AT LAST - A VIBRATOR FOR MEN. DON’T LET THE GIRLS HAVE ALL THE FUN!

The latest figures show that men are finally getting into sex toys. Richard Grainger asks if a vibrator for your man is the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, or is a male adult product still a little bit grubby.

We’ve all heard about boys’ toys - fast cars, performance motorbikes, and the latest communications gadgets, but male sex toys are rapidly becoming another massive market designed to give men outstanding pleasure in a variety of ways.

Stephen Hackett is a former bank manager turned website designer – nothing too sensational there. However, Hackett’s internet prowess, coupled with a repressed entrepreneurial spirit, led to the launch of Venus Sales Ltd., trading as Temptations Direct, on online supplier of adult products.

Founded in 2002, Temptations Direct started off as a small family enterprise operating out of a spare bedroom. The company now has an annual turnover of £400,000 and employs four members of staff at its new base in the Imex Centre, Redditch, Worcestershire.

Who framed Roger Rabbit?

Sales of sex toys for women have soared over the past decade, as they have increasingly become more comfortable talking openly about their use. The infamous episode from Sex and the City – referred to as The Turtle and the Hare - wherein Roger the rabbit vibrator received much exposure, challenged Ann Summers and other adult retail outlets to meet the demand for this new urge.

Depending on where you look, figures suggest that anywhere between one in three women up to as many as 90 per cent of women, own at least one sex toy.

Hackett believes that the huge growth in sales that the industry has seen in recent years, has actually been helped by the recession. “People are now making different choices”, says Hackett. “Instead of going out for a meal and a few drinks, they stay in with a bottle of wine, dress up, or whatever takes their fancy and experiment sexually with some of the terrific products that are on the market. It’s a very exciting trend, and demand is massive at the moment.”

However it was through the anonymity of the web, which permits the purchaser to sidestep the embarrassment of a shop purchase, that the market for adult products boomed.

In addition to market-leader Ann Summers, companies such as Temptations Direct, Passion8, and LoveHoney have enjoyed a year-on-year hike in sales for toys that appeal to women, couples and the new growth market – men.

However, while sex toys for women have historically aroused a respectable level of curiosity, products for men have always been considered as, well… rather grubby.

According to Nel Johnson, a sex therapist from Pembroke Dock, there is still a perception that a woman will use a toy to satisfy her needs impersonally and without the need to resort to an extra-marital affair. A man, on the other hand (pardon the pun) is perceived as using a toy because he cannot persuade a woman to have sex with him.

Men are reluctant to talk about sex toys, “Just try asking a bunch of blokes down the pub what’s their favourite masturbator and see what reaction you get”, says Johnson, “The silence will be deafening”.

So I did - but to be fair - not in South Wales where I feared the answer to this question, if indeed there was one, may involve sheep.

Instead, I held an impromptu and informal focus group in my local pub. Most of the men I surveyed denied any knowledge of their existence, although Marcus, an accountant from Macclesfield, admitted to tickling his scrotum with his wife’s vibrator on one occasion, when she was at the bridge club.

The Autoblow Blast - thumbs up from Bob, aged 74.

I was about to conclude that Johnson was right when Bob, from the Bramhall butcher’s shop, cleared his throat and quietly said, “I'm not a young guy at 74, and at my age it's difficult to get women to have sex -believe it or not. I read some Autoblow Blast reviews, and decided to buy one. I've had better blowjobs – that's for sure – but none given to me by a machine!”

Johnson was right about one thing – the silence was deafening.

I decided to find out what sort of devices were on offer to tempt men to put their toe in the water (so to speak) and had a look on the web. Here I found a veritable Pandora’s box of male toys to get him off and products to get him on.

A young Master Bator

From masturbators to sophisticated blowjob machines - such as the one endorsed by Bob; from authentic artificial vaginas such as the SnatchLite or the Seamen’s Penis Pump, to simpler devices such as cock rings, butt plugs, and sensual lubes. I even found The Fun Factory Cobre Libre - a vibrator designed for men, billed as the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day. And in keeping with other trends in the manufacturing economy, it’s no surprise that 70 per cent of these products are manufactured in China.

Still in the dark? - Well here's a Fleshlight - but don't try to
find your way home with it!

According to Hackett, male toys are no longer a taboo subject; they are imaginative, creative, and incredibly sensual. Male toy technology continues to advance rapidly as more money is pumped (literally) into a $15 billion market growing by 30 per cent each year.

Temptations Direct (www.temptationsdirect.co.uk) have published their top ten bestsellers for December 2011 and this year, for the first time, their best selling product was a toy aimed at men: The Animal Handy Vagina – three words that I would not have expected to have seen placed together in that order.

The rabbit vibrator, which over the years has won more pole positions than Michael Schumacher, was relegated to fourth place.

The full top ten is as follows:

The Animal Handy Vagina

1.         The Animal Handy Vagina

2.         ID Sensual Glide Lubricant

3.         Soft Bondage Set

4.         Jessica Rabbit Vibrator

5.         Sparkle Sex Toy Cleaner

6.         Multispeed Bully Boy Vibrator

7.         Screaming O RingO

8.         Super Slik Lub

9.         Bondage Tape

10.       Vibrating Oro Stimulator

"We've known for a long time that men enjoy using sex toys,” says Hackett, “the problem is getting them to admit to it. There still seems to be a shame element associated with a man owning and using such a toy."

Lubricants and toy cleaner were other unexpected top sellers for the Christmas period. Hackett explains, "The popularity of the lubricants doesn't entirely surprise me. We have been bestowing the virtues of a good quality lubricant for some time and it seems that our customers are taking on board our advice. Keeping your toy clean can help the toy to last longer and in these days of financial difficulties customers are looking to ensure their purchase lasts as long as possible. So it makes sense for our customers to buy toy cleaner".

Ah well, you can take the man out of the bank, but you can’t entirely take the bank out of the man.