Friday, December 30, 2011

Good Vibrations

In the results of a new national survey of more than 3,000 Americans (both male and female, between ages 18 and 60), most respondents reported feeling positively about women using vibrators. What's more, the study indicated that positive beliefs about vibrators were correlated with higher levels of overall sexual satisfaction and other measures of sexual function.

The survey was the first to examine beliefs about vibrators, said lead researcher Debra Herbenick, an associate director at Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion. The participants were recruited from an existing research panel and invited to take part in a study about sexual enhancement products in 2008. In it, 2,056 women and 1,047 men responded to the survey online.   They were mostly middle age, white and having higher than average levels of education.

In it, participants were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with positive beliefs on these positive items regarding vibrators such as these:

(a) "makes it easier for a woman to have an orgasm"

(b) "is a healthy part of many women's sex lives"

and negative items such as these:

(a) "makes women too dependent on them for pleasure"

(b) "is intimidating to women's partners".

About half of the participants "agreed" or "strongly agreed" with all positive statements about vibrators, while fever than 10 percent of participants endorsed negative beliefs.

Women with positive beliefs who had used vibrators in the past 30 days reported higher levels of arousal, lubrication, orgasm and sexual satisfaction, and lower levels of pain during sex, than those with positive beliefs who hadn't used the sex toys as recently.

The researchers are not entirely sure how vibrator use improves sexual function, Herbenick said. Women who feel better about their bodies and sex in general may be more likely to use vibrators, or there could be something specific about vibrator use itself that contributes to better sex.

In general, using a vibrator seems to be not only a "feel good" activity, but may be a positive enhancement to a healthy woman's normal sex life.

[But maybe not this.  In my opinion, using a Hello Kitty vibrator is just wrong.]


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think it's gross to get yourself off by means of a vibrator.

Elvis Wearing a Bra on His Head said...

I'm all for good old-fashioned sex, in whatever position the woman enjoys -- but if she wants to get additional pleasure from sex toys, I'm al for it, too. I just figure that the more comfortable she is with her own body, the more she is going to enjoy sex in all forms. In other words, I see this as a totally good thing.

Well, maybe Hello Kitty vibrators is excessive.

Bilbo said...

Perhaps the Beach Boys were on to something when they sang about "Good Vibrations"...

Atomic Dog said...

I wonder why the use of vibrators might have helped the abstinence technique of dealing with premarital sex. Buzz it away?

Françoise said...

I understand that using a vibrator or other device is naughty.