The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex (41 page)

• Check the returns policy. Some retailers will let you return any toy for any reason within a certain time frame.

• Give the vibrator a second chance. You might’ve been too nervous the first time, or your expectations were too high.

• If at first you don’t succeed….

Keep Your Sense of Humor

Sex can be a nerve-wracking business. There’s the performance anxiety, the communication issues, the awkwardness. It’s no Hollywood movie, that’s for sure—though sometimes it qualifies as a romantic comedy. If you’re playing with sex toys, you’ll have a lot more fun, and a better chance of meeting with success, if you keep your sense of humor. Bear in mind that sex is supposed to be fun!

Just pulling out my vibrator, turning in on to waggle, and demonstrating the five speeds usually puts my partners into hysterics.

Trends and Innovations

The more people discover what powerful tools of pleasure vibrators can be, the more they crave new and different types. Fortunately, many toy manufacturers and entrepreneurs are listening. Thanks to technological advancements and more-demanding consumers, vibrators have reached new heights of quality and variety. As in the fashion world, there will always be vibrator trends that come and go, but among these latest innovations, more than a few are here to stay.

MICROCHIPS. The microchip didn’t just revolutionize computers, it literally transformed vibrators—they’re smaller, they run faster, and they offer more options when it comes to playing with speeds. Some vibrators come with pushbutton controls that let you program the desired speed, pulse, rhythm, or rotation of the toy. One of our manufacturers thinks this is overkill and that consumers will eventually want to “return to the days of the simple variable speed control, just like they want the knobs back on their car radios.” We tend to agree, but find the microchip’s other effects quite pleasing—tinier but more powerful toys, remote-controlled toys, and vibrators needing no battery packs.

WATCH BATTERIES. Vibrators have typically been on the bulky side because they needed to house a battery pack large enough for a AA or C battery. One ingenious inventor discovered that a watch battery could provide ample power and fit in a much smaller toy. The result: the first-ever fingertip vibrator, called the Fukuoku 9000. A small pad fits over your fingertip, giving that ordinary hand job a buzzing boost (wear five of them, and your hand becomes a vibrating machine). It’s a great toy for hands that tire easily, or when you want to retain the feel of skin on skin but need a little extra stimulation. We expect to see more products that take advantage of watch batteries.

WATERPROOF. It took a while, but the adult industry finally figured out that if you insert an ordinary washer into the base of a battery-operated vibrator, voilà, it’s waterproof. What no one anticipated was the popularity of this innovation, but when you think about the endless possibilities for sex in the tub, the shower, the pool, the hot tub, the lake, the ocean (um, you get the idea), it makes a lot of sense. Plus, waterproof vibrators are so much easier to clean. Today many styles come in a waterproof version; just check the packaging.

NEW MATERIALS. For years, vibrator lovers have contented themselves with certain basic materials: rubber, vinyl, or hard plastic. But the emergence of two new materials, used first in dildos, gives consumers more options in insertable vibrators:

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Silicone.
The recent marriage of vibrators with silicone—a premium-grade material used for dildos—elevates the quality of insertable vibrators tremendously. Silicone is easy to clean, retains body heat, and transmits vibrations extremely well. Look for silicone dildos and plugs with vibrators built in, or with hollowed-out cores that accommodate battery vibes.

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Cyberskin.
The most recent breakthrough in sex toy material, cyberskin feels more like skin than anything else on the market. It warms quickly, is pliable and soft, and stretches easily but will “remember” its original shape. It is porous, however, so remember to clean it after each use with mild soap and water, or use it with a condom.

COLOR. Long gone are the days when vibrators came in a just a couple of colors—usually some hideous attempt at Caucasian flesh tones. Nowadays, vibrators come in as many colors as fashion will permit. Depending on what’s currently trendy, your vibrator might be translucent lime to match your iMac or leopard-skin print to match your hand bag. We’ve seen many color trends come and go: One year primary colors are in while pastels are out, then the next year metallics make a splash while glitter, swirl, or jewel colors take a back seat. But one thing is clear: You’ll never have to worry about too few choices again!

Various styles of vibrators

Shop Around

Vibrators—also commonly referred to as “massagers”—come in all sizes and shapes. Some look like eggs, some like hand-held mixers, some like, well, penises. Depending on what kind of stimulation you like, you might find one style, or a combination of several styles, to be your favorite. In this chapter we’ll describe a multitude of different models and offer suggestions for incorporating them into your sex play. Keep in mind that while this may look like an exhaustive list, it isn’t—there are enough different vibrators on the market to fill a dozen toy chests. Since we don’t want to overload your circuits with too much information, we’ve limited our selection to the most popular, well-made, and best-known. Also keep in mind that sex toys come and go. We’ll list the latest trends and styles, but today’s hot ticket might end up in tomorrow’s waste bin.

Many people confuse vibrators and dildos. What distinguishes a vibrator from a dildo or another type of sex toy is that it vibrates. The vibrator is powered either by electricity or batteries (no solar-powered toys yet!). Phallic-shaped vibrators can be used as vibrating dildos (that is, they can be inserted vaginally or anally), but if you want something penis-like that does not vibrate, you’re looking for a dildo or plug.

