight... I want one modeled after Sasha Grey but my mom says I have to wait until my birthday
I think Sarah is honest and real. Even though maybe not as shrewd or snooty intellectual like Pelosi or Barbera Boxer.
The comments section here is just one big sausage fest.
For us guys anyone see the brand new like-like masturbator doll that pipedreams put out? I just saw it at FriskyCity's website. Talk about realistic, Wow!
iiiiiiiii cccccccccccanannnnnnnnnntttttttttttt gggggitttttttttttttt nnnnnnnoooooo sssssssssaaaaadddddiiiissssfffffffaaaacccccctttttiiiiiooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
have you tried? have you tried? have you tried? HAVE YOU TRIEEDDDD...?
She's having VISIONS NOW?!? Not surprising. She proved herself an idiot and ignorant of history, during the campaign. Her fans then proved what idiots they are, when rather than abandoning her, they doubled-down when they famously tried to edit Wikipedia so that it matches the idiocy she spewed about Paul Revere.
She is a regurgitator of talking points, a puppet who sounds halfway intelligent until someone asks her a "gotcha question" like "What have you seen during your cross-country tour?" The notion of her having psychiatric disorders is not really surprising. Why not cut out the middlewoman, and just have a teleprompter stand behind the podium when she's supposed to "speak"?
To Disgraced, Failed, Ex-Governor Palin, a "gotcha question" is any question requiring her to answer a question her "handlers" (who would be called trainers if she were a performing monkey,) haven't taught her how to answer with the correct words that will convince the public she isn't simply a good-looking idiot. I will give you this, she would have been the hottest woman in the white house since JOK, (not counting 1st daughters, etc.) but HAWT is not something you want in a potential Chief Executive. SMART is.
Truth is, during the campaign, talking with others about the possibility of her becoming VPotUS, I called her "Dan Quayle in a Dress," but as the campaign wore on, and we learned even more about this moron, I started to feel bad calling her that, and realized I owed VP Quayle an apology. He had more brains than this Alaskan nitwit, maybe not much, but more nonetheless.
Eh, it all comes down to preference I suppose. I never really disliked sex toys but to be honest, they just don't compare to human touch. I would much rather be touched by my partner than touched by my partner with a piece of plastic.
Nothing beats working a chick up a good ol recip saw with a 12" schlong attachment
I sometimes use a chainsaw and belt sander on my girl.
Did we mention hetero guys learning to really get off on a toy inside of them?
Like that horseshoe thing?
Please elaborate, yes do. And tell me where I can buy one, and if I have to be a Koch brother.
Take a good look at realdoll dot com for some sex toys.
I wonder if they are USB enabled?
I suppose it is good to know I can buy one when I need one. Although I am just as comforted by the fact that hubby and I haven't needed one. And being the old fashioned type–whose marital sex life is actually pleasurable...I'm not sure what the heck I'd do with a horseshoe!
Use your imagination..yes that's it....keep going... you got it! Bless you child!
Sex toys have nothing to do with not getting pleasure from your sex life. They can be used more like an enhancement. (As well as a way to get pleasure if your partner your partner isn't home or in the mood)
In the old country, me and my gay friends used to use pinecones lubricated with oil. Hey it worked.
tough guys don't need lubricant!!!
Absolutely disgusting. How can cnn even print an article like this where it can be seen and read by young people. I would like to buy one of these so called toys and use it on the author, and see what they think about it then. I have to go take a shower now because I feel so dirty after even reading this perverted, ungodly story. Then I am going to light a candle and pray for the salvation of the soul of the author, and the other twisted people who use these ungodly devices.
Are you going to pray before or after the shower?
Perhaps God shouldn't have made so many vegetables that just happen to be ergonomically compatible with certain orifices then
I have been told by a reliable source that Ms. Palin never leaves the house without her pocket rocket. It comes in handy when she is not able to get together with Ted nugent.
does anybody know how to get the fishy smell out of one of these after it has been used for a while?
Check out the Clone a Willy on PinkCherry dot com. You will kill yourself laughing!
Thats hysterical
Those aren't the only two FUN companies out there! Don't forget about Just A Little Naughty and the many others!
Jeezuz..does this guy live in a cave??
Sex toys are better than diseases or death from aids from SPOILED ROTTON GOLD DIGGING American women
Wont be too long and we will have the option of robotic women.
A pulsating, suctorial vacuum tube? Who would'a thunk?
The article was interesting, the comments are hilarious, what a great way to start off my day
Surely the end is near
Toys are getting more popular, because we're all getting older. I'm sure this is tied to boomer demographics.... labor saving devices, you know.
Yes, Sarah Palin should return to her motorhome. And when she does she should take all the clueless, slack jawed cretins with her that buy her pointless books and lap up her every word even more eagerly than they sop up the propaganda and Fox News brainwashing that sustains them. Lord, what a stupid country this is sometimes...
As a guy, I've been using fleshlights for probably 3 or 4 years and I couldn't imagine going back to manual. I've tried manual just for comparison and the difference is insane.
I was circling around the idea of buying my first fleshflight for probably at least three months because I thought it would be kind of weird and I didn't really want to be THAT guy. I finally decided that I would just buy it and try it though and if there wasn't a mind-boggling difference, I would just throw it away. A few months later, I was telling every guy friend I knew about it and now the majority of them all have one too.
Some of them initially said some of the responses that I was expecting like 'uh weird', 'ghey!', 'get a GF', and so on. The difference in sensation is just so drastic though that I really don't care who knows about it. From my perspective, they are the ones that are missing out. (A couple of them eventually joined the fleshlight club too lol)
Get a Sybian. Yes, they're quite expensive, but they're worth every penny. My wife loves her's. Nothing else even comes close. Every woman should own one.
This suck my god dick. My penis hurts.
Thanks, really interesting post.
Great article on sex toys!!
OhSoNaughty.com
Sex toys have transformed my marriage! My wife and I read 50 Shades of Grey together...and it opened our minds up beyond the vanilla sex routine that our marriage had turned into after 15 years. I went to http://www.poshallure.com and purchased our first toy to reenact some of what we read about...and it has made an amazing difference in our sex life. If you to to http://www.poshallure.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a banner that takes you to items that directly relate to the book. Check it out, and share it with your friends!
Bonsoir "Street Smart" - Pull down the wet bikini bottoms - Maybe little Obambi-poo will grow some if he watched - If he watched me taste it like Carrot Top did the other night - what do you think? Push it all out front - Look deep into his eyes and smile, then whisper "Sorry, I need more - MUCH more" - Au revoir babe, Lance (wink)