The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex (81 page)

Novelty toys hail from all over the globe. Certain products are made in the United States, primarily rubber dildos and plugs, because they can be produced as cheaply here as overseas, if not more so. Most vibrating novelties are made in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Hong Kong, where battery packs are produced much more inexpensively than they would be here. Many of these overseas factories produce novelties purely as a sideline. For instance, a doll factory might also manufacture blow-up dolls. A factory producing hair dryers and small massagers might also produce battery vibrators. Historically, novelty toys have been manufactured with no more concern, attentiveness to detail, or loving craftsmanship than the toy you fish out of a Cracker Jack box, and the kindest way to describe their quality would be to say that they have a built-in obsolescence.

The Sad History of Toy Design

The low sexual literacy rates in our American culture have made it all too easy for sex toy manufacturers to market products with dubious claims and minimal regard for the facts of human sexual response. In some cases, manufacturers just aren’t particularly well educated about human sexuality themselves. In others, they’re actively exploiting people’s sexual insecurities for the sake of selling products. After all, it’s quite common for people who find a sex toy disappointing to assume that something must be “wrong” with their own responses, rather than with the design of the toy itself.

By and large, the adult industry still perpetuates a distinctly retro and inaccurate view of female sexual response. In the world according to novelty manufacturers, women crave penetration from a penis above all else, and bigger is always better. Battery vibrators are insertable and phallic in shape. In adult novelty-land, women require only the mildest form of clitoral stimulation to be slingshot to the heights of orgasmic bliss. The classic example of this less-is-more approach to clitoral stimulation is what we call the “the nub syndrome.” Over the years, adult novelty manufacturers have saluted the existence of the clitoris by decorating the base of many dildos with little rubber bumps; adorning French ticklers with rubber fronds; and covering the surface of clitoral vibrators with vinyl spines. Sure, some women may actually enjoy the extremely subtle massaging sensation provided by these nubs, just as some women enjoy ribbed condoms or ben wa balls. We, however, have encountered far more women who find the nubs pointless at best and annoying at worst.

While women who buy adult novelties may wind up feeling inadequate in terms of their sexual responses, men are likely to feel inadequate in terms of their sexual prowess. Novelty manufacturers take advantage of time-honored male insecurities about penis size and “potency” to sell a plethora of “penis extenders” and “erection prolongers.” Penis extenders are hollow, vinyl prosthetic devices that fit over the head of the penis. Other such prosthetic devices fit over the entire penis, whether it’s erect or not, and are held in place with elastic straps. Erection prolongers are usually numbing creams. Both types of products perpetuate the questionable notion that it’s better for a man to avoid feeling any sensation than for him to “perform” as anything less than 100 percent stud.

Never mind that not all women crave long, thick penises; that a man who wishes to penetrate his partner when he’s not erect could easily and pleasurably do so by wielding a dildo; or that numbing your penis and distancing yourself from the sensations you’re feeling is probably the single worst way to gain control over your sexual responses and the timing of your orgasm. People in the adult industry live in the same sex-negative society as the rest of us, and if manufacturers discontinued all merchandise that plays on people’s sexual insecurities, they’d have to abandon factories full of molds and throw out warehouses full of products.

Medical professionals are the latest to throw their hats into the three-ring circus of sexual mystification, dubious claims, and outsize hype. Perhaps you’ve read about the Eros vibrator? This tiny, battery-powered suction device retails for well over $300 and can only be prescribed by a doctor. It was approved by the FDA in 2000 to treat “female sexual dysfunction,” a catch-all label for women whose experiences of desire, arousal, or orgasm don’t fit the current medically defined norm. Yet there are countless ways to heighten arousal and sexual response—fantasy, massage, masturbation, oral sex, playing with sex toys, and using a lubricant, to name just a few—that cost far less and are far more effective than the Eros.