We debated whether to list prices for the different models in this book. Obviously, any prices we list today will be outdated next year, one reason why we chose not to include them. And depending on where you buy them, the prices vary drastically. We used to tell people that, in general, electric vibrators are more expensive than battery vibrators. But these days you can buy an inexpensive electric vibrator at most department stores, then turn around and pay twice as much for a novelty battery vibrator purchased from an adult bookstore or catalog. We have included the names and addresses of our favorite sex boutiques, catalogs, and websites in our resource listings and we encourage you to shop around!

Electric Vibrators

These vibrators run off the standard 110 volts. The body of the vibrator is attached to a plug-in cord. Most commonly marketed by major appliance manufacturers like Panasonic and Hitachi as “personal massagers,” electric vibrators are well-made (most have a one-year warranty) and are widely available—you can almost always find a brand or two in drugstores or department stores, shelved as beauty-care products or sports massagers. Because they are not marketed as sex toys, you are less likely to find electric massagers in adult bookstores.

Besides being well-made with long life expectancies, electric vibrators are great for other reasons. Most feature a couple of different speeds or a rheostat so that you can adjust the vibration to your liking. Because they run on electricity, you won’t experience the frustration of your batteries running out at the crucial climax. (Although there is the chance of a power outage or a blown fuse!) Electric vibrators tend to be more powerful than their battery brethren, something you may or may not appreciate for sexual massage, but which makes them far superior for full-body massage.

In countries with different electric currents, it is possible to use your electric vibrator with an adapter. Pay careful attention—the vibrator may heat up more quickly than usual.

Wand Vibrators

To celebrate my 50th birthday. I stayed home alone, put on a wonderful silk gown, laid out candles and incense, listened to my favorite music, got a little stoned, and spent the evening with my Hitachi Magic Wand, on a quilt spread on the living room floor. I must have come twenty or thirty times in the course of that evening.

WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE: Dubbed “wand” vibrators because the long shape resembles a magic wand, this type of vibrator has always been popular at Good Vibrations. Wand vibrators are usually about a foot long, with a soft, rubber, tennis ball-sized head attached to one end. Before your mouth drops open, let us just say:
Wands are not designed for insertion, but for external clitoral stimulation
. You grip the long plastic handle and place the vibrating head against the clit. Most wands have either a high and a low speed or a rheostat. When the vibrator is on it emits a low whirring noise. The Hitachi Magic Wand is by far the best-known.

VARIATIONS: The length of the body, the size of the head, the weight, the noise, and the intensity of the vibrations vary somewhat between brands. Some also have angled bodies for “hard to reach” places. Rechargeable versions of some wand vibrators are on the market, so you don’t have to be connected to an outlet. The charge usually lasts from thirty to sixty minutes, then takes eight to twelve hours to recharge.

HOW TO USE: Women can try pressing the side of the head against or near the clitoris. The shape of the wand lends itself well to numerous positions—lie down on top of it, prop it up against your clit while on your side, hold it between your legs while on your back.

I like to lie on my side with the head of the wand gripped firmly between my thighs—keeping it snug against my clit. This frees up my hands to do other things.

I prop my Hitachi up on a pillow and lean forward onto it while I’m squatting on a vibrating dildo (the kind that rotates and vibrates). I orgasm to my heart’s content.

The large head spreads the vibrations out over a greater surface area when it’s pressed against the skin, which many experience as a more penetrating vibration. Because the vibrations are diffused by the large head, the intensity is not all focused solely on one spot.

Where was I before my Magic Wand? The level of stimulation is just great.

Men can try pressing the wand directly against the base of the penis, running it along the shaft, touching the head, or resting the penis on top of the head. If this is too intense, try cupping the penis with one hand and holding the vibrator against the back of your hand. You may also enjoy the indirect vibrations provided when your penis is inside the vagina of a woman using the wand on her clitoris:

The first time she turned on her wand when I was inside her, I came in thirty seconds. Once I got used to the stimulation of the vibrator, I would often use it on myself, resting my soft penis on top of the vibrator head. I found the vibration was more numbing than stimulating though, once I got hard.

The straight body and large head allow the wand to be easily positioned between face-to-face partners, offering dual stimulation:

During intercourse my wand vibrates the base of his penis and my clit at the same time, which gets us both off.

Because the vibrating head is fairly large, people with limited mobility may find it easier to lie on top of the wand or to clutch it between their thighs. Finally, wand vibrators can’t be beat for full-body massage—they feel particularly good run along either side of the spine, across the shoulders, or on the lower back.

ATTACHMENTS: To date, there are only a few specifically sexual attachments designed to fit over the head of a wand (and they will only fit over a head shaped like the Hitachi’s). The Wonder Wand and G-Spotter are two lightweight, vinyl caps that can be pushed all the way down over the head of the vibrator. The Wonder Wand has a seamless, four-inch, straight tip and is about three-quarters of an inch in diameter. The G-Spotter is the same size, but curved to vibrate against the G-spot area in the front wall of the vagina. When you insert the tip, the area of the cap below the tip will vibrate against your clitoris, offering you glorious simultaneous clitoral and vaginal vibrations! More recently, silicone manufacturer Vixen Creations has created the Gee Whiz—similar to the G-Spotter, but with a larger dildo portion, and a raised bump on the cap for clit stimulation—all fashioned out of supremely comfortable silicone. These attachments also provide more focused clitoral stimulation if you place the tip against your clit.

The G-spot stimulator on the Hitachi Wand is my favorite sex toy. Wow! Now there’s an intense orgasm. It also makes the vibration against my clit less intense, which is better for me since my clit is very sensitive.