Vibrator Nation by Lynn Comella

I wonder if there are two types of seniors: those who love their sex-toy shops, and those who haven't discovered yet how wonderful these stores are.

If you're in the second camp because you imagine (or remember from your youth) a dark, seedy, sticky-floored space with leering salespeople, customers wrapped in raincoats, and gaping orifices on the shelves, you're in for a delightful surprise.

In Vibrator Nation: How Feminist Sex-Toy Stores Changed the Business of Pleasure, Lynn Comella, Ph.D. has accomplished a rarity: a peppy, sex-positive history book chronicling the emergence and evolution of feminist sex-toy shops. Written by a researcher, it's far from dry -- well lubricated, rather, by lively interviews with sex-toy shop owners and workers. We learn how the business of pleasure toys evolved to include sex education, inclusivity, and a feminist mission, not just sales.

This is a book about feminist invention, intervention, and contradiction, a world where sex-positive retailers double as social activists, commodities are framed as tools of liberation, and consumers are willing to pay for the promise of better living through orgasms.

Eavesdrop on the conversations and struggles about what a feminist sex-toy store should stand for, what the politics should be, whether or not to sell porn, and if so, how to choose it, how to be education-based and still sell products.

Smitten Kitten, Minneapolis

Learn Jennifer Pritchett's "sweaty sex toy" story. In 2003, the owner of Minneapolis's first feminist sex shop, Smitten Kitten, opened a shipment of toys that degraded and leached greasy, noxious chemicals. This led Pritchett to spearhead the anti-toxic-sex-toy movement. "That's when Smitten Kitten's mission changed from being just another sex-positive, educationally focused feminist sex shop to becoming a business committed to environmental justice and personal health"

Lynn Comella is an associate professor of gender and sexuality studies, a researcher and expert on the adult entertainment industry, a writer on sex and culture. She immersed herself in sex-toy retail culture while researching Vibrator Nation, including selling sex toys at Babeland to get the inside experience. I've had the pleasure of hearing her speak several times, and she's smart and sassy, a delight. This attitude and liveliness is as strong in her writing as in her public speaking.

You'll not only learn about sex-toy stores, you'll also get some cool sex-education quotes. For example:

"A sex-positive person appreciates that human sexuality is endlessly diverse -- there is no right way to have sex and no singular definition of normal." - Lynn Comella

"In those days, when we were discussing vaginal and clitoral orgasms, we used to say that the only people who reliably have vaginal orgasms are men." - Joani Blank, founder of Good Vibrations.

"When women talk about sex, it changes the culture." - Carol Queen 

"Doing what 'comes naturally' for us is to be sexually inhibited. Sex is like any other skill -- it has to be learned and practiced. When a woman masturbates, she learns to like her own genitals, to enjoy sex and orgasm, and furthermore, to become proficient and independent about it." - Betty Dodson

 "The worst sexual problem we have -- our worst sexual dysfunction... [is] our inability to talk about sex." - Joani Blank

I love today's feminist sex-toy shops. They curate their products carefully for our health and pleasure. They provide sex education to their customers. They believe that sexual pleasure is everyone's right, whatever the age, gender, sexual identity, orientation, kink, needs, desires, abilities, relationship structure, and whatever else should be in this list.

Some of these stores hire me to speak, proving that they agree with my assertion that sex has no expiration date. They advertise on this blog, voting with their wallets to support my educational mission. Please support them in return! You'll find them in the right-hand column of this blog, and yes, you can purchase from them online.

Fun Factory Sex Toys!

Lucky me! I own a toy box of new vibrators from Fun Factory. As the name implies and the photo illustrates, each colorful Fun Factory vibrator has something playful about it.

The shape may be a dolphin, a cuttlefish, a caterpillar, a race car. You can't help laughing as you try to describe it, and I'm sure that's intentional. Sex is fun. Solo sex is fun. Sex with vibrators is fun.

