Sex Toys

Birth of Sex Toys

Sexology, the study of the naturalized state of human sexuality and desires, began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sexologists assert that sexuality is biologically driven and that there is a normalized type of sexual behaviors. Healthy, normal, sexual citizens were those who observed appropriate sexual desires and behaviors within the constraints of heterosexual-ity and institutions such as marriage. Sexologists uncovered the naturalness of desires that men have for women and women have for men. Furthermore, sexology claimed that sexuality is an integral part of human identities and that sexual needs are as natural as the need to clothe or feed oneself. Sexuality drives humans to be attracted to one another in an organized, patterned, and heterosexual manner.

Individuals who varied from “natural” sexual behaviors and normal, heterosexual desires were seen not as perverse but, instead, were declared as mentally ill by sexologists. Sexual deviants and types were created in opposition to naturalized ideals of heterosexuals and gendered sexual roles. Those who did not fit into these “healthy” categories were seen as in need of treatment to help restore them to their original and natural sexual states.

Women who did not fit into the subordinate, feminized sexual roles at the time were treated in various ways, including medications, shock therapies, and sex toys. Vibrators became a way to treat hypersexual women, in the hopes of lessoning their desires. Today, the sex toy industry aims to aid sexual pleasures. Although sex toys were originally created to address various male and female sexual dysfunctions, they are now widely used by both heterosexual and homosexual couples and are used by all sexes and genders. In some areas of [Page 760]the United States, the sale of sex toys is regulated and, in rare cases, even banned. However, as with sodomy laws, sales of sex toys are rarely enforced, despite community pressures to keep pornography and sex toy shops away from residential areas.

Types of Sex Toys

Modern sex toys are typically made from silicone, which is nonporous and easy to clean. Toys that simulate skin are made from silicone and plastic, and are soft and lifelike. Referred to as jelly toys, rubber-based toys are porous and harder to clean. Latex toys are also used, but are also hard to clean thoroughly and can cause allergic reactions.