Positive Trends in Toy Design

On the brighter side, by the end of the twentieth century, novelty toy-making was showing major signs of improvement. Fueled by escalating consumer demand, the adult toy industry has grown by leaps and bounds. To stay competitive in a crowded marketplace, manufacturers have had to take steps to improve the quality and packaging of their toys. Like any other American industry, the adult industry is one in which money talks. Over the years, businesses like Good Vibrations have begun to have a greater impact on adult manufacturers—not because manufacturers have a deep-seated yearning to support our sex-positive, educational mission, but rather because we speak for a “sophisticated” clientele that increasingly makes up the consumer base for adult products.

We happily acknowledge the many positive changes that have taken place in novelty toy design since Good Vibrations first opened its doors. For one thing, color has come to the world of battery vibrators. Once available only in hospital white or pseudo-skintone-peach, battery vibrators are now produced in a dazzling rainbow of colors. Interior designers take note—you can match a vibrator to the decor of every room in your home. This may seem like a minor development, but simply offering a greater color selection bespeaks an acceptance of sex toys as consumer products. As former retail clerks, we can testify that nothing normalizes a purchase for a nervous customer better than weighing the decision as to which color to choose.

The materials out of which sex toys are made have been evolving constantly since the mid-eighties. Recent years have seen the advent of supple, colorful materials such as jelly rubber and ever-more realistic materials such as cyberskin. The motors used in battery vibrators are undergoing a serious upgrading as American manufacturers work to compete with higher-quality Japanese vibrators. Microchips and watch batteries allow for small, strong, and silent motors, leading to greater versatility in product design.

In 1996, several adult-toy manufacturers organized the first annual Adult Novelty Manufacturers Expo, where manufacturers could network with distributors and retailers about product quality and design. A growing number of adult manufacturers are gearing products toward the so-called “women’s and couple’s market,” while a growing number of adult bookstore owners are steering clear of the legally (and physically) sticky realm of onsite video viewing booths in favor of creating “upscale” shopping environments that will have greater appeal to women.

Several states criminalize the sale of products “designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genitals,” defining these as “obscene devices.” As a result, adult toy manufacturers tend to position themselves as being in the “novelty” business, and their packaging emphasizes the “fantasy” value of their products, rather than their function. It would be much easier for an upscale adult establishment to challenge zoning restrictions and other obscenity laws than it would be for a “dirty bookstore” to do so. It requires considerable financial resources to take on the legal system. Just as the owners of the Adam and Eve mail-order catalog successfully challenged federal indictments for interstate trafficking in obscene materials (see the Censorship chapter), a major adult retailer with deep pockets and his or her eyes on the prize of mainstreaming sex toy shops might be able to overturn antiquated state statutes. Meanwhile, you can do your bit to revolutionize the adult industry by seeking out those businesses whose approach to presenting sexual materials best fits your personal politics.

Entrepreneurs

We readily admit to a bias in favor of other small businesses—Vibratex is one excellent example. This second-generation, family-run import company—owned by the husband-and-wife team of Dan and Shay Martin and founded by Shay’s Japanese parents—has been supplying Good Vibrations with a unique line of Japanese vibrators since the mid-eighties.

Vibratex is justifiably famed for its high-quality dual-action vibrators such as the Rabbit Pearl—knocked off by every other novelty company around, the Rabbit Pearl features a rotating, insertable figurine and a vibrating clitoral attachment shaped like a bunny. Lore has it that General MacArthur’s postwar legacy to Japan included laws forbidding the manufacture of sex toys resembling genitals. Although you can now find Japanese vibrators or dildos that resemble penises, you’ll also find the inevitable smiley face etched on their heads, indicating “I am a toy, not a sex device!” Vibratex products cost more but are of significantly better quality than most other battery vibrators.