These Fun Factory toys have much in common, so I'm doing a round-up instead of reviewing the toys individually and repeating myself. All are well-made of body-safe, medical-grade silicone and they're waterproof for shower, tub, and pool use. Most charge via a USB magnetic charger, simple as can be, and they hold a charge for a long time. Yes, I have my favorites with unique qualities, and I'll tell you what makes them special.


My top favorite is the Volta. It's delightfully versatile. The curved shape and vibrating tips (I think of them as "flippers") can give pleasure in several ways. For example:

• Nuzzle a clitoris by surrounding the glans (protruding tip of the clitoris) with the flippers.
• Rest the curve of the Volta over the vulva for all-over stimulation.
• Separate the flippers to vibrate the clitoris and the vaginal entrance simultaneously. 
• Cuddle or circle around the head of a penis.
• Stroke the shaft of a penis with the flippers during fellatio. 

The Volta is not only versatile, it's wonderfully strong! Take your choice of 6 intensity levels, oh my, and 6 rhythm patterns. It's rumbly rather than buzzy, which I appreciate.

My second favorite is Patchy Paul (explain that name to me, please), caterpillar shaped including two eyes.* The shape makes it perfect for G-spot penetration, or clitoral pinpointing, or curving over the vulva.

I find most Fun Factory penetrative toys too girthy for pleasure, but Patchy Paul starts narrow  -- 1.1 inch diameter at the tip -- and gradually increases in girth, bloop by bloop, to 1.7 inches in diameter. Unless you like really deep penetration, that widest bloop won't matter. It's also fairly flexible, making it even more comfortable. Like the Volta, you get 6 intensities and 6 rhythm patterns.

Patchy Paul's fake eyes

* A fun fact for you: Many caterpillars have fake eye spots so that predators think they're snakes. Patchy Paul has fake eye spots to make us laugh.

caterpillar with fake eyes

Both Volta and Patchy Paul have ergonomic loop handles -- no wrist twisting required, and no problem with lubed fingers. Besides solo use, the long shape and tapered ends make them work between bodies to add clitoral stimulation during partnered penetrative sex.

You can't choose between them? If you like simultaneous clitoral stimulation and vaginal penetration and you can budget for both, double your pleasure by using Volta on the clitoris and Patchy Paul vaginally. Wowza. Of course you can do that with any two sex toys that fit your needs -- I'm not saying you have to buy two new products for this experience. But Volta and Patchy Paul work especially well as a team, thanks to the shapes -- they don't get in the way of each other.



If you prefer a smaller vibrator and you don't need the turbo power I prefer, the adorable Cayona or Diva Dolphin might be just right for you.

The shape of Cayona is designed for both penetration and clitoral stimulation via the bump, but the dimensions weren't right for me (we're all different), plus the penetrative part felt too thick, and the vibrations were buzzier than my personal preference. Sure love the color, though!

Size comparison
Cayona & Patchy Paul 

The Diva Dolphin was more comfortable for insertion, tapering gradually. It can take batteries (no charging necessary), or if you prefer rechargeable, upgrade with Fun Factory's hybrid kit. It has 4 speeds and 6 patterns. A good product, but I was spoiled by the Volta.



Cobra Libre II is a popular penis vibrator. It's designed to envelop and vibrate the head of the penis, the most sensitive area for most penis owners. Experiment with how you like to hold it and use it. MacDuff, my penis-owning reviewer, tells me:

I used lube on just my penis at first and although it felt good, it didn't get me to orgasm. The next time, I added a generous amount of lube inside the Cobra Libre, and woo! That made it possible to slightly thrust in and out, all the while being stimulated by vibrations. I discovered that for me, the toy works best held in what seems like an upside down position, as that better follows the upward curve of my erection. Whee! Full orgasm. Knocked me out.

Anything to criticize about Fun Factory sex toys? Only that they come without pouches. Sturdy boxes, yes, but who has room to store boxes? Dear Fun Factory, couldn't you include one of your sweet  Tyvek zipped toybags?

