Sexual Health

Sex Vibes

Sex toys have come a long way in recent years. They’re now available in mainstream shops like Boots. At the upper end of the market, high-tech, sleekly designed ‘lifestyle aids’ can cost up to €300. Carissa Casey reports on the booming market for female pleasure gadgets. 

ity the 1950s housewife. Like Betty Draper, in that infamous episode of Mad Men, she had to use vibrations from her washing machine to massage her private parts to ecstasy. These days, legions of engineers and design gurus devote their careers to creating just the right gizmo to keep us ladies happy.

Meanwhile academics write books about the ‘orgasm gap’, the depressing truth that while 95 per cent of men in heterosexual relationships climax during sex, only 65 per cent of women do. An analysis of 33 surveys, taken over an 80 year period, shows that just 25 per cent of women consistently orgasm during vaginal sex.

As University of Florida professor Laurie Mintz told NBC news in the US, “the number-one reason for the orgasm gap — and it’s not the only one — is our cultural ignorance of the clitoris. ”

Most of the new sex toys created for women focus on clitoral stimulation. The ‘rampant rabbit’, made famous by Sex and the City in the late 1990s, was one of the first such toys. To this day, annual sales of rabbit-style sex toys are higher than sales of washing machines and tumble driers combined. This success prompted other manufacturers to design specifically with womens’ needs in mind. 

So-called bullet vibrators (they’re shaped like a bullet) are more compact and designed specifically for clitoral stimulation. Again, these have proved hugely successful. Being smaller, they are discrete and less intimidating than other models. They’re also generally cheaper and a great entry point for those new to toys.

The innovations keep coming, coupled with a whole new way of talking about female sex toys. The Swedish company, Lelo, describes itself as a luxury pleasure brand at the forefront of a ‘self-care movement’, offering ecstasy without shame. It claims to have introduced the first ‘sonic vibrating massager’ and that its WaveMotion technology rises and falls like the caress of a lover’s fingers. Lelo has a marketing deal with Hollywood actor Amber Heard. 

Meanwhile, Lora Di Carlo has netted English supermodel and actor Cara Delevingne for its high tech offerings, developed in partnership with Oregon State University's Robotics and Engineering Lab. In 2019, its Osé robotic vibrator won an innovation award from the Consumer Technology Association. And then the award was rescinded. Why? Because the administrators deemed the Osé immoral, obscene, indecent and profane. This kicked off a furore over male bias in technology and made the company’s founder Lora Haddock di Carlo the darling of the female lecture circuit. 

She certainly gives as good as she gets. “Somebody called us niche – that we are serving a niche market. And I just laughed at him and said ‘You know what is a niche market? Erectile dysfunction drugs. You are responsible for $6 billion of the market share. We’re responsible for close to $30 billion.”

Like Lelo, Lora Di Carlo is far more than an up-market sex toy brand. Delevingne, who is openly pansexual, is a co-owner of the company and also its creative advisor. “Our education and activism is breaking the barriers of long-standing, systemic stigmatisation,” says Haddock Di Carlo. “We are committed to lessening the orgasm gap and driving towards a world where all humans can embrace their sexuality with positivity and confidence.

Aside from product innovations, the biggest change in the market for female sex toys is the advent of the Internet and online shopping. Until 1999, Ann Summers sold in Ireland through ‘parties’ in people’s homes. Sales were so strong they decided to open a store in Dublin’s O’Connell Street, right opposite the GPO. The backlash was ferocious. The company’s chief executive even received a bullet in the post. That store is now closed but that has nothing to do with the moral police. The company’s online sales are soaring, more so since the pandemic hit. In the first few months of the lock down, Ann Summers reported a 900 per cent increase in sales.

The first lockdown inspired Veronica Walsh to set up Lovebug, one of a number of Irish-owned online shops for sex aids. She has worked in eCommerce in various industries since 2005 and had long toyed with the idea. “It's a very competitive market but we have quite a lot of experience and offer a very fast delivery service so it's going very well. We have a pretty big product range now and we also offer insurance for customers too, so that boosts trust in us. There is a lot of fraud in this market at the moment,” she says.

Aside from the pandemic, she says the market for sex toys is growing. “The taboo around them is not what it used to be. People who don't know anything about sex toys, or who haven't tried them, think of them as something dirty or really naughty. The reality is that most people buy toys to have fun with their partner and to spice things up a little. I found that with my own partner it raised our level of communication in the bedroom and helped us talk candidly about what we enjoyed and wanted to try. Having fun and playing around with some lube or a small bullet vibrator isn't uber kinky. It's just fun and helps bring people closer together.

The number of women who have tried vibrators has risen from just 1 per cent in the 1970s to about 50 per cent today. Whether you’re an old hand or new to these products, here’s our guide to what’s available. 

Bullets

For those new to sex toys, a bullet vibrator is an excellent place to start. They range hugely in price. 

The Glossy Small Bullet Vibe is available on Lovebug.ie for just €6.99. It has just one speed, uses batteries and is one of the quieter models on the market, with a maximum noise level of 55 decibels (a domestic fridge has a noise level of about 50 decibels). It’s water resistant and can be used in the shower.

The So Divine Rocketman 10 function rechargeable vibrator costs €36.99 on Lovebug.ie. It has a powerful motor, three speeds and seven different pulsating patterns. It’s water resistant and rechargeable. 

The Lelo Mia2 costs €79 from lelo.com. It’s designed to look like a lipstick and features a sculpted tip for ‘accurate pleasure’. It’s waterproof, comes with a one-year warranty and has six ‘pleasure settings’. 

Rabbits

Rabbit-style vibrators offer dual stimulation, both clitoral and vaginal, with many targeting the so-called G-spot. 

So Divine Kiss Kiss Rabbit vibrator costs €72.99 from lovebug.ie. It has a dual motor so both the ‘ears’ and shaft can be operated separately. It has 10 different functions and is made of super soft silicone. It is water resistant. 

The Soraya 2 costs €219 from lelo.com. According to the company, it has been designed to target the G-spot in as many women as possible. It is made of body-safe silicone and has 12 different vibration intensities.

Robot at work

Lora Di Carlo’s Osé robotic massager costs €299 from loradicarlo.com. The price includes a complimentary wellness and product coaching session. The Osé features a clitoral mouth to simulate oral stimulation as well as a G-spot massager. While it’s undoubtedly ground-breaking technology, product reviews have been mixed.