GV Tale: Joni’s Butterfly

As proof of the “make-a-quick-buck” manufacturing philosophy of the adult industry, consider the tale of “Joni’s Butterfly.” Joani Blank, the founder of Good Vibrations, knew that a no-hands, wearable clitoral vibrator would be a highly popular and sensible design, and she mentioned this to one of our novelty distributors. He took her rough sketch of the idea off to Hong Kong, and came back with a finished toy. Joani had several improvements to suggest: The vibrator was too bulky to wear during intercourse and the elastic leg straps were too flimsy to hold it firmly in place, but the molds had already been made and production was under way. To Joani’s dismay, her name (albeit misspelled) was permanently attached to just the type of shoddy battery toy she’s spent her professional life decrying. Since very few novelty manufacturers get patenting or trade protection on their products, countless Butterflies flooded the market, and Joani received no royalties for any of these.

The moral of the story is, if you have an idea for a sex toy that you’d like to see realized exactly as you envision it or if you’d like financial compensation for the idea, your best bet would be to produce and patent the toy yourself. If, however, you’d just like to get your idea on the marketplace in some form, and you aren’t attached to being paid for it, you should definitely consider forwarding a description of your better mousetrap (in writing) to one of the adult manufacturers in Southern California. Now that manufacturers are required to attach a disclosure label to any packaging that features sexually explicit imagery, you can easily find the address of companies such as Doc Johnson, California Exotic Novelties, and Topco on their product boxes.

Many of our favorite suppliers are the owners of cottage industries. Some got into sex toy production purely by chance, some found that what started as a hobby turned into an occupation, and some are former customers who became convinced they could design a better mousetrap and went into business for themselves.

By far the most beautiful dildos in existence are produced by small manufacturers. Wooden and acrylic dildos are often sculpted by craftspeople who enjoy this erotic outlet for the imagination. Silicone dildo production was invented by Gosnell Duncan of Scorpio Products. After attending several workshops on sexuality and disability in his capacity as president of his local chapter of the National Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, Gosnell became intrigued by the challenge of creating a more pleasing dildo than was generally available. He worked with a chemist friend at General Electric (apparently, G.E.
does
bring some good things to life) for several years before developing his final formula. Gosnell hadn’t intended to sell his dildos outside the disability community, but by the early eighties, word had spread to the sex boutiques… and an industry was born.

Other silicone manufacturers followed suit because they enjoyed Scorpio’s products, appreciated silicone’s superiority to other materials, and knew that Scorpio’s limited supply of silicone dildos was not satisfying the growing demand. Silicone molding is an exacting and labor-intensive process. Many people have claimed, “I could do that,” but only a handful have had the tenacity to follow through. These businesses may be small, but they’ve made a huge contribution to the pleasure experienced in bedrooms around the world.

Leather work is another field that’s full of entrepreneurs. Many of the most beautifully crafted whips and restraints in existence are handmade by individuals who were inspired to go into business because they couldn’t find the products they craved in any stores. Stormy Leather, now a major wholesaler of dildo harnesses, restraints, and fetish clothing for men and women, was founded in the owner’s bedroom with one sewing machine and a commitment to creating comfortable, functional dildo harnesses for women to wear.

Over the years, Good Vibrations’ suppliers have included a woman who imported and hand-dyed ostrich feathers, a Berkeley couple who made wooden massage tools, and a local designer who whipped up latex hot pants on request. These entrepreneurs will never be able to command the resources, the marketing power, or the gross sales of Doc Johnson or Hitachi, but we’d like to salute them for doing their bit to make the world a more sexually fulfilling place.

PROFILES
in
PLEASURE:

Susan Colvin

“Toys were most
interesting to me
because each toy is
unique. I liked that
there were unlimited
opportunities,
unlimited ways to
make changes.”

W
hen Susan Colvin began working for an adult toy company in the early eighties, she was one of only two women in management positions industry-wide. Today, her company, California Exotic Novelties, is one of the top three novelty companies in the United States. After fewer than ten years in operation, Cal Exotics boasts a 100,000-square-foot warehouse, more than sixty-five employees, and a product line sold around the world. Known as “the best marketer in the business,” Susan is a shrewd businesswoman who had the vision to recognize the women’s market for sex toys long before many of her peers.