{"id":100677,"date":"2022-05-17T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=100677"},"modified":"2022-05-17T15:24:30","modified_gmt":"2022-05-17T20:24:30","slug":"as-sex-toys-evolve-into-the-mainstream-so-do-their-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/as-sex-toys-evolve-into-the-mainstream-so-do-their-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"As sex toys evolve into the mainstream, so do their challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yuliya Klochan<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u2019s governing body, cited \u201can unforeseen sponsorship conflict with the local organizing committee.\u201d The reason: The name of erotic product seller \u201cEasyToys\u201d appeared on the ice (though without its \u201cbetter toys, greater joys\u201d tagline).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just one of the latest examples of the stigma toward the adult toy industry. But business<\/span> is booming: In 2019, the global market size reached $28.6 billion, almost a third of the size of the children\u2019s toy market, according to <\/span>Statista<\/span><\/a>. 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 <\/span>2020 self-pleasure survey<\/span><\/a> of 1,000 U.S. men and women by TENGA, a sexual wellness products manufacturer. Seven in 10 respondents agreed \u201csexual pleasure helped them feel better or acted as a form of \u2018self-care.\u2019\u201d In September 2021, the International Organization for Standardization introduced the first set of regulations for sex toys \u2013 a sign of \u201clegitimacy,\u201d said Hallie Lieberman, historian and author of \u201cBuzz: The Stimulating History of the Sex Toy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The story of the Magic Wand reflects the industry\u2019s 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\u2019t directly acknowledge the device\u2019s most popular usage. They recommended the wand \u201c\u200b\u200bwhether you are looking to soothe an aching shoulder or want a more \u2018personal\u2019 massage experience.\u201d In 2017, the homepage finally added the term \u201csex toy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With greater acceptance came a reckoning over the industry\u2019s problem with toxic materials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission don\u2019t regulate sex toys, as they don\u2019t consider them medical devices, so data on the extent of toxins present in sex toys isn\u2019t 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\u00a0 \u201cjelly\u201d toys are still sold on Amazon for under $20.<\/span><\/p>\n

A PVC dildo poses issues beyond just harmful phthalates. \u201cBecause 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,\u201d Morgan said. The disintegration presents as a greasy or oily residue on the product after just months of storage or use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, the product safety for sex toys \u201chas improved exponentially,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cWe’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.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ISO\u2019s 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: \u201cThat 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,\u201d 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).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides body safety, other aspects of adult sexuality products have gotten better,\u00a0 especially<\/span> in the past five years. \u201cThere\u2019s a better eye for accessibility in toys,\u201d 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. \u201cThere are more products that can accommodate fat bodies too.\u201d For transgender and non-binary people, \u201cthere’s more cool shit,\u201d they said. And some sellers have removed gender labels from their products<\/span><\/p>\n

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. \u201cIt didn\u2019t feel invasive. It was very not phallic, which is something that I’m not into,\u201d she said. Iroha by TENGA manufactured Molly\u2019s product with that precise mission in mind. \u201cWe have tried to kind of create those shapes, not intimidating, not phallus-shaped, that are very squishy and soft. And perfect for beginners,\u201d said Marie Aoyama, member of the TENGA global marketing department.<\/span><\/p>\n

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. \u201cYou have these big retailers carrying them without comment,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cYou can go in there, get your Halloween M&M\u2019s and get your vibrator, and that’s fine.\u201d This winter, Sephora also started selling vibrators online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lieberman also speaks with mixed feelings about the \u201cGoopification\u201d of the industry \u2014 sexual products becoming beautifully designed and expensive status symbols, worthy of a mention in Paltrow\u2019s holiday catalog. This move has pushed sex toys into the mainstream, but not in a fully positive way. It turns out it\u2019s 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\u2019s Double-Sided Wand Vibrator. \u201cThen people go, \u2018Wait, you promote all this other stuff. That is not true. How can we trust you on this one?\u2019\u201d Lieberman said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the digital age comes a new vibrator safety issue \u2014 hacking. During the pandemic, app-directed toys became more appealing. \u201cThese aren’t safe,\u201d Lieberman said. \u201cPeople have been hacking into these apps and controlling plugs remotely.\u201d 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSex (history) doesn’t go in a straight line,\u201d Lieberman said. In March 2021, the \u201cFor Women\u201d page on the Magic Wand website changed its name to \u201cTherapist Recommended,\u201d though the front page still referred to the vibrator as a \u201cpleasure product.\u201d By November, the brand mysteriously scrubbed all references to intimacy or pleasure from the site. Only \u201cFor Wellness\u201d remains as the intended use. \u201cThere are many specific uses of massage,\u201d the site declares.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sex toys have come a long way, but U.S. culture is far from fully accepting them. Men\u2019s vibrators, masturbators and anal plugs have kept up a terrible reputation. \u201cMainstream media still kind of presents men using sex toys as someone who is not attractive enough,\u201d Aoyama said. For women, it\u2019s not much better. \u201cThe stigma of a woman experiencing sexuality, and not to make a baby, just for her own pleasure, it’s still there,\u201d Lieberman said. But who knows? Maybe by the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, NBC will show the word \u201cEasyToys\u201d on the ice and on the air.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yuliya Klochan is a health, environment and science graduate student at Medill. You can follow her on Twitter at @YuliyaKlochan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":793,"featured_media":100678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,5282,4630],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-science","category-spring-2022","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nAs sex toys evolve into the mainstream, so do their challenges - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/as-sex-toys-evolve-into-the-mainstream-so-do-their-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As sex toys evolve into the mainstream, so do their challenges - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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. 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