I love the Karim Rashid Toybag, which makes a great gift, by the way. This toybag is so cute and durable that I use it to carry favorite vibrators, lube, and condoms when I travel.


Always use water-based lubricant with Fun Factory products. They can be damaged by oils and creams, so be careful with other substances on your body such as sunscreen, Fun Factory warns.

⇒ SPECIAL 10% DISCOUNT ⇐

My readers get 10% off all Fun Factory products with the code JOANPRICE. Go to Fun Factory using this link or any of the links in this post. Explore. Choose. Use the coupon code JOANPRICE at the bottom of your shopping cart, before clicking checkout. Fun Factory is so eager to introduce you to the pleasures of their products that you can continue to use this discount code on all future orders until 4/14/2020. (Please note that this coupon cannot be combined with other offers.)

Thank you, Fun Factory, for sending me these joyous sex toys in return for an honest review. Take a look at all their products -- you'll smile at the shapes and colors, and I'm sure you'll find one that's just right for you. And don't forget to use your discount code.

See my past reviews of other Fun Factory favorites:

• Stronic G Pulsator II
• Amorino: a twisted sex toy

Volta and Patchy Paul repose
after fun in the shower

I Asked, You Answered, Part 1

In a recent newsletter, I asked my subscribers these seven questions:

1. If you're in a long-term relationship, what tips or wisdom can you share that help you keep a relationship sexy and spicy after decades together?

2. If you're in a relationship that's less than satisfying, what do you wish you could tell or ask your partner to bring the sexiness back?

3. If you're single or non-monogamous and dating, what is your safer sex policy? How do you discuss this with a new partner?

4. In what ways have you changed your ideas about the kind of relationship you'd like to have now? For example, would you be happy in a non-monogamous relationship? Friends with benefits? Marriage only? Living together without marriage? Sexually exclusive but not living together? Intimacy without sex?

5. What's the worst thing a date or mate ever said to you? I ask this after a friend told me that a recent sex date said to him, "You're the kind of person I want to go to bed with -- but not the kind of person I want to wake up with."

6. What would you like to learn about sex and aging this year?

7. What else should I have asked?

I got such a huge response to Question #1 that I'm devoting the rest of this post to excerpts from your answers. A later post will address the other 6 questions. (You're welcome to add your answers to questions 2-7 in the comments or by emailing me here.)


* My wife and I married in 1968. I believe that sexual satisfaction comes from sexual growth through constant trial and error experimentation. This leads to a constantly evolving sex life. We must be willing to try new things as long as no one is being hurt. Some will be good experiences and some bad. Keep the good and discard the bad. If we're afraid of making a mistake and have a high aversion to risk, we automatically limit our chances of succeeding or improving.

* At 55, we've been married almost 33 years. Both partners need to actively choose to keep their relationship spicy and active. Both have to be honest and frank about their desires. Don’t be freaked out if you disagree on what you’d like to do. Just treat it like every other issue you’ve disagreed on through the years: listen, suggest, compromise, and give it time.

* I am 70 and my wife is 66, married for over 50 years. Somewhere we lost the spark. I had been taking meds that affected my erection or lack of. Intercourse was impossible. Then I got a penis pump that Medicare paid for. The thing looked unromantic and embarrassing to use, but with the help of "Sucker Sam," I got an erection that I could maintain and have intercourse. Now my wife really wants sex with me! She wears sexy outfits, we turn on mood lighting and music, smoke some medical herb, and break out the massage cream. We are having the best sex of our lives. I think the real key to all this is the extreme intimacy we both experience. As we put it, "Our souls touch."

* Schedule sexual intimacy, and persistently but gently keep to the schedule, because at our age our hormones are no longer adequate to propel us spontaneously towards sexual activity.

* We're 74, and for the last 15-20 years we have not felt the need to spice things up to maintain our sexual interest. Sex for us is about celebrating our being together, being alive with each other, and our deep caring and love for each other. We have a ritual that involves perhaps 20 minutes of foreplay leading to a few minutes up to 10 or so of intercourse, with strong orgasms for both of us. At the end it's less about physical pleasure  and more the elation of saying we are still here, we can still express our love physically, and isn't that incredible?

