Homemade Sex Toys Around the World and Do They Work?
The sex toy market is growing fast from year to year. With more variety in toys than ever before, and the rise of the internet allowing for easy purchases, buying your sex toy of choice has never been easier. The TENGA Global Self Pleasure Report in 2020 even reflected this, showing that 50% of Americans have owned and used a sex toy.
Yet whether it’s through prices being too expensive an investment for some, their availability being limited (for certain countries), or just simple ingenuity in the heat of the moment, homemade sex toys are more common than you’d think.
In this post, we’ll take brief a look at the history of homemade sex toys, some strange global variations, and most importantly, whether these inventions are safe to use and actually work.
Contents
Historical Homemade Sex Toys
Did you know that the oldest sex toy to be discovered so far is estimated to be between 28,000-30,000 years old and is about eight inches in length? This would interestingly make dildos older than civilization, the concept of religion, and even traditional matrimony combined! In fact, people have been crafting dildos from various different kinds of resources for a very long time. Starting with the easiest available at hand, such as stones and bones, before moving on to more ‘modern’ materials such as marble, metal, and even bread! It wasn’t until much later that our modern-day use of plastic, silicone and rubber became commonplace.
Other sex toys such as sex dolls may be older than you’d think, too. Appearing around the 17th-century, sailors began experimenting with sex dolls (referred to as dames de voyage) to keep them company on those long, cold nights at sea. Perhaps less surprisingly, it was with the era of industrialization the Victorian era brought around, that people created the first crude vibrators to enhance their sexual pleasure.
It wouldn’t be until the sexual revolution of the '60s and '70s, that sex-positive experts, enthusiasts began to sell adult toys for the more explicit reason of improving sexual wellness and pleasure. For a more comprehensive look at the history of sex toys, you can always check out our blog here.
Homemade Sex Toys Globally
There are some pretty strange homemade sex toys originating from different countries historically. Here’s a quick look at what certain countries have contributed to the strangest homemade sex toys.
China: China has a long history of homemade sex toys, from toys that have stood the test of time such as objects similar to modern-day kegel balls to slightly more unconventional ones. Goats eyelids, for example, made from what the name implies, utilised the lashes of the lid to make a stimulating cock ring. It can also still be bought today, although we wouldn’t advise it for both hygiene and moral reasons…!
Ancient Greece: We return to the bread dildos with this entry, as one of their recorded sexual practices was the usage of olisbokollix, or bread dildos to pleasure themselves. While possible in the modern-day, with so many better (more hygienic) products available, we’d also caution against this one.
- England: While not strictly a sex toy itself, this specially constructed chair was used by King Edward VII of England. Built as a love seat to help take the prince's weight while giving or receiving sex acts, usually with multiple women at the same time.
Are Homemade Sex Toys Safe and Do They Work?
There are multiple modern-day homemade sex toy alternatives suggested online as well, but the question is, are they safe and do they provide pleasure?
There are plenty of examples of everyday homemade sex toys, from repurposing everyday items for simple insertion or vibration purposes, to more DIY intensive examples such as making your own masturbator or sleeve from towels or toilet rolls. These articles ususally do explain to use a condom for insertable items or to be cautious of not breaking or misplacing an item in your body, but there are still quite a few risks involved in using these and is not really recommended. When it comes to using a sex toy or even lubricant, you should always use professionally made versions over homemade, or even just use your hands.
Unclean homemade toys or sex toys may contain toxic chemicals that can produce various reactions such as burning, rashes, painful skin breakouts, carcinogen exposure, allergic reactions, bacteria infections and much more. If you’d like to learn more about these dangerous materials, you can read our blog here. Exercising caution and doing research is important, but when your sexual and physical health could be potentially put at risk, it is always safer to use a toy that is made by a reputable, trusted manufacturer
Summary
Homemade sex toys have been around far longer than most people would imagine, improving throughout the centuries as people used different materials and found new ways to innovate with technological advancements to also advance sexual pleasure. In the modern era, however, there should be no need to take the risk of damaging your sexual and physical health by using a homemade sex toy, especially when there are so many great, cost-effective, and safe products available to try.
For those who don’t have a lot of extra cash to spend, or they still seem too expensive to you, there are always plenty of interesting masturbation techniques and positions you can try before making a potentially dangerous item.
