Sex toy

A sex toy is any thing used mainly for facilitating human sexual pleasure.

The term can also be taken to include BDSM apparatus. The term usually does not include contraceptives, pornography, or condoms.

The term marital aid is often used as a euphemism for sex toys, although that term is also sometimes applied to drugs and herbs marketed as supposedly enhancing or prolonging sex.

Table of contents

1 Legal issues 2 Types of sex toys 3 Medical devices sometimes used as sex toys 4 Various flesh-like materials used in sex toys 5 References and further reading 6 See also 7 External links

Legal issues

In many areas, such as some U.S. Southern states, the sale of sex toys is either regulated or prohibited, though enforcement is often rare. Nonetheless the laws are on the books and these laws prohibiting or regulating "obscene devices" occasionally take center stage. As recently as 1999, an assitant attorney general in Alabama commenting on a case involving sex toys and discussing to what end the devices are used for was quoted as saying there is no "fundamental right for a person to buy a device to produce orgasm". It is also common practice for someone to move a motor home near a proposed sex shop as a means of protest to prevent the shop from opening where the law prohibits an "adult" establishment within a certain distance of a dwelling.

Types of sex toys

• Anal beads consist of a device like a string of beads that is inserted in the anus and then slowly pulled out to provide anal stimulation.
• Butt plugs are devices that are inserted in the anus for pleasure. They have a flared end to prevent the device from being lost inside the body.
• Cock-rings are used to provide sensation (to one or both partners) by wrapping the base of the penis. They may also be used to delay the onset of male orgasm or to maintain an erection. They sometimes incorporate a pad designed to stimulate the clitoris.
• A cock harness is a more elaborate harness designed to be worn around the penis and scrotum. Its intention is similar to that of a cock ring. Often associated with BDSM activities.

• A dildo is a non-vibrating device which is used for sexual stimulation of the vagina. Godemiche is an old word for a dildo in the shape of a penis and scrotum.
• An electrode is used in erotic electrostimulation to apply electricity to various parts of the body for sexual gratification. A stainless steel urethral sound may be used as such an electrode when connected to electrostimulation equipment.
• A strap-on dildo is a dildo attached to a dildo harness strapped to the groin and hips, generally to allow a person to penetrate a partner as if the dildo were the penetrator's own penis. In particular, they allow a woman to penetrate a man anally or another woman vaginally or anally. They may also be used by impotent men to allow them to penetrate their partner; strap-on dildos used this way are generally hollow, rather than solid.
• A double-ended dildo is a long, usually flexible dildo with both ends designed for penetration. It allows for mutual penetration between two women
• Vibrators are vibrating devices intended to stimulate the nerves of the body. Vibrators intended for sexual use are often dildo-shaped, although they also come in a bewildering range of shapes, allowing internal as well as external 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 stimularion.
• 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 stop them falling off in use.
• Sybians are a combination of a saddle shaped mount, with a vibrator mounted on it.
• Sexual lubricants are lubricants used to facilitate anal or vaginal sex, or as an aid to masturbation.
• Sex dolls are imitations of the human form intended for simulation of sexual acts. They may consist of a representation of a face, the buttocks, genital areas, or the entire body. Most sex dolls are inflatable. Love pillows, especially popular in Japan, are inflatable pillows with a life-size picture of a porn star or anime character and optionally a hole for lovemaking.
• Nipple clamps are a family of tools which apply pressure to the nipples. They are often used as BDSM toys or torture devices. Some of them can also provide constant, intense nipple stimulation and heightened sensitivity.
• "Pocket Pussies" or "vaginas" or "masturbators" are modeled to accept a penis for simulated intercourse. They are either shaped like vagina, or butt, or anything with a hole for penetration. Fleshlight is a popular variant of the 'artificial vagina,' intended to stimulate the penis in a way similar to coitus.

Medical devices sometimes used as sex toys

• Medical specula are sometimes used as sex toys.
• A vaginal barbell is a medical device for use by women to exercise the pubococcygeus muscle (also called the PC muscle). These can also be used as a sex toy.

Various flesh-like materials used in sex toys

; silicone : soft and lifelike, warms up quickly to body temperature, non-porous therefore easy to clean (with mild soap and water, or boiled for sterilization) ; Cyberskin / Ultraskin / Eroskin / Softskin / Cyber Jel-lee / Futurotic : relatively new material (currently the closest emulation of real skin), made of silicone and plastic, very porous therefore must be cleaned very thoroughly (with Cyberskin cleaning solution or antibacterial soap and water) ; jelly : cheaper, rubber-based material, quite porous ; latex rubber : cheaper, very porous, might be allergenic

References and further reading

• Karlyn Lotney. The Ultimate Guide to Strap-On Sex: A Complete Resource for Women and Men Cleis Press, 2000. ISBN 157344085X.

See also

teledildonics, Realdoll, sexual intercourse, masturbation, erotic furniture, Wartenberg wheel

External links

• Sex Toys Illustrated Flash animations of sex toys
• Homemade Sex Toys Guide to making your own sex toys
• Sex Toys Pro detailed advice on sex toys
• EroticElectroStim.com a forum for the discussion of erotic electrostimulation
• The Love Lizard's Guide advice on sex toys and masturbation