* We are in our early 70s, married for over 50 years. Despite our many physical limitations, we have found ways to have an active and fulfilling sex life by using advice we have read in our sex library: sex toys, positioning pillows, timing taking of meds, and planning early morning encounters before meals interfere and energy sags. Two years ago we decided to focus on improving our sex lives from mediocre to more active, frequent and satisfying. We found a saying, "A better sex life does take some work. Couples who put effort into their sex lives have stronger relationships." We assembled a library of sex related books (we have all of yours!) and spent much time studying and discussing them. There is so much information available today that was not just a few years ago.

* We began using sex toys (I like that you call them "tools" which is really what they are) and Liberator positioning pillows. We decorated our bedroom to provide a better romantic atmosphere. We found that the more you have sex, the more you want it and your body will adjust to enable it. We learned from our reading  that when physical problems develop (sexual or otherwise), there are methods to help overcome and improve the deficiencies and this gives us confidence, which helps to keep the sexual union relaxed and enjoyable. Also exercise and diet and general good health habits are important. We are having the best time and only regret that we did not make sex more of a priority before.

* At 60, I have found that the best thing is to continue to put the other partner first. In every matter, not just the sensual. I know that if I put my woman's needs, wants, and desires before my own, that I will be well rewarded by a partner who feels the same way.

* I am a T2 diabetic, and neuropathy is robbing me of my sensitivity "down there." We talked about the Pulse you reviewed -- this opened the lines of communication. Push the limits of your sex life outside the box. Keep pushing your comfort zone. Don't let 'age' stop you from experimenting and exploring. You'll be surprised at what you can do, and feel, even at our age.

* Ask your partner if they would like to try new things, like toys or role playing. For instance, I asked my wife if she would like to spank me. This thought had never occurred to her. She considered spanking as a punishment, not as playful foreplay. We discussed how hard to strike (sensual spanking should sting a little, not leave welts), what areas of the body to spank (only the buttocks and upper thighs), and how long before the safe word came out (I always quit right after the orgasm). After a couple of trial and error sessions, she found that she enjoys playfully spanking me, as I enjoy spanking her. There is no punishment meant on either side; this is meant for playful pleasure.

* As my husband and I worked to overcome a crisis in our marriage, one thing that truly helped me ease off all the pressure I was putting on him was your writings, Joan, on Facebook and your newsletter. To read an expert telling me that masturbation was REAL sex; oral sex was REAL sex; sex with sex toys to enable us to orgasm was REAL sex? Holy shit. I realized I was having quite a bit of REAL sex, and I didn’t recognize it. I thought that because I couldn’t orgasm with intercourse anymore (it was never easy), or because sometimes I had to finish myself off alone, after 20 minutes of my husband doing everything in his power to make me come, that our sex life was deficient and substandard. How sad is that?! Two people who love the hell out of each other, are utterly compatible and fit together like puzzle pieces, thinking that they’re defective because their sex life didn’t fit the old notion of what “sex” was. I thought we were all wrong. You said we were right. In doing so, you freed me from feeling inadequate, broken, defective and damaged. My mental state, my physical state, and above all, my husband and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.


Do you want to join in the discussion? I welcome your comments!

Iroha Zen and Tori: Cushy, Cute Vibrators

Iroha makes adorable, squishy sex toys for people who want sex toys that don't look like sex toys. I was delighted to receive the Iroha+ Tori from the wonderful folks at Good Vibrations, along with the Iroha Zen, a pleated, mild vibrator that comes in 3 colors. Both are silicone and look more like art objects than vibrators.

Iroha+ Tori 

The Iroha+ Tori is a sweet, cushy, pretty vibrator. With its curved, birdlike shape, it doesn't scream "vibrator!" to a visitor who might see it drying on your sink counter or nesting on the side of your bathtub. Yes, bathtub -- it's waterproof.


