Over the years sex toys have been called a lot of different things. We've called them romantic products, sexual aids, sexual health enhancers, marital aids, adult products, adult novelties, the list goes on. When I started working in sex stores, in the late 1980s there was a concerted effort on the part of the more political sex shops to change the language around sex toys.
Why, we asked, do we have to hide our sexual desire behind mugs, wind-up penises, and the idea of novelty? Why is it novel to want to feel good and to buy something that will help us achieve that goal? Can't we just get what we want without apologizing or naming it as superficial?
So we stopped calling them novelties. And even though the sex toy world has changed dramatically since the 80s, I still cringe a bit at the idea of novelty sex toys. But it's a cringe I'd like to lose. It's judgmental and at the very least I should keep it to myself. Why should I care if someone can only let themselves buy a vibrator when it looks like a Tootsie Pop? Isn't it a bit snobbish to say that people MUST talk about sex toys as important tools of sexual empowerment?
It was with this desire to change in mind that I made a request to my guides to all things erotic and floral at Babeland to send me the Gossip Ring (buy direct, $14). Babeland lists this funky red flower ring/wearable vibe in their "bachelorette party novelty" section, and I wanted to see if I could loosen up enough to have fun, while having fun.
Read the Full Review: Gossip Ring
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Yes, even health websites sell them now, as well as chemist / drug stores