I couldn't believe what I was reading when I sat down Thursday morning to read the NY Times paper. Right on the front page of the Styles section the headline " Vibrators Carry the Conversation". Its starts with, Toothpaste check, Tampons check, Vibrator check, and now you can go into your favorite Duane Reade, CVS, maybe even Walgreens all discount Pharamceutical chain stores to buy your vibrators. You no longer need to go to sex shops. You can find them in cleverly marked packages on the shelves next to the Bengay creams and Dr. Schools footpads. These vibrators are now advertised on MTV and other programs and no longer behind sex store windows. The article describes the Trojan Model TRI-PHORIA priced at $39.95. This vibrator was developed by using customer testing techniques to perfect the best vibrator. Trojan started selling this vibrator they developed after a study in the marketplace was conducted by center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University. The testing group revealed that over half the woman used vibrators and 80 percent shared them with partners. Another model and manufacturer the artices talks about is the Pleasure Massager by LifeStyles and the Allure by Durex. All three are condom manufacturers and all repots sales are way up for vibrators. The article also talks about a movie called Orgasm Inc. which stood up to the pharmaceutical companies which had described woman as dysfunctional because they were not able to achieve orgasms during sex. These vibators are on the shelves of these mainstream stores with eye catching packaging and out in the open. The message in the arrticle is really saying sex is more openly discussed and there is more sharing among partners.
Sex Therapist Dr Laura Berman went on Oprah last year and encourged Mothers to purchase vibrators for their daughters and encouraged them to go home and satisfy themselves rather than sticking around and getting pregnant with their boyfriends. You can imagine how this stirred up some controversy. The article also mentions how men were no longer feeling threatened and rather encourged their mates for the use of vibrators. the men were enthusiastic about the use of toys in their relationships. Some even said it helped in the bedroom.
There many other enlightening parts of the article about on-line purchasing and how there is even an Apple ap for vibrators. There will be a movie with Maggie Gyllenhaal ( who else? if you havent seen the movie "The Secretary" I suggest you do) which is about a doctor who massages womans pelvises in Victorian times and gets carpal Tunnel syndrome. He goes on to invent an electronic stimulator. This device has very strong powers to heal. You can imagine this movie and how this will be played out.
I never thought I would be reading about sex and vibrators during my morning coffee. I made for a very interesting dinner conversation with friends. They were less inclined to talk about this in mixed company. I can't wait to discuss this with my tennis buddies for a more lively and frank discussion. Hope you enjoyed this blog. Please let me know if you did.