I wanted to love this because it's so pretty and I love to squeeze soft, squishy objects. The vibrations, though, are only mild to moderately strong, despite 5 intensity levels and two pulse modes. For me, it's a nice warm-up, but it doesn't pack the punch I need to get more than pleasantly aroused.

However, I've read several other reviewers (younger than I am) who find it perfect for a leisurely ride to an orgasm. So if you prefer vibrations that are less earth-shaking than the turbo power my 74-year-old body requires, it might be just right for you. Or -- and I recommend this often -- use it for sweet arousal for as long as you like. Then finish with a more powerful vibrator, or a partner, or a partner and a vibrator.

Besides being pretty, the Tori's shape is ergonomic and easy to hold. However, the vibrations transmit through the vibrator and into your hand as you hold it, which may aggravate an arthritic wrist.

A  problem led to frustration: although the control buttons are easy to use with dry fingers, I couldn't seem to make the controls advance with lube-slick fingers. So if I started with level 2, I was stuck there unless I stopped the action, wiped my hands and the control buttons, and tried again. Buzz kill. The best solution I found was to turn it up all the way to intensity 5 before starting. (Don't worry, the power won't startle you the way an all-the-way-up Magic Wand would startle you -- the vibrations are never blast-off strong.)

Although Iroha advertises the Iroha+ vibrators  as "redefining pleasure for women," a testing assistant reported enjoying the curved shape vibrating over penis and testicles. If you have a partner with a penis, don't be selfish -- let the vibrating bird flutter over your partner's erogenous zones, as well as your own.

Besides Tori that looks like a bird, the new Iroha+ line offers Yoru that looks like a whale and Kushi that looks like a seashell or hedgehog. All of these are rechargeable using an attractive, clear plastic charging case, which doubles as a storage case.

Although this official video is absurdly delicate, you can see the  models and features here:

I reviewed earlier Iroha models: Iroha: Cutest Vibrators Ever and Iroha Mikazuki and Minamo: soft, slender, gentle vibrators, all from Good Vibrations. The new Iroha+ products, such as the Tori reviewed here, are stronger than the originals and completely waterproof.

Iroha Zen

The Iroha Zen is a cute, swirly-ridged vibrator modeled after the bamboo tea whisk used in Japanese tea ceremonies. It's not rechargeable -- it uses two AAA batteries. Despite this, it's waterproof! I'm not sure how to interpret this warning on the FAQ page, though: "Use in water can expose your body to the water you are using it in. Please ensure that you are using the item in a hygienic environment." Isn't that true anytime you're in water, whether or not you're using a vibrator?

At first I was baffled when I tried to figure out the battery placement with no "+" or "-" label to guide me. The instructions in the box were in Japanese. I foolishly didn't peruse the website for help until after I tried to insert the batteries by squinting at the minuscule diagram, and it took me three tries. Not my proudest moment. You don't have to go through that. Fortunately, the Iroha website has the manual in English as well as FAQ in English. 

Using the Zen is as simple as pressing the button at the end. Unfortunately, the placement and ease of pressing led frequently to pressing the button accidentally and turning it off. I tried to train myself not to touch the end-cap button, but that made it awkward to hold. It can be used externally or for shallow vaginal insertion. (There's no flared base, so don't use it anally.)

Although the Zen claims to have these four modes -- low/ medium/ high/ pulse -- the "high" is no stronger than medium, and a gentle medium at that. I like the pillowy feel, but I'd love to have more power, much more power. If you prefer gentle, give it a try. It comes in three lovely colors: green, yellow, and coral.

Iroha is a line of sex toys from Tenga, best known for its penis toys: see our reviews of the Tenga Egg and the Tenga Flip Hole and 3-D Sculpted Ecstasy.

Thank you, Good Vibrations, for sending me Tori and Zen in return for an honest review. Check out the special deals from Good Vibrations here.