The vibrator next to the bed – a secret history of sex 2

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As mentioned earlier , feminists like Betty Dodson helped turn the tide and make the sexual uses of vibrators a reality. But the story doesn’t stop there.

In the 1970s, women looking to buy sex toys had to navigate the seedy alleys of the “red-light district,” where passing men would lecherously tease and whistle at them—”How could you still be a decent woman in this place?” Even the salesperson would retort as they nervously tried to pay. These obstacles made women fearful of entering adult stores.

Feminists realized that improving access to sex toys was essential if women were to be able to explore their sexual lives with joy. Thus, feminist sex toy shops emerged, gradually breaking down the gender barriers surrounding sex toys. By providing a comfortable shopping environment and designing products tailored to women, they became a force for women in the sex toy industry, injecting fresh energy and a female perspective into the industry. The women-friendly designs we see today are largely due to the work of these pioneers.

We will take a closer look at those sex toy stores deep in time, and the wonderful sex toys, to see how feminists are overcoming difficulties and moving forward on the road of “from women, for women, with women” .

In the early 1970s, Dell Williams was deeply inspired after attending Betty’s “masturbation seminar”, but she remembered an unpleasant experience buying a vibrator – the salesperson shouted at her: “What are you buying this thing for?!” So, in order to “avenge her previous shame” and create a female-friendly space, she opened the first female sex toy store in the United States – Eve’s Garden.

Williams said she opened the store not for the money, but out of passion and a desire for women to express themselves and change the world. Eve’s Garden’s catalog includes not only common items like vibrators and massage oils, but also books on sexual liberation and women’s health, such as “Our Bodies, Ourselves” and “My Secret Garden,” which is full of female sexual fantasies.

Founder Dell Williams in the showroom of her New York store.

Eve’s Garden created a warm and welcoming space for women, where women could have a safe space to learn and discuss sexual knowledge together, and to resolve confusion and shame. At that time, it became known as the “Women’s Island”.

Around the same time, another early sex toy shop was establishing itself on the West Coast: Good Vibrations, run by former educator and sex therapist Joani Black.

When women enter the brightly lit store, they see not pornographic films featuring explicit content or the female body as selling points, but rows of vibrators in clean, soft tones, and books on sexual health and female pleasure. Under the founder’s sex-positive philosophy, more women can choose products without hesitation.

Founder Black even said bluntly: “When discussing orgasms, we often say that the only people who can reliably have vaginal orgasms are of the opposite sex.” This humorous tone reveals the myth of vaginal orgasm and gives many women who cannot get pleasure from the vagina the courage to embrace themselves and explore clitoral orgasms.

The company’s identity as a friendly, feminist sex toy company

In 1992, Black sold the store to her employees, turning it into a publicly owned store run by employees rather than a purely capital-driven enterprise. They sell high-quality products at low prices and invest most of the proceeds in sex education programs. They also opened an antique vibrator museum to help people learn about the history of vibrators.

Good Vibration Antique Vibrator Museum interior

Black is also keen to share her business experience, hoping for a flourishing female-led and female-supported sex toy industry. Inspired by her, Claire Cavanah founded the sex toy company Babeland.

Claire said that what she learned from Good Vibration was not just how to operate, but most importantly, the philosophy of “sex positivity” and a caring heart. The Babeland catalogue has this sentence on the cover: ” Owning a dildo or vibrator may not change the world, but falling in love with exploring your desires will change your world .”

Babeland consistently provides considerate and warm service to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, skin color, or class. Consequently, Babeland holds a special appeal for many transgender, genderqueer, queer, and people of color. This warm and inclusive atmosphere stems from their deeply mission-driven service.

Babeland founders Rachel Venning (left) and Claire Cavanah

Schrader, a former salesperson at Babeland, thought her job was all about finding ways to increase sales. But when a nervous woman walked into the store and told her she’d never orgasmed, she suddenly realized the extraordinary significance of her work. ” Every customer who comes in is a small revolution,” she says, “and my mission is so profound .”

In the 1970s and 1980s, mission and care were the keywords of the feminist sex toy industry. These passionate feminists transformed the industry’s decadent culture and set a new standard for female consumers. Because they provided a high-quality environment, products, and positive sex education, consumers demonstrated strong spending power and actively shared their experiences, further expanding market share and promoting product and service improvements, creating a virtuous cycle. Meanwhile, those dingy, cold, and dismissive adult toy stores in corners gradually lost their competitiveness amidst the wave of women’s self-awakening.

A good experience is naturally inseparable from good design.

From the “Hitachi Magic Wand,” a hit in the 1970s, to the latest models of suckers, women have continuously deepened their involvement in the industry. They have not only set material standards for vibrators but have also actively participated in their design. Women, through their consumer choices, are voting for vibrators that best meet their needs.

