By Yuliya Klochan
Medill Reports
In the run-up to the Winter Olympics in February, U.S. curlers were competing for a spot in the competition. NBC even planned to broadcast or stream every mixed-doubles game at a qualification event in the Netherlands. But the peacock network changed its mind. In a Dec. 6 tweet, USA Curling, the sport’s governing body, cited “an unforeseen sponsorship conflict with the local organizing committee.” The reason: The name of erotic product seller “EasyToys” appeared on the ice (though without its “better toys, greater joys” tagline).
This is just one of the latest examples of the stigma toward the adult toy industry. But business is booming: In 2019, the global market size reached $28.6 billion, almost a third of the size of the children’s toy market, according to Statista. In fact, the sale of adult products skyrocketed during the pandemic. About 1 in 10 adults purchased toys in anticipation of self-quarantine, according to the 2020 self-pleasure survey of 1,000 U.S. men and women by TENGA, a sexual wellness products manufacturer. Seven in 10 respondents agreed “sexual pleasure helped them feel better or acted as a form of ‘self-care.’” In September 2021, the International Organization for Standardization introduced the first set of regulations for sex toys – a sign of “legitimacy,” said Hallie Lieberman, historian and author of “Buzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.”
The story of the Magic Wand reflects the industry’s slow move to the mainstream. For over 50 years, the vibrator has topped the sex toy charts. Some still refer to it as the Hitachi Magic Wand, but the company, which also manufactures escalators and nuclear reactors, dropped its name from the product in 2013. At the time, the creators didn’t directly acknowledge the device’s most popular usage. They recommended the wand “whether you are looking to soothe an aching shoulder or want a more ‘personal’ massage experience.” In 2017, the homepage finally added the term “sex toy.”
With greater acceptance came a reckoning over the industry’s problem with toxic materials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission don’t regulate sex toys, as they don’t consider them medical devices, so data on the extent of toxins present in sex toys isn’t available. Many older toys contain polyvinyl chloride, a thermoplastic commonly used in pipes and shower curtains. To make PVC dildos softer and more flexible, manufacturers would add plasticizers, typically some type of phthalates, which are known to be hormone (endocrine) system-disrupting chemicals, according to Amanda Morgan, associate professor-in-residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Public Health. These “jelly” toys are still sold on Amazon for under $20.
A PVC dildo poses issues beyond just harmful phthalates. “Because of the very high amount of chlorine over time, with oxidation, exposure, heat, use, exposure to other things, it will create its own hydrochloric acid and start to disintegrate itself,” Morgan said. The disintegration presents as a greasy or oily residue on the product after just months of storage or use.
Today, the product safety for sex toys “has improved exponentially,” Morgan said. “We’ve seen a lot of these companies really take body-safe materials more seriously and are using that as part of their marketing as well.” This includes more products using medical-grade silicone. The ISO now restricts the use of phthalates and lead, and requires manufacturers to avoid designs with sharp edges. They must also add easy-to-remove features, such as loops on the end of a toy that a medical professional can grab with forceps in case of an overly deep insertion. And brands must provide clear information on cleaning and disposal.
ISO’s new standards, developed in collaboration with major adult product brands such as We-Vibe, are voluntary. Companies that comply can display a label saying so. The fear: “That if we started talking about regulating sex toys (in the U.S.), and how they’re to be manufactured, that they would be regulated out of existence,” Morgan said. Precedent for adult product restrictions exists: Alabama still criminalizes the sale of sex toys (except as novelty items, a loophole exploited by sellers in the state).
Besides body safety, other aspects of adult sexuality products have gotten better, especially in the past five years. “There’s a better eye for accessibility in toys,” said Alex, a sex educator, Effing Foundation for Sex-Positivity advisory council member and author of the Sugarcunt Writes blog, who asked that their last name not be used. “There are more products that can accommodate fat bodies too.” For transgender and non-binary people, “there’s more cool shit,” they said. And some sellers have removed gender labels from their products
Molly, a 27-year-old scientist who identifies on the asexual spectrum and asked her last name not be used so she could speak openly, describes her first vibrator as chocolate chip-shaped and colored bright purple and yellow. “It didn’t feel invasive. It was very not phallic, which is something that I’m not into,” she said. Iroha by TENGA manufactured Molly’s product with that precise mission in mind. “We have tried to kind of create those shapes, not intimidating, not phallus-shaped, that are very squishy and soft. And perfect for beginners,” said Marie Aoyama, member of the TENGA global marketing department.
Industry watchers credit CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Goop (a wellness and lifestyle company founded by actress Gwyneth Paltrow) with major breakthroughs in the mainstream acceptance of sex toys. CVS and Walgreens started selling them in 2008, Walmart 10 years later. “You have these big retailers carrying them without comment,” Lieberman said. “You can go in there, get your Halloween M&M’s and get your vibrator, and that’s fine.” This winter, Sephora also started selling vibrators online.
Lieberman also speaks with mixed feelings about the “Goopification” of the industry — sexual products becoming beautifully designed and expensive status symbols, worthy of a mention in Paltrow’s holiday catalog. This move has pushed sex toys into the mainstream, but not in a fully positive way. It turns out it’s dangerous to steam the vagina or leave jade eggs inside it overnight, both practices Goop has advertised. And the founder refuses to say whether she personally tested her brand’s Double-Sided Wand Vibrator. “Then people go, ‘Wait, you promote all this other stuff. That is not true. How can we trust you on this one?’” Lieberman said.
With the digital age comes a new vibrator safety issue — hacking. During the pandemic, app-directed toys became more appealing. “These aren’t safe,” Lieberman said. “People have been hacking into these apps and controlling plugs remotely.” Cam shows with teledildonics (sex toys with intensity settings that can be controlled remotely) have also gained popularity. On websites such as Cams.com, viewers can pay per minute for live online feeds with the option to control the Bluetooth-connected vibrators of the performers. Pricing for these live feeds starts at $2.50 per minute and is determined by the models themselves, according to Best Webcam Sites.
“Sex (history) doesn’t go in a straight line,” Lieberman said. In March 2021, the “For Women” page on the Magic Wand website changed its name to “Therapist Recommended,” though the front page still referred to the vibrator as a “pleasure product.” By November, the brand mysteriously scrubbed all references to intimacy or pleasure from the site. Only “For Wellness” remains as the intended use. “There are many specific uses of massage,” the site declares.
Sex toys have come a long way, but U.S. culture is far from fully accepting them. Men’s vibrators, masturbators and anal plugs have kept up a terrible reputation. “Mainstream media still kind of presents men using sex toys as someone who is not attractive enough,” Aoyama said. For women, it’s not much better. “The stigma of a woman experiencing sexuality, and not to make a baby, just for her own pleasure, it’s still there,” Lieberman said. But who knows? Maybe by the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, NBC will show the word “EasyToys” on the ice and on the air.
Yuliya Klochan is a health, environment and science graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at @YuliyaKlochan.
