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It’s no secret that it’s challenging for mothers to find the energy and attention devoted to self to even dream erotic thoughts. Recently, we learned little about rekindling passion between committed partners via video instruction in a post "The Sinclair Institute is Geeky About Sex!" And there are numerous self-help books like Great Sex For Moms. So, when the idea of "sex week" first came up on the Geek Mom forum, it seemed like a logical fit.
I quipped I'd heard Trojan has made the manufacturing and marketing move from protection to pleasure, and the electronics buzzed. The topic bounced around among us, grew with delight, and hypothetically we imagined what it would be like for an entire conference auditorium to get a new product line sample in a vibrating swag bag. It made me laugh, so I figured I'd found a topic: toys for pleasure.
This Geek Mom, biological mother of two, both conceived without any medical assistance, obviously knows about sex for procreation. I know the science, and have the previously mentioned personal experience. I’ve even written about sex education for my teenage daughter. And there have been other excellent posts on this subject.
Why then, I’ve been wondering, have I been reluctant to talk about novelty items that are designed purely for pleasure? Especially if the novelty item requires technology to operate. Why do I blush when I say the word vibrator? Is it because the it exists for only one purpose--to give pleasure to a woman? So I did my geek thing, and for me that means research. I read about the history of mechanical vibrators (some water “therapy” devices were in use as early as the 1880’s and by the early 20th century personal devices were available via Sears and Roebuck, apparently outselling other appliances), home novelty parties (imagine a Mary Kay make-up party, but with tantalizing edible massage oils, sensual devices, and distributors who call themselves “goddesses”), iPhone apps (not to mention creative uses for the iPhone camera while communicating with a distant partner), and I've been playing around—no heavy breathing—with the wordplay involved. I'm not the only one who gets a little tongue tied. There's a general tendency to rely on euphemisms when we talk about anything that might provide pure sensual pleasure.
In the case of the V-word, it seems silly to be embarrassed. After all, the word vibrator has a number of uses, most of them non-titillating. For example, a vibrator is a setting on a number of musical instruments, as well as our cell phones. And, there is a British punk band named the Vibrators. However, despite the everyday usage, Trojan has chosen to name their purple branded line “Vibrations,” so even a company known for selling products designed strictly for sexual use has wiggled on the V-word. On its website Trojan adds some gravitas to its promise of ecstasy, citing the science of vibrators via scholarly research from the prestigious Indiana University Center for Sexual Health Promotion.
Now I'm blushing again. Silly me. Romance novels are top sellers for women. And sensual aids are as old as recorded commerce, probably older. Television programs and movies are full of married and unmarried partners who are getting it on, and most aren’t coupling to conceive. Most of the time, on and off the screen, the happy dance between the sheets is done for fun. (Notice how euphemisms come in handy with or without toy involvement.)
We buy push up bras and negligees. We have henna tattoos and body waxes. And these can all be found at a typical suburban mall. Yet a novelty item strictly designed to hit a woman’s pleasure button is relegated to a satin-lined treasure box tucked safely under the bed.
I wonder. Is there a relationship between the hidden nature of female sex organs and our attitude toward them? Is the physical secret related to the emotional reticence? My younger self would have said coyness is cloying. Be brazen and have at it. Go full out for a lusty roll in the hay. But my aging Athena self ponders the wisdom of seduction. The female has the only human organ designed explicitly for pleasure alone. It's not physically obvious. But it's a terrific secret.
I leave you with one of the greatest rock 'n roll classics of all times: "Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC2gZMNkyJo[/youtube]
