Sex is sex, even when you have it with yourself. Wherever that little love dance goes, sex toys are sure to help guide you on the journey. When it comes to men, the industry appears to have thrown its focus behind a particular kind of design: super realism.
“If we look at sales numbers, the most popular strokers are most likely the realistic looking ones,” said Anne Hodder, a certified sex educator and sex toy marketing consultant.
Now you have a different kind of industry. You don’t have contract girls anymore; you have who is bigger on social media, who interacts with their fans the most. -Chad Braverman, Doc Johnson
Chad Braverman, chief operating officer and chief creative officer at Doc Johnson, has seen a similar trend unfold. According to Braverman, the most popular items are those molded after the anatomical folds of actual individuals — specifically porn stars.
Toys modeled after big names like Sasha Grey and Bree Olsen are among the company’s top sellers. Products molded after Dani Daniels even incorporate one of her signature features: pubic hair.
“It’s the continuation of a fantasy,” Braverman continued. ”That’s the way we always looked at it as a company.”
Kathryn Hartman, sales and marketing director for Nasstoys, added, “Taylor Wane did a collection several years back, and it’s one of our top selling items. It has remained a profitable seller for us, as well as several other Taylor Wane branded items.”
But not everyone in the industry opts to incorporate famous names into their designs. Brian Sloan, founder of the AutoBlow2, “the world’s first blowjob robot,” sticks strictly to amateur models.
Two years ago, Sloan held a contest to find the most “beautiful” vulvas in the world to replicate onto the tops of his products. Of course, it’s not just vulvas that men are after. More recently, Sloan ran a contest to find the most ideal anus to reproduce onto his line of masturbators. Another popular orifice to incorporate is the mouth.
Aesthetic aside, there are a few more features men tend to look for in a sex toy. A toy that’s easy to clean seems to be something that appeals to most male consumers. Reusability is another big selling point. Sensation is another. [Manufacturers] use a variety of interior textures,” Hodder said. “Some have these ribbed, raised nubs that are similar to the roof of a mouth. Some have interior textures that are ribbed and ridged as if the penis was rubbing up on a swollen G-spot.”
Price, of course, also plays a big role. “Most men want to spend under $100 but there is always the occasional customer who is willing to trade a lot of paper for an item that practically becomes his spouse,” Nasstoys’ Hartman expressed.
“I wish men would be willing to spend $600 or more, so I could make something incredible for them. But most are looking to spend only $50-$75,” Sloan stated. The majority of masturbators are made out of something called TPE, or thermoplastic elastomer. “We like this material because it is body safe, soft, pliable and non-porous but still has enough stretchiness to mimic mucous membrane and muscle tissues,” Hartman described.
Other companies have developed their own patented materials made to imitate actual flesh. Topco uses Cyberskin. Doc Johnson uses something called Ultra Skin. The team at CalExotics created their own specialized material called Pure Skin, and there’s also Fanta Flesh, used by the folks over at Pipedream Products.
“Men are hoping the product feels just as good as they imagine the girls they watch on video do,” Doc Johnson’s Braverman explained. “I think most people are pleasantly surprised.”
Beyond strokers are the weightier love dolls. While these products also revolve around realism, both in terms of aesthetics and sensation, industry insiders believe they service a slightly different market. “It’s a totally different experience,” Hodder indicated.
“Strokers are really nice because they’re relatively lightweight,” she continued. “It’s easy to hold in one hand. It’s not super obtrusive. It’s more like an extension of your hand. When it comes to a bigger doll, or bigger piece, they are generally really heavy. It’s a big chunk of material, so it’s a two handed deal for sure. You are probably either propping it against your bed or the floor.” From there, she explains, customers are free to have and hump at it.
“We try to make our products as realistic as possible, and for us, it’s all about the size,” said Rob Phaneuf, vice president of product development at Pipedream Products. In place of other hyper-realistic love dolls on the market, the company manufactures their products in pieces, some of the most popular resembling a dismembered vulva, anus or torso.
The most expensive product they offer weighs somewhere around 35 pounds. As is the case with strokers, some products are modeled after actual individuals. A few years ago, the company teamed up with Bonnie Rotten to develop a line of love dolls. More recently, the company released their Kendra Sutherland Collection, otherwise known as “the library girl.”
Those in the porn industry hoping to land a similar kind of contract are armed with a specific tool to help put them on the map: social media. “It used to be who was the biggest star, who sold the most movies. Now you have a different kind of industry. You don’t have contract girls anymore; you have who is bigger on social media; who interacts with their fans the most,” Braverman claimed.
According to Hartman, that’s exactly what’s helped keep more seasoned stars relevant in an increasingly competitive industry. “Taylor Wane is one of the more tenured top adult stars who has remained at the top of the charts because she has diversified her web presence and maintains a loyal following,” she said.
“The customers really enjoy when they see the girls tweet about the molding process and put it on the social media,” said Phaneuf. “People are just intrigued by the whole process. It helps when they know exactly what they’re buying.”
