Phallic Friday - sex toys and other thoughts

Since last week's We-Vibe 4 and remote access post, I've been thinking a lot about sex toys, their role in life, and their evolution.

Many years ago, I became a bit of a sex toy collector. I'd found a shop run by a woman for women, that was filled with information, toys and videos. I think she was some sort of sex therapist - but whatever she was, she was really open and honest about sex.

When I first visited her shop, in Kings Cross, Sydney, I wasn't sure what to expect (and now I can't remember why I went, but I went alone). I certainly didn't expect to have the discussions I had with this lady. She took me along a shelf of vibrators and explained the pros and cons of each model. I had no idea there was such a range! I saw vibrators that resembled a penis that were for vaginal stimulation only, but came in all sizes according to your preference. Then we moved to waterproof vibrators so you could use them in the shower/bath. G-spot vibes, specially bent to hit the right spot while pleasuring you. Then we moved to vibrators with clitoral stimulation (you probably know the old rabbit vibes). It was an education.

What shocked me most was that these vibrators were often etched with designs or images, which were often of men/kings/animals. That was a bit disconcerting. Do we need images on our vibrators? (it was needed to get around a technical legal restriction, I think). I'm pleased to see this isn't so anymore. The We-vibe doesn't have gimmicky images, nor is it shaped like a penis. What an evolution.

I own a few of the old fashioned vibes - because I couldn't decide and she was a good sales woman! Then we moved to other toys and she explained more, opening my mind to things I'd never contemplated before. It was extraordinary.

From then on, I wanted to be like this lady - unafraid of sex, sex toys and the things people do for pleasure.

My biggest foray into this world of unafraidness, was gifting a friend with a vibrator for Christmas. Don't worry, I warned her of what I was giving her. It's just she thought I was kidding. We went out for Christmas and for some reason I can't remember, we were doing the gift exchange at the party. I caught a quiet moment with her to give her my gift (it's in a box, so you can't tell what it is). She squeals, and goes to open it. I grab her hands and stare at her trying to convey my panic quietly. "You can't open it here." She's slow, really slow. She doesn't pick up on my words, clenched fingers or panicked breathing. By now a few friends have gathered around us.

She keeps trying to open it, and I'm crushing her hand saying "No. You can't." One of our good friends, a male, looks at me, frowns, looks at her, then at the box. He starts laughing. "Cate, did you buy her a vibrator?" I've no idea how he picked that of all gifts...but by crikey, his comment had her shoving the gift in her bag so quickly. He's now her husband and I often wonder about that gift!! :)

See, sex toys can give you a lot of pleasure... and they can even score you a husband!!