The World in the Plastic Bubble
I’ve been ranting for years about the safety police when it comes to BDSM. I’ve long been a proponent of being aware of the risk and making your own decisions; of not sticking your nose in and telling other people what they “must” do in order to be safe.
I’m really starting to get aggravated by the safety police attitude in the rest of the world, too.
Commercials constantly telling me I should use such and such cleaner on all my surfaces and all my kid’s toys. Telling me I need to keep my house disinfected and germ free.
I ate dirt when I was a kid. My little brother ate fishing worms once. Worms. Plural. A whole CAN of them. I used to share gum, lollipops and lipgloss with my bff.
I suck dick. I lick ass.
I’ve pissed in truckstop restrooms.
And I’m going to freak out cuz my bathroom sink wasn’t bleached before I brushed my teeth? Or because I have to use an unwrapped straw? I need to surround myself with antibacterial soap and handwash and toilet wipes and bottled water and any other “safe” product/habit/practice I can get my hands on? My freshly sanitized hands, of course.
No wonder people are sick all the time. They have absolutely no resistance to germs and bacteria outside of their plastic bubbles! A ride on the bus? Oops. They get a cold. A night at the theatre? Oh no. Someone sneezed and now they’re sick. Going on a plane? Better wear your personal ionizer!
I’m noticing a safety trend in the sex toy industry, too.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I think safer, better quality toys made out of safer, better quality materials is a good thing. But I do NOT think we need to run around telling folks they “must” use a condom with their jelly toys or that they really “should” choose a gag made out of something besides rubber or…
Whatever.
It’s as bad as the BDSM world, lately. Only instead of “OMG, be careful where you hit with that feather flogger! You could rupture her SPLEEN with it!” it’s “Omg, don’t use that toy in your ass! It’s not impenetrable, scientifically formulated to resist any germ on earth, space aged sili-glass-metal!”
Seriously, people. I said it somewhere else today. Sure, jelly isn’t the greatest material ever. Sure, it can hold bacteria. It’s more porous than glass or silicone. It’s also nice and jelly-ish. It’s nifty looking and cheap. And it’s about as likely to give you an infection as is that sponge or poof you keep in your shower. Or your toothbrush. Neither of which you put in the dishwasher or boil or bleach between uses.
Is it best to use a condom with any porous toy? Sure. Is it necessary? Fuck no. People have been using porous sex toys for millenia with fairly rare occurrence of infection when compared to the vast amount of use of sex toys.
Is choosing a better quality material the best way to go? Sure. If you WANT a glass, silicone or metal toy. But if you LIKE jelly? Or rubber? Or cyberskin?
Fuck it. Literally. Buy it, fuck it, enjoy it. Don’t let the material snobs and safety police ruin it for you. Be aware of the risk, make your choices and enjoy. Your head will not fall off if you use a rubber dildo without a condom.
I mean…. skin is porous. I know I’ve fucked two, three, seven times in one day without bleaching Taylor’s dick. *blinkblink*
I’m popping the plastic bubble, man. Popping it.
I always recommend condoms over inferior materials like jelly, rubber, latex, etc. Mostly because of phthalatees- lab studies have proven that they cause cancer.
Also, condoms prolong the life of the toy- introducing bacteria to an porous material will cause the toy to breakdown at a faster rate- telling someone this will help them keep their favorite toys longer if they do decide to use condoms. Materials like jelly can also cause vaginal infections to occur- especially if the toy has been used in both the ass and the vag.
About 6 years ago I had to go to my doctor repeatedly because of bacterial vaginosis- she’d treat it and then have to treat it over and over again. I had no idea what the fuck was going on but then she asked me if I used sex toys. Yup, 2 sex toys- one jelly vibe and one rubber dildo that were well over a year old. She told me to toss them out because that’s what she believed was the root cause of my repeated infections- I did and guess what? No more bacterial vaginosis.
I always recommend condoms, being a good sex reviewer it’s your job to inform people about the risks involved with using unsafe materials- especially when those people are first time buyers that don’t even realize that there are sex toys out there that are full of chemicals and can cause bacterial infections. Some first time buyers may also think it’s okay to share toys of porous materials with various partners without condoms and use them between various orifices. When you have information, it’s up to you to share it, especially if it’s going to change the way some people use their toys which can ultimately prevent them from any health risks. Telling people these things isn’t policing them or their sex toy usage- it’s being an invaluable resource and a great reviewer.
Recommend? Yes. Suggest? Yes. Inform of risk? Yes.
Words like “must” bother me.
Which is why I said:
“Now, don’t get me wrong. I think safer, better quality toys made out of safer, better quality materials is a good thing. But I do NOT think we need to run around telling folks they “must” use a condom with their jelly toys or that they really “should” choose a gag made out of something besides rubber or…”
and
“Is it best to use a condom with any porous toy? Sure. Is it necessary? Fuck no”
And
“Is choosing a better quality material the best way to go? Sure. ”
And
“Be aware of the risk, make your choices and enjoy. ”
:)
Information and risk awareness don’t need to come across as commandments from Heaven written in pyrex.
I fucking agree. Irritates the shit out of me.
Wash your hands. Cover your nose when you sneeze. Chew with your mouth closed.
And then get the fuck over it.
Omg, you had me rolling, I bet Taylor is happy you didn’t bleach his dick! lmao
Just a very important, quick note: even if one or two things around us isn’t super-sanitary, there are reasons why we Americans don’t face a lot of bad consequences. The rest of our world is so clean! I mean, our country has the money to purify its water, keep its trash in very specific places, hire janitors to carefully clean the bathrooms…but many other countries don’t have that luxury. It really is the cleanliness of this country–and the wealth that allows that cleanliness–that keeps us relatively healthy, not super-powered immune systems. So no, we don’t have to freak out and act like everything we have will kill us, but…we don’t NEED to. Our country’s wealth tends to take care of that for us.
Also, I don’t know if there are any real statistics about jelly toys causing infections, so I can’t pass a major judgement either way. I do know that letting bacteria grow in your toys CAN lead to infections, and while most people don’t take good enough care of their cheapo toys for them to last long enough to grow stuff (or, you know, the things are just cheap), I still say better safe than sorry.
Should you ever decide to try and bleach Taylor’s dick, PLEASE put the whole scene, start to finish, on your clips site? Please? That would be some seriously hot beat down action!
lmao
Thing is… it would end up in my HAIR. And we all know how I am about that shit.
Hehehe…bleaching his dick, what an image. I bet someone, somewhere has tried it though.
Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly with the rant. This society is SO insanely germophobic, and we’re only causing problems for ourselves. All of this is why antibiotics are going to stop working when we need them the most.