This week’s New Week: New Toy is all about the G-spot in honor of Babeland’s G-spot workshop last night at our New York Store which completely rocked. I’ve taught this workshop many times and it’s one of my favorites because there are so many myths about the g-spot and it’s great to be able to clear some of them up. It’s also great to be able to give people concrete tips that really do help (go pee first, sit up a bit, relax!, etc).

One of my favorite G-spot tips is to buy a really great G-spot toy. Our hands aren’t machines, they can’t go on forever and G-spots frequently need a lot of stimulation for a long amount of time. Fortunately, toys are machines and they will last much longer and can even provide different kinds of pressure and sensation than fingers. That’s why I’m really loving the new G-twist G-spotting toy we just got in.

The G-twist has the necessary curve (aim towards the front) and is made out of silicone which provides a firm yet giving pressure. The vibration has a great rumble that gets right to the deepest parts. The added extra of this toy is that it has great ridges along the side to provide extra friction and sensation.

Did I mention that it’s water-resistant? All around a great choice if you’re in the market for a good g-spotting toy.

In a recent post from the Chicago Tribune Blog, Shopping Guide Ellen Warren discovers the joys of boutique hotel gift shops. I don’t do my shopping in hotels so normally I wouldn’t care but then I saw this little item:

“Store manager Allison Worrell and I agree that it’s kind of sexist to call the packet of female overnight necessities the “Shame on You Kit” ($28) while the guy’s version of similar items is labeled “Clean Getaway Kit” ($30). Each contains undies, condoms, toothbrush and such and — this is a nice touch — a little blank “leave behind note” to fill in with some sweet nothings.” (emphasis added)

Kind of sexist? How about completely, amazingly, disgustingly sexist. The names of these kits play into long held stereotypes that women who want sex are dirty sluts while men who want sex are suave lady’s men. Additionally, it appears that the hotel is assuming everyone buying the kit is having an affair. Either way, women are put down and men are praised.

My guess is that the hotel would pass these names off as a cheeky joke. That’s hard for me to accept when I talk to women every day at Babeland who carry around amazing amounts of shame about their bodies and about wanting sex and pleasure. Women are rarely allowed to create their own sense of their sexuality but instead are dubbed sexy, frigid, slutty, or girl-next-door by anyone interested in sleeping with them. I vividly remember feeling shame and guilt after my first one night stand – even though I enjoyed myself immensely. The moment it was over, I had two competing voices in my head: one telling me I had done something horrible and the person I slept with thought I was “easy” and the other reminding me that I’d had a great time and that’s all that mattered. I know I’m not the only one and I’m lucky because I had that second voice there to remind me of the most important thing.

Babeland has fun kits in hotels in New York and Seattle but I can guarantee you they’re not going to make women feel horrible for wanting sex.

From here on in, I’m going to try to bring you some lovely sex info every Thursday. It’s almost the end of the week and we’re tried and ready for Friday but still hungry for knowledge. Am I right?

Ever since Greenpeace put out their press release decrying sex toys with phthalates, those rubber softening chemicals have been all anyone talks about. While I’ll be the first one to tell you why Jelly Rubber can be bad (porous, toys break down, unclear chemical make-up, sometimes skin irritant) I’ve been frustrated by the lack of constructive information provided in these consumer-scare articles. My fear is that in order to avoid chemicals they don’t know much about, people will avoid buying sex toys all together – and no one wants that.

So, here is my constructive solution to the problem of Jelly Rubber – Silicone sex toys! Silicone has been around for awhile but it’s only in the past few years that it has really come into it’s own against the mainstream, unregulated toy companies. Silicone is a magical, durable material that is popping up everywhere from kitchen utensils (spatulas! muffin trays!) to dildos. Because it is an easily mold-able material, silicone can take many shapes which is great, both for cooking and for fucking.

This material endures the high temperatures of ovens and boiling water making it easy to get completely clean (just pop into a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes and hope that your kids don’t walk in!). If you don’t have time to wait around in the kitchen, silicone is non-porous (the opposite of a sponge) so a good wash with soap and water will get things very clean.

Another one of silicone’s magical properties is vibration transmission. I love showing this trick to customers at Babeland because they’re always amazed. Take a big silicone toy. Hold a vibrator up to the base of the toy. Touch the tip of the toy. Imagine the possibilities. Silicone transmits vibration really well. This makes it easy to play around with vibration without needing a special toy. One vibe plus one silicone toy equals way more than two.

Lastly, silicone can be poured into many different kinds of molds so you can get the Woody, the Ripple, the Cone or the Rock Chick and you’re still getting silicone.

Thank you to Violet Blue for her adorable photograph of Vixen’s Dildo Factory. Watch Violet Blue’s video of her tour.