Toys aren’t just for kids anymore
You loved your Legos as a kid. You still play your Xbox more often than you should. You’re glued to your smart phone, your laptop and your iPad. Toys are the ultimate indulgence — why shouldn’t we bring them into the bedroom?
“I love my job,” Leah Gates, an SIS alumna, told me. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t still be doing it after almost two years.”
Gates works as an “independent passion consultant” for a nationwide sex toy company called Passion Parties. The company was created two decades ago to provide a female-oriented option in a largely male-dominated business.
Passion Parties’ founder recognized that most women learn about sex by talking about it with groups of their friends. The company taps into that by hosting sex toy parties in women’s homes, which feel like a safer and more familiar environment than adult stores. Consultants are also able to serve as educational resources.
“You need to figure out what will work for you,” Gates said. “It’s like when after a certain kind of vibrator was featured on ‘Sex and the City,’ women rushed out to buy that one, thinking it had magical powers — but for a lot of people, that particular model wasn’t right.”
Female-bodied individuals should be careful about what they apply internally. Products that contain any sugar should not be used internally because they often lead to yeast infections.
Gates advises those who are just starting to experiment with vibrators to try a Bullet, which runs about $10-$15. “The Bullet is your basic standard tool. It will help you figure out if you like vibration,” she said.
Gates believes that AU is her core market for Passion Parties. Students can host them, or clubs can throw one as an on-campus event. At the Passion Party I attended last week with a group of about 20 other students, six people had already been to one before. The majority of the group already owned at least one sex toy already.
“I bought my vibrator for seven bucks on Amazon.com. It was delivered to my house in a nondescript box, and now Amazon has a lot of similar suggestions for me,” one senior in the CAS said.
A sophomore in SIS bought her first toy when her girlfriend went abroad. “I had never owned one before, but now that I’m in a long-distance relationship it’s necessary. It eases separation anxiety,” she told me.
No matter what your sexual orientation or relationship status, there’s a toy out there that could seriously heat up your sex life. And as always, e-mail with any comments, questions or sex tips.
sexwonks@theeagleonline.com
sexwonks@theagleonline.com