The most famous vibrator is, of course, the Hitachi Magic Wand, the same model Betty Dodson created. Originally developed as a massage device to relieve muscle aches, it became an iconic item of the women’s rights movement.

The wand’s “magic” lies in its harmless appearance. To avoid prosecution by Japanese authorities, it no longer resembles a phallic device, allowing it to sit unobtrusively on a bedside table. When the vibrator loses its phallic appearance, women regain the possibility of expressing their own sexual desires .

When it comes to clitoral stimulation products, the suction device, invented by Michael Lenke in 2013, is the most trendy and popular of the moment. It utilizes air pressure to create suction, accurately simulating oral sex. Many users rave about it, stating, “Compared to vibrators that only stimulate the surface of the clitoris, the suction device vibrates deep within the clitoral structure.” Even better, the suction device produces lower decibels than traditional vibrators, achieving the effect of “silence under the covers.”

Michael Lenke’s first version of the sucking device invention

Sucking devices haven’t stopped there; designers are bringing new life to small toys. The beU small white box is a sucking toy, innovatively incorporating the concept of daily disposables into its design. Sex toys are used around the female genitals, making cleanliness extremely important. “Disposable, cleaner” perfectly captures the concept of the daily disposable beU box.

Besides cleanliness, convenience is also crucial. For busy city women, the day’s toil demands a nighttime respite. Cleanliness requires cleaning and disinfection before and after use. And in the face of fatigue, every tiny bit of effort invested before and after these self-pleasures seems incredibly burdensome. beU, recognizing this fatigue, has developed a replaceable suction tip design, eliminating the need for laborious cleaning and allowing users to more confidently engage in every conversation with their body.

In the past, feminist sex toys raised the industry’s requirements for product safety and cleanliness, but Xiaobaihe has gone a step further. beU believes that women have the right to self-pleasure and should not feel troubled or sacrifice their health to achieve it .

beU aims to achieve a free dialogue between women and their bodies through its design and philosophy. This sense of mission is the same as that of all feminist sex toy stores in the past. It is not just about products, but also about popularizing the possibility of sexual freedom for women through its philosophy.

With the advancement of feminism, the design of vaginal toys has blossomed, moving beyond the usual ugly, lifelike toys. Mysteryvibe’s Crescendo, for example, demonstrates a commitment to customer care. The Crescendo’s body can rotate and twist into various shapes to accommodate varying vaginal shapes.

Its designer, Stephanie Alys, said: “For a long time, people have always divided sexual pleasure into a long list: for men, for women, for couples, for the G-spot, for the vulva… But I hope that our products can better reflect the diverse human body shapes, meet the needs of diverse groups, and fit everyone’s way of experiencing pleasure.”

Therefore, the highlight of this product is that it is no longer limited to providing products for a specific group of people, but instead spreads the hope of sexual pleasure to everyone . The flexible and versatile design allows those who want to massage their prostate, intersex people with unconventional vaginas, middle-aged and elderly people with loose muscles, and young women with tight vaginas to enjoy a comfortable sexual experience.

Another entrepreneur, Liz Klinger, is taking a unique approach, leveraging technology to provide enhanced, personalized service. Her company, Lioness, offers a range of smart vibrators that record vaginal temperature, muscle movement, and orgasm patterns, displaying them on an app. Klinger’s philosophy is that when customers understand the uniqueness of their bodies, they gain greater confidence, have healthier relationships, and are freed from the constant pressure of comparison.

One customer reported that her boyfriend thought something was wrong with her because it took her significantly longer to orgasm than his ex. However, she showed Lioness’s orgasm chart to explain her unique body patterns and expressed her desire to avoid comparisons. Her boyfriend eventually understood, and the two of them studied the chart together, achieving a satisfying sex life. Sex toys aren’t just about self-pleasure; they’re also about exploring new possibilities in relationships and helping us better understand each other’s diverse needs.

Today, we see classic vibrators like the vibrator egg and the magic wand, but we also witness an explosion of new products and designs. These diverse designs and diverse functions demonstrate that sex toys are more than just a means of enhancing pleasure in traditional marriages or a product of male-centered misogyny. We are also gaining a deeper understanding of the female body. Sexual repression may be gradually being lifted, but those of us who carry the burden of history still need time to come to terms with ourselves. It is by looking back at the history of female sexuality that we are able to discover: it turns out that compared to those male-centered pornographic products and toys, women’s bodies and sexuality are so different, diverse and beautiful; it turns out that the vaginal valve should not be called the hymen, it is just a layer of elastic tissue, and there is no need to worry about it being “destroyed”; it turns out that the vagina is not a straight road, nor is it a mold of the penis – it twists and turns, like the riverbed of life; it turns out that everyone’s body and feelings are unique, some people cannot get pleasure from the vagina, and some people like violent collisions; it turns out that no matter what, women’s sexuality is both special and ordinary, and there is no need to be confused or inferior.