QUESTION: Why have sex toy sales increased to much this year? What does this mean for sex positivity? Will this surge change how we view sex toys?

Why people are sex toy crazy this year.

This has been year of sexual limitation, but also sexual exploration. Buying sex toys is a fantastic way to explore sexuality (partnered or solo), without taking risks to your health. We're living in unprecedented times and it seems to have given people permission to explore their sexualities in ways they may not have felt were possible before. People do all kinds of experimental things when they're missing human contact. Honestly, orgasms are one of the few luxuries we're allowed to have during a pandemic - why not buy a vibrator, a rotation toy (like Zumio), and a butt plug? Life is too short to not have an orgasm.

What will happen to sex toy sales once we’ve gone back to “normal?”

I can't predict the future, but my guess would be that the sales will return to a certain baseline once we're allowed to be with other humans again. The uptick in sex toy sales does seem to be directly related to the lockdown. On the other hand, sex toys are kind of a gateway drug to orgasms so once you have one, you've opened a door to newfound exploration. I'm hoping we'll see a lot of more sustained openness about pleasure products from here on forward. Fingers crossed.

There will likely be a return to normal sales - but I'd guess sales will remain higher than in previous years. People are finally open to experimenting with sex toys on a more cultural level - we live in a sex-negative purity-culture ridden world, but when everyone has been existing on the internet for over a year, more liberal ideology has the opportunity to slip through the cracks. We may be seeing a shift towards sex positivity - at least, that is my hope.

Because so many people are buying sex toys for the first time, do you think post-pandemic, it can help women (and vulva owners) bring them into their partnered sex experiences.

Once we know what brings us to orgasm and have sex toys on the table, it makes bringing a partner into the mix a bit easier. Sex toys are not a replacement for partners, they're an add on.

A lot of people have spent the last 12 months with their Zumios and Magic Wands. I can't see them giving them up just because there's a new boo in the mix. Sex toys make sex better. I'd certainly hope we can all have more open and honest conversations with partners with so many of us being sex-toy newbies these days. 

How the increase in sex toy sales can empower women.

Owning a sex toy is a pathway to empowerment. Knowing how your body works, appreciating all the pleasure it's capable of - that is the root of empowerment and confidence. Hindering female pleasure and prioritizing cis-male pleasure has been a tool used by the patriarchy to hold women down since the plough was invented. When a woman has a sex toy and knows she can have multiple orgasms, all on her own: That woman is free.

Why people should have sex toys and how they improve intimacy.

Sex toys are tools for understanding pleasure in so many different ways. And there are so many incredible options. You can experiment with all kinds of different toys and find out things about your body that wouldn't have been possible with a priority placed on sexual intercourse - which is NOT the way the vast majority of people with vulvas have an orgasm. Sex toys can help you gain understanding of yourself, which in turn helps you communicate that understanding to a partner. Being able to be fully sexually open and honest is a key component in healthy relationships. 

Will public opinion will change, and the subject of sex toys will become less taboo once this pandemic is over? 

My optimistic guess is to this questions is: Yes. I think sex toys have started to weave themselves into the cultural zeitgeist with the whisper of a luxury vibrator on its lowest setting.

As more people start to own sex toys, more media representations take place, and more open conversations happen - it starts to become normalized. And the more normalized a thing is, the more accepted it becomes. We can stop feeling so weird about sex toys now because a lot of people have them and more and more people are getting them every single day.

XOXO GIGI

This article originally appeared as an interview with InStyle.