The Revolution of Sex Toys
In the spring of 2006 when I first started reviewing sex toys for a small US company and one of the first things I wanted to write about was how my own love affair with sex toys paralleled my own sexual awakening. In an article I wrote titled exactly that, My Love Affair with Sex Toys, I recounted my own experience of buying my first vibrator with my college roommate in our sophomore year and how much sex toys had changed as I got older. This evolution of objects which we crave to seek and find pleasure for ourselves and our partners has truly exploded into a full celebration of feminine sexuality, and it’s really only happened within the last decade.
Without dating myself too terribly, let’s just say that it was only about twenty years ago when the only sex toys a woman could discretely purchase for herself were simple phallic shaped plastic vibrators or small bullet or egg shaped vibrators which were sold in novelty shops such as a Spencer Gifts located at your neighborhood mall, and even then, there was an awkward tinge of embarrassment and with a hot blood flushed face that we walked up to the counter with our naughtily intentioned item and faced the clerk; with our eyes turned away and hearts pounding in our chests as we prayed that we wouldn’t be recognized.
“Will that be cash or credit card?”
“Huh? Cash! What are you nuts?? Of course I’m paying cash!”
And so, that’s how many of us acquired our first bedroom companions; the thing which could set this ocean of orgasmic bliss free. It’s important to remember that so many women as recently as twenty to twenty five years ago, had no concept of their own orgasms or that they even could orgasm or should expect to have orgasms. Not everyone was part of the sexual revolution of the 70’s and even the 70’s weren’t everything they were cracked up to be. Sure, there was a lot of sex going on, but we still weren’t coming.
Things started to change for us as a younger generation of women began to explore their own sexuality, and as more information about sex became more widely disseminated. Give credit to Doctor Ruth as one of the first pioneers who actually thought to have the conversation about sex, and especially about the importance of our orgasms. This had a few unintended, but very necessary side effects because it put a spotlight on guys who weren’t getting the job done in bed by raising our expectations of what was supposed to happen, but it also left a lot of people confused because so many of us still didn’t understand the process of female arousal and orgasm – but one of the other side effects is that the sex toys got better because we demanded the pleasure which was rightfully ours.
So taking another look back, the sex toys we really had access to back then were the basic vibrators I mentioned above; plain, phallic, buzzing little treasure troves of pleasure that they were, but we wanted more, and as the internet and the shopping experience shifted to the privacy of our homes, we suddenly had access to things of all shapes and sizes designed to tickle, delight and arouse our inner sexual goddess. No longer did we have to skulk about the novelty stores or risk ourselves in seedy parts of town to travel to an adult book store, many which sold grotesque rubber distortions of the male anatomy, which despite what you may believe, most of us aren’t really interested in stuffing inside ourselves. Sure, there’s a time and a place for a 12 inch cock, but certainly not everyday!
The first real boutique toy that I can remember as something designed purely for our pleasure and marketed directly to women has to be the Rabbit, which was instantly popularized and thrust into our pop-culture consciousness by a little show called Sex in the City, and despite some of the unrealistic and frankly absurd and inaccurate portrayals that the show provided, it instantly gave us something to Google, and then whip out our credit cards and buy for our very own selves. We were off and running!
But it didn’t stop there. All of a sudden we saw an explosion of sex toys designed as artistically as they were functional. We had toys to explore every inch of our bodies from our nipples, to our clit, to our g-spot; it’s been an amazing revolution. Some of the most amazing products have come from companies such as njoy and LELO with wands, vibrators and plugs, and stunning glass creations from Phallix, all designed around the concept that 
female sexuality is good and healthy and a necessary expression of our lives. We have toys which move with our music, blending two very compatible elements together in a brilliant package, and so the revolution continues.
There are literally thousands of sex toys to choose from to fulfill every conceivable desire, craving, or fetish, and part of what I’ve tried to do since the very first review I wrote was to seek out and find the best companies with the best products available, and I think I’ve truly accomplished that goal.
My life has been blessed in so many ways; not only because I get to masturbate and get myself off with the latest toys, but because I’ve been able to enrich my intimate relationships thru my own exploration of sexuality, and if there’s anything I’ve ever wanted to share with anyone it’s that pleasure and love of self are as normal and as natural as the air we breathe.
Our lives are complex, complicated and yes, sometimes difficult, but it’s a wonderful time to be a woman, and I hope that I’ve done my part by being on the front lines of our sexual revolution in some small way. May your pleasures be your own, and may your life always be filled with the passions you choose to embrace.
Other things
I’m really excited about some new projects which just landed in geishaland! I’m going to be doing some work on HBO’s new show Tell Me You Love Me, and I’ve got my review of Sex in the Cities by Whispers Media on the way – it’s clit lit for your iPod! And, I’ve got my reviews for the LELO Elise and Gigi due up and some fantastic new profiles of some of the best people working in the industry! So lots of work for this lazy geisha! Stay Tuned!
I thought this was truly one of the best written articles I have seen regarding sex toys. Most articles you see today are just a few simple paragraphs written to “sell” toys. I have clicked through to some of your other links and found your reviews to give a unbiased review of adult products with a clear writing style.
Well done.