Who Uses Toys? You’d be surprised.
Thursday, January 29th, 2009One of the ideas I have a hard time understanding, is the idea that sex toys are strictly novelties used by small numbers of people in society. This couldn’t be further from the truth, yet many people cling to it. The fact is, sex toy use is more mainstream than ever, and the market is growing. As far back as ten years ago, The Xandria Collection sponsored a survey to see who used their toys. One conclusion was astonishing, at first glance:
“The most common vibrator user was a white Christian married woman, in her thirties, who votes Republican.” - Source: Toys in the Sheets Survey
Makes sense that the exact opposite of who we might expect to be using vibrators are some of the biggest customers. I had a good chuckle at that sentence, but I thought it might be an exaggeration of the statistics, right up until today. I thought most users were average people like me with no big hang ups about having fun and more or less middle of the road in our tastes. That was before I read about Patty Brisben.
Directly from the full article at the Globe and Mail:
“Patty Brisben is a churchgoing mother of four who has made millions selling sex toys at private in-home gatherings not unlike Tupperware parties. On Super Bowl Sunday, Ms. Brisben will star in Mother Knows Sex, a TLC reality show about Pure Romance, her Cincinnati-based family business that now employs 30,000 consultants across the United States. Ms. Brisben spoke to The Globe and Mail about the school-bus bullies who teased her son about his “dildo lady” mom, her husband’s role and what’s selling.”
And
“TLC mentions you’re a devoted churchgoer. Did you get flak from your fellow parishioners?
People know who I am and know what I do, and no, I don’t get flak. People are very supportive.
How do you reconcile religion with what you’re selling?
The way I look at it is I’m promoting healthier relationships. If you or anybody thinks that by any [stretch] of the imagination, one piece of paper is going to bond you for life, you’re crazy. That’s not going to happen. Even if you stayed together, you want to keep stagnation out of your relationship. Think about it this way: You maintenance your house. Your car’s not going to run unless you rotate the tires. You need to maintain your relationship. I’m not saying because you don’t own a bedroom toy or a particular lubricant that you’re any less of a person. I’m just saying incorporating some of this into your lifestyle is fun. It’s healthy and good to do.”
So that scores one for Xandria’s research. And the numbers of people using all kinds of sex toys are growing. So it’s safe to say that we’ll probably see different demographics over time. I’m always happily surprised to see more open minded people who enjoy their fun and don’t mind talking about sexual health